Buying for Schools

Wanted: School governors with procurement expertise

Wendy Burdon, Schools Commercial Innovation and Development Team, 1 September 2025 - Advice and support

Wendy Burdon is a primary school governor and works for the DfE's Schools Commercial Innovation and Development Team. She explains why more procurement professionals are needed as governors.

Plan Technology for Your School: Free support for planning, implementing and using technology

Lara le Court de Billot, Senior Policy Advisor, School Technology Services, Department for Education, 9 July 2025 - Services

In this blog post, Lara le Court de Billot, Senior Policy Advisor in the Department for Education’s (DfE) School Technology Services team, shares insights into plan technology for your school — a free, practical service designed to help schools make …

DfE launches School Estate Management Standards to support all schools to manage their estates effectively

David Fugurally, Head of School Estate Management Standards, Competencies & Skills, 18 June 2025 - Advice and support

The new School Estate Management Standards provide a clear framework to help school leaders and estates management professionals manage their school estates well. In this blog David Fugurally, Head of School Estate Management Standards, Competencies & Skills, explains how they …

A new way to buy energy for your school or trust

Bel Pennington, DfE Energy for schools lead, 2 April 2025 - Advice and support, Services

In this blog post, Bel Pennington, who leads the Energy for Schools pilot at DfE, tells us why changing the way schools and trusts buy energy could save money, and protect school budgets from the volatility of the energy market. …

How Academy Transformation Trust saved over £500,000 through better contract management

Tony Diaram, Project Manager at Academy Transformation Trust, 3 March 2025 - Advice and support, Services

Tony Diaram, Project Manager at Academy Transformation Trust, shares how specialist contract management training has helped deliver significant savings across his trust. Academy Transformation Trust is a not-for-profit charitable trust of 22 schools across central England, including primary, secondary, special, …

Embracing flexible working in schools and trusts

Sarah Sarll, Chief Financial Officer at Pioneer Educational Trust, 11 February 2025 - Uncategorized

Sarah Sarll, Chief Financial Officer at Pioneer Educational Trust, shares how flexible working has boosted staff wellbeing and retention while transforming school culture. Her experience offers valuable insights for educational institutions looking to modernise their working practices. Evidence-Based ImplementationWhen we …

Introducing DfE Connect: bringing key information for schools into one place

Charlotte Dowd, Policy advisor and sector engagement lead, 22 January 2025 - Advice and support, Services

In our latest blog post, Charlotte Dowd, Policy advisor and sector engagement lead, introduces us to DfE Connect. What is DfE Connect?DfE Connect is a free service from the Department for Education designed to make life easier for school business …

My experience of the risk protection arrangement (RPA) claims process when our school flooded.

Catherine Morley, Headteacher at Theale Church of England primary School, 2 December 2024 - Uncategorized

Catherine Morley is the Headteacher at Theale Church of England Primary School in Reading, West Berkshire. In this blog post, Catherine shares her experience of the RPA support her school received when an incident with the sprinkler suppression system resulted in severe water damage to her school.

Update for schools and trusts on Procurement Act 2023 - are you ready?

Hannah Mears, Commercial Lead for Get help buying for schools, 19 November 2024 - Advice and support

Hannah Mears is a Commercial Lead for Get help buying for schools, the DfE’s free supported buying service for schools and trusts. In this blog post, Hannah updates on the latest advice around the Procurement Act 2023, and how schools can get ready for the new regulations that come in February 2025.

Getting your school or trust ready for new recycling regulations

Amanda Quinn, Education Procurement Category Manager at YPO, 6 November 2024 - Advice and support

In this blog post, Amanda Quinn, Education Procurement Category Manager at YPO, highlights new, simpler recycling regulations coming into force in 2025 and the action that schools and trusts will need to take to be compliant.

Blog Buying for Schools

Using the DfE’s Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning (ICFP) tool to get essential insights into managing your school’s resources