GOV.UK
Guidance on how to plan and run an efficient procurement process to buy goods, works or services for your school.
A well planned procurement process can help schools to:
- get value for money
- follow EU procurement law
Use the following step-by-step guide to plan and implement the most appropriate process for your school procurement need.
Chapter 1 will help you with planning a business case and choosing the right procurement process.
Chapter 2 will help you to write a specification.
Chapter 3 covers the 4 possible ways to make a procurement in detail.
Chapter 4 covers contract management.
- 1. Plan your procurement process How to plan what you need to buy for your school and decide which procurement process to use.
- 2. Write your specification How to prepare your procurement specification, describing the goods, works or services you need.
- 3a. Direct selection of a supplier from a framework How schools can buy goods, works or services from a framework that allows you to directly choose the best-value supplier for your requirements.
- 3b. Run a mini-competition between suppliers on a framework How schools can buy goods, works or services from a framework where all listed suppliers may bid for your requirements.
- 3c. Run your own procurement: lower-value tenders How schools can buy low- to medium-value goods, works or services by researching the relevant market and seeking a range of quotes from suppliers.
- 3d. Run your own procurement: high-value and EU tenders How schools can make high-value and EU-compliant purchases by advertising their contract and running their own competitive tender process between suppliers.
- 4. Managing your contract How to review supplier performance, renew or end the contract, and review your procurement process.
- 5. Useful resources Links to further information about procurement for schools, including training modules, templates and ICT guidance.