Top tips for saving your school money…

…the 45 minutemakeover!

SBC has won the Education Investor ‘Procurement Service of the Year’ award two years running and was the finalist at the national Government procurement awards 2014!

We are an accredited provider of quality services and a trusted partner to over 1000 schools.

Who are Schools’ Buying Club?Your dedicated procurement team supporting you to deliver value for money, and ensuring your school is complaint when buying best quality products and services!

An Impossible task? No – But not far off!

CleaningEnergyWaste ManagementStationeryFinance systemMIS systemICTNew buildPayrollGrounds maintenanceSports equipmentElectronic paymentsLearning resourcesTransportOutsourced catering

PaperPAT testingICT servicesTUPEFurnitureBuild maintenanceFire alarmPhotocopiersFood ingredientsTemporary workersUniformWebsiteBankingBooksInsurance

Fire extinguishersLaptopsServersSecurityKey holdingGovernor clerkBroadbandSports kitMinibusSchool eventsSchool tripsSchool lettingsGym equipmentMobile phonesWhatever else the head wants!

Your five step approachto healthy purchasing…

Step one - Nails not jails… Compliance and the law

Step two - Detox and cleanse… Understanding the current position

Step three - Keeping your figure(s) in check… Importance of benchmarking and real case studies

Step four - Maintaining the new (fitness) regime… Keeping ahead of the game

Step five - Weight matters… Purchasing with other schools and sharing information

Nails not jails… compliance and regulations…keeping you, your Head and your Governors out of trouble. A short overview of the regulatory and compliance aspects of procurement

• Public funding – Schools subject to the same procurement rules as any other Government body.

• Fair, open and transparent competition• Price, benchmarking and ensuring value for money• ‘Zero’ cost contract still need to be tendered!• More focus on school spending• EU directives – changes afoot!

Nails not jails… compliance and regulations…thresholds and appropriate tender approach

Spend / Type Process Ave duration

£1 - £1k Telephone quotes 1 – 5 days

£1k- £30k Request for quote 5 – 15 days

£30k - £172K Formal tender 15 – 30 days

Above £172k OJEU tender Min 90 days

ICT over £30k E-Auction 10 days

South Staffordshire College saved £16k on ICT by taking the time to assess the most appropriate tender strategy.

Detox and cleanse…

…the importance of contract reviews, advice on how to place new contracts and deal with toxic contracts

• Ensure new contract terms suit you, not the supplier• Keep on top of contract management, are the suppliers meeting

your expectations?• Double check ‘rollover’ contracts and termination notices / tie

ins. • Seek advice if you think your contracts are ‘toxic’ or have been

mis-sold - MFDs!

Keeping your figure(s) in check… …saving your school money and real case studies of what other schools have done

• Key categories where money can be saved while maintaining quality: Cleaning, Catering, Photocopiers and ICT

• Denbigh and Challney High Schools - Cleaning• Boutcher Primary - Photocopiers £41k • South Staffordshire College – Engineering equipment• Bright Futures Educational Trust 50% saving – Payroll• Bellevue Place Education Trust – Stationery 52% saving

Keeping your figure(s) in check… …use readily available data to benchmark your spend regionally

“Thank you very much for providing our School with this Benchmarking Report. It is beautifully and clearly laid out and will provide Finance Staff and Governors with the means to decipher what can sometimes be a minefield of data to trawl through. This will be of tremendous help to know where we are in comparison to that of similar schools to Heron Primary and to improve/adjust our budgeting strategies moving forward”

Karen Gibbs – Heron Park

Maintaining the new (fitness) regime…

…implementing a central contracts register, alert system and forward procurement plan

• Create a contract register and know when your contracts are due to expire and what termination notice is needed.

• Put a plan together working back from contract end points.• Start with the top 5 or 10 contracts at your school this doesn't

need to be ‘big bang’• Raise the importance of procurement at Finance and Resource

committee’s

Weight matters… …the benefits of, and how to, implement collaborative procurement initiatives

• Discuss the opportunity with schools in your local area to set up a procurement or buying board.

• Start with something easy. i.e. Not ICT! Ensure all members receive value to drive the desire to want to do more.

• Tap into readily available information any school can easily and quickly access.

Weight matters… …Start a procurement board with regional schools

Gloucester Schools’ Partnership (Maintained group)39 – member schools• Grounds maintenance• Photocopiers• Temporary workers• £1000’s saved

Pilgrim Learning Trust (Academy Trust and Maintained group)26 – member schools• Payroll• Monthly procurement forum • Online collaboration and information sharing between Business Managers

Bright Futures Educational Trust (Academy Trust)10 – member schools• Payroll• Grounds Maintenance• 2015 Procurement plan already being developed• £10,000’s saved

Join Schools’ Buying Club today - FREE!

Visit our stand for....

•Your free instant* benchmarking report

•Tender timescales and planning information

•Help tips and guidance

•Find out about our essential schools procurement ‘Toolbox’

www.schoolsbuyingclub.com

0845 257 7050

Rob YemsProcurement DirectorSchools’ Buying ClubEmail Rob.yems@schoolsbuyingclub.comTelephone: 07850064210* Instant for maintained schools (Academy 5 working days) e-mailed to your inbox in an hour!