Case Studies

Edgar Wood Academy
Pre-opening Support

Schools’ Buying Club was appointed in January 2020 by the Altus Education Partnership to provide pre-opening support for the Edgar Wood Academy which was proposed to open in September 2022. However, due an urgent need for school places, the school opening date was moved forward to September 2021 following discussions with the DfE and LA. Schools’ Buying Club was able to mobilise quickly and accelerate all work streams in order to help deliver a school earlier than originally proposed. This included principal designate benchmarking, governance, finance, education policy development, section 10 consultation and capital works. We also helped develop and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy which helped ensure the school was oversubscribed for the first year of operation.

The Stour Academy Trust, Canterbury
Procurement of trust-wide catering

Schools’ Buying Club managed the tender process for the catering services on behalf of the Stour Academy Trust, for 7 of its primary academies – totalling 2940 pupils. As a result of the new contract, the school group will now receive a guaranteed return of £97k over the 3 year contract.

“The result has been fantastic – thank you for enabling us to not only save money but generate £97k over three years.”

Bramley Grange Primary School, Rotherham
Procurement of a new catering service

Schools’ Buying Club helped Bramley Grange, a Primary School of 320 pupils, go out to tender for their catering services. The winning contract promised a £5.6k return over the 3 year period.

“Thank you for your guidance through such a complex process. We really appreciate the support and savings.”

National Autistic Society – Vanguard School
Pre-opening Support

The National Autistic Society appointed Schools’ Buying Club to help support the pre-opening phase of the Vanguard school in 2018. The Vanguard School is an autism specific free school providing educational day places for students aged 11-19 and was the third school to join the National Autistic Society Academies Trust (NASAT). Schools’ Buying Club was commissioned to provide overarching project management services including capital project management support, section 10 consultation, governance and education policy development support. Place Group also worked the National Autistic Society’s internal marketing and HR departments to ensure deliverables were successfully completed. Following the successful opening of the Vanguard School, Schools’ Buying Club was appointed to support the Trust with an additional project.