Pupils pay price for poor procurement

As school budgets are squeezed, research reveals that pupils across England are suffering from poor procurement practices. The results reveal that up to £1 billion is lost as schools battle to control the procurement of goods and services such as supply teaching, broadband, administration supplies and facilities management.

The research undertaken by the Schools' Buying Club (SBC) also reveals that the least efficient region in the country for procurement is Inner London with an average spend of £1,239 per pupil. Inner London's spend is a staggering £689 more than the South West which is highlighted as the most efficient region for school procurement spending an average of £550 per pupil.

The East Midlands comes a close second in the best English Schools Procurement League Table spending an average of £569 per pupil.

The research also compares spending in individual cities.  Birmingham (£1,130 per pupil) and Liverpool (£1,067 per pupil) are highlighted as poorly performing.

We believe that if schools undertook better procurement practices or clubbed together locally, they could each on average plough back up to £100 per pupil to pay for more teaching and learning resources.

English Schools' Procurement League Table by region

The worst school budget spenders, excluding London

The most efficient school budget spenders

Claire Delaney, our Managing Director commented, 'taken at face value, it could be argued that pupils in the worst performing areas are benefitting from this increased spend. However, scratch the surface and evidence shows that millions of pounds are being wasted through poor procurement practices as opposed to being reinvested into children's education.

'In these difficult financial times, every penny counts for a school. The figures we have uncovered should concern not only head teachers, but parents and pupils who could gain from better negotiated deals and seeing the impact where it matters - in the classroom. Undertaking proper procurement practices will significantly reduce costs and free up time to focus on ensuring that every child has an improved learning experience.'

Of the categories reviewed catering supplies, back office services and facilities management are the biggest areas of waste for schools. SBC calculates that schools across England are overpaying for:

• catering services by £63m
• back-office services by £80m
• facilities management by £1bn.

'Our research has also uncovered the fact that many schools are caught in rollover leases which can incur huge costs with no flexibility to take into account changes at the school,' added Claire.

'With more schools becoming independent from local authority control, they have to become more contract savvy and be able to go out and find the best deals to suits their needs. If they do it properly, I really believe they could save tens of thousands of pounds from their overall budget and make a deep impact on teaching and learning.' 

That's why this site exists. Our aim is to provide practical tools and resources to help schools manage their budget, staffing and curriculum planning, and give guidance on how to react to changes in funding. Better procurement practices in schools typically generate up to 20% efficiencies, allowing schools to pay for more teachers or much needed equipment and learning resources.

'As budgets become increasingly restrictive, it's now more important than ever for school leaders to purchase more effectively. I urge heads and governors to seriously consider seeking professional advice as to where money can potentially be freed up. Properly managed and sustainable procurement can make a huge difference and help improve the educational attainment of our children.'