HELPING SCHOOLS GET
value for money
Last year, the Department for Education (DfE) published its Schools’ Buying Strategy. Commercial Director Jenny Williams tells us how the DfE is supporting schools to improve their buying of goods and services
O
ver the past year, Education Secretary Damian Hinds has made it clear he is committed to
ensuring every pound is spent effectively in schools. Key to this is a need for robust financial planning, so the DfE created the Schools Commercial Team to support and work with schools to identify ways in which they can reduce spend on non-staffing costs and invest those savings in improving pupil outcome. The DfE Schools Commercial
Team comprises dedicated procurement and school business management professionals, working to help make procurement easier for schools, to save time and, ultimately, make the best value purchases. Having scoured the marketplace, the department has identified a range of value-for-money deals for schools, and also provides guidance, templates, and, in our School Buying Hub regions, one-to-one support for School Business Professionals.
Supporting networks I don’t need to tell you how crucial an effective SBP can be in delivering great value to their schools when
they are empowered to lead by their governing boards and leaders. The Schools Commercial Team
has recruited a number of former SBPs with first-hand experience and we are harnessing this to make our offering to schools as practical and helpful as possible. Part of the team’s role is to work with SBPs to encourage the formation of new SBP networks and to support existing networks to become increasingly effective drivers of change. These peer-to-peer support networks can be led by a group of schools, by local authorities or even commercial organisations, and they typically meet face-to-face on a regular basis. In May we launched the network
directory and accompanying guidance to help SBPs find a network or set one up if none exist in their area. We have also published a toolkit designed to give practical advice and guidance on setting up new networks, and we plan to expand the support available over the coming months. For more information, visit
gov.uk/ government/publications/ join-or-create-a-network-for- school-business-professionals.
52 AUTUMN 2018 FundEd
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