Case Studies

Newton Farm: Nursery, Infant & Junior School
Virtual procurement process for a new cleaning service

Newton Farm sought the help of Schools’ Buying Club when the annual cost for their cleaning service was due to increase. We ran a restricted OJEU procurement process for the school and were able to save almost £16k in the first year of the contract. The new contract includes additional items such as bin-liners and point-of-use consumables which will bring further savings to the school. Newton Farm has found a supplier who is looking to bring further innovation and support services if required, allowing for a greater partnership relationship with its supplier.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, we ran the procurement process virtually. We received site photos and ran a virtual Q&A session in lieu of the usual supplier site visit day and hosted virtual bidder presentations. Our client was kept informed of our scope of work and timeline throughout the whole process to ensure the school was fully aware of our progress at each stage.

“I couldn’t be happier with the service that SBC provided. I felt supported every step of the way to ensure that I was able to make the best decision for my school.”  Matthew Bradley, Headteacher, Newton Farm

River Bank Primary School
Procurement of a new outsourced cleaning contract

Schools’ Buying Club managed the tender process for River Bank Primary School who sought to outsource their cleaning function. The school had previously used a mix of in-house cleaners and agency staff but were seeking a more structured and manageable provision. We ran the procurement from start to finish and were able to appoint a supplier on a three-year contract offering best value to the school.

By outsourcing their cleaning function, River Bank Primary School will now benefit from having new cleaning equipment, an appointed supervisor to lead the onsite staff and a new time and attendance system. Furthermore, the revised shift pattern will ensure a wider pool of good candidates when recruiting, which is essential as the school grows.

“Schools’ Buying Club has been brilliant at helping us navigate the process of securing major contacts in the last twelve months. Their staff have been available, diligent and professional at all times and worked to make the process seamless and successful. We would recommend them to other schools and will certainly use them again for future procurement.”  Louise Marsden, School Business Manager and David Sansom, Headteacher

Kingsmead School
Procurement of a new, restructured and fit for purpose cleaning service

Kingsmead School wanted to restructure their cleaning service by moving the service from a predominately morning clean to the evening and introducing a new day-time janitor role to ensure general cleanliness is maintained during the day which had previously been a problem for the school.

Through a restricted OJEU procurement process, ran by Schools’ Buying Club, the school was able to achieve a fit for purpose cleaning service. The planned restructuring aims to spread the cleaning service across all hours of the day whilst also ensuring best value for money in terms of the cost. The tender process revised the cleaning service to fit around the after school and weekend lettings, ensuring the school is clean all week round. An improved attendance system was also implemented to enable better management of staff which was an issue previously.

“Schools’ Buying Club is entirely seamless in its processes. The hassle-free approach really makes you feel that they are working with you, not just for you. I would highly recommend them to any school looking for renew their contracts and save costs.”  Stephen Barrett, School Business Leader

Kent Catholic Schools’ Partnership
A regular client of Schools' Buying Club - this time, needing support to procure their cleaning, audit, and statutory testing services

Schools’ Buying Club holds a successful relationship with the Trust having previously procured their catering service, which delivered a guaranteed return of £200k over the 3-year contract for its primary schools and £180k over the 3-year contract for its secondary schools. Most recently we helped to procure their cleaning, audit and statutory testing services.

The academies previously had a range of cleaning providers and in-house teams; the new single supplier contract has been able to deliver a more consistent standard across the Trust which can be managed more efficiently at Trust level. It also gave the Trust the opportunity to introduce the Living Wage Foundation’s ‘Real Living Wage’ across all the academies.

The audit tender process unearthed massive efficiencies for the Trust thanks to its mature status and already embedded financial measures. This led to a vast saving of around £75,000 across 3-years. We initially received six interested suppliers in the statutory testing tender with the successful bidder achieving the Trust a saving of around £400,000 whilst also improving the service delivery through combining testing functions.

“When the Kent Catholic Schools’ Partnership faced the daunting task of re-tendering operations across its academies, it could have found no better partner than the Schools’ Buying Club. Steering us through a complex tendering process and helping us to deliver substantial financial savings and an improved service for our Children and Young People. To anyone in a similar position, I would highly recommend the Schools’ Buying Club.”  Mark Harris, Finance Director