Buying for schools

How to buy compliantly step by step

Once you know what you’re buying and how much you’re spending, you’ll need to decide the best way to buy for your school based on the procurement regulations.

Refer to the buying routes we’ve identified to help you decide which one is best for you to follow.

Get training on the Procurement Act 2023

The free Department for Education (DfE)-approved transforming public sector procurement course:

• aims to give you the knowledge, skills and confidence to manage your procurement under the legislation
• is suitable for anyone within a school or multi-academy trust (MAT) responsible for running procurements, not just those in a specific commercial role

How to access the training

1. Go to Government Commercial College – schools should already be registered on the site or can register for an account.

2. Log in and select Find Learning at the top of page.

3. Search for transforming public procurement (TPP).(TPP).

Register on the central digital platform

As part of the Procurement Act 2023 there will be a central digital platform to allow notices and documents to be published.

This platform will be an enhancement of the existing Find a Tender service. It will make it easier for suppliers to find and bid for contracts, and for you to meet your transparency responsibilities.

Use the instructions on Government Commercial College to register. Your request should be approved within 48 hours.

Find out more from the Update for schools and trusts on the Procurement Act 2023 – Buying for Schools blog post.

Understand what to consider when buying goods or services

Read guidance on things to consider before you start buying goods and services, which includes:

• catering
• cleaning
• energy
• furniture
• ICT and computer hardware
• multi-functional devices, for example devices that copy, print or scan

Get free and impartial help or advice from procurement specialists

Use the Get help buying for schools service for help, advice and support from our team of DfE procurement specialists on buying goods and services.

Our procurement specialists can give advice at any stage of your procurement process.

This service applies to all state-funded schools in England.

Use self-guided tools

You can use our tools at any time to help you at specific stages of your procurement. It’s easier to use these tools if you’re already familiar with the buying process. See the buying routes to find out more about the process.

Use a DfE-approved buying solution

We have reviewed and approved framework agreements for schools to buy goods and services.

Framework agreements help schools to procure goods and services from a list of pre-approved suppliers, with agreed terms and conditions and legal protections.

Framework agreements are provided by third parties. They run a tender to select the right suppliers to provide specific goods and services.

Read more about framework agreements and our find a framework tool.

Create a specification for your procurement

A specification is a document you need to create for your procurement to explain to suppliers exactly what you want to buy.

You can create one yourself or use the create a specification tool. The tool currently helps you create a specification for:

• catering
• multi-functional devices, for example devices that copy, print or scan

More categories will be added if schools find this tool useful.

The tool will save you time by producing a specification based on the responses you give to a set of questions.

The questions will cover essential information that you need to provide and automatically includes rules that suppliers must follow.

You will need a DfE sign-in account to use it.

Get support from other schools

To get support, you can join or create a school business professionals network to help you connect and share information with your peers.

Join free webinars and events about buying for schools

You can register for our free webinars and events to help your school save time and get good value when buying goods and services for your school.

Get an alternative to commercial insurance for state-funded schools

The risk protection arrangement (RPA) is DfE’s alternative to commercial insurance for public sector schools. Joining is easy and takes less than 5 minutes. Cover includes:

• cyber
• overseas and UK travel
• public liability
• material damage

Stay up to date

To learn more about buying for schools, you can:

• find out how Get help buying for schools is different from other services
• join @Buying for schools on LinkedIn for regular updates about how we’re supporting schools to make the most of non-staff spend
• read our Buying for Schools blog to see what we are working on now and what we are doing next
• email schools.commercial@education.gov.uk if you have any further questions

Governing boards of maintained schools and academy trusts can find out more from the guide on procurement in schools and trusts from the National Governance Association (NGA).