Consultancy: educational services, and design and build

How schools can buy consultancy services and use a DfE approved framework to get good value.

Use the DfE-approved framework to find consultancy services from NEPO, which is managed by Bloom Procurement Services Limited.

See where to get help with buying for schools if you need it.

Before you start

Before you choose a consultant, you’ll need to:

  • define why you need to use a consultant
  • consider whether the consultant or their team should have professional qualifications relevant to their specialism and have experience of working in the education sector
  • consider asking for references or case studies of previous jobs where the consultants have provided real value for money
  • know what will be in or out of scope (knowing exactly what you want will prevent misunderstandings later)
  • know your budget
  • calculate whether savings will exceed the cost of a consultant
  • decide how you’ll deal with any changes to the original commission, including who needs to agree the change
  • have a timetable with a start and end date, showing key dates and milestones
  • find out whether the consultant will have enough resources to work on the project and who’ll cover the absence of any important staff
  • find out what level of insurance or indemnity the consultant holds
  • consider using existing resource in your school for tasks like data collection or data entry that you can do yourself to reduce costs

Building, construction and design consultancy services

These services cover the development and management of buildings or the professional services needed to manage them, including:

  • architecture
  • buildings contracts
  • cost consultancy
  • planning
  • property management
  • structure engineering and design
  • survey services

Education, learning and curriculum consultancy services

These are professional services that schools use to help develop their strategy, policies, and teaching and learning methodologies, including:

  • academy conversion
  • admission processes and planning
  • curriculum planning
  • forecasting, planning and strategy
  • national policy implementation
  • Ofsted audit planning
  • special education needs

Fees and payment

Ensure all costing proposals are clear, including agreeing:

  • what payment basis or model you’ll use, for example, simple fee, day rate or contingency-based savings
  • a full breakdown of pricing so you can identify and challenge any potential hidden or additional costs
  • what expenses (if any) are included in the fee, for example, travel
  • a period for which the fee structure is valid
  • a process for dealing with any changes, especially changes which might incur additional fees

Simple fee basis

This is where you agree:

  • what work will be in scope
  • what deliverables will be included
  • a fixed price for the work

Consultants may charge you extra for things not covered in your original agreement so make sure your costing proposals are clear and you explicitly agree what’s in and out of scope.

Day rate

This is where you agree with the consultant an estimated number of days to complete the work.

You might want to negotiate with the consultant on price and ask whether they can offer you any extra services for free.

Contingency-based share of savings

This is where you’ll agree to give the consultant a share of any savings they can make instead of paying them a fee or rate.

It’s similar to a no-win, no-fee arrangement, but can lead to the consultant taking a significant proportion of the savings so you may want to consider:

  • asking to cap the fee or amount you’ll pay the consultant even if they make large savings
  • only paying the consultant when a specific level of savings have been made or specific milestones in the project have been reached (this allows you to control when and how much you’ll pay the consultant)

Governance and regulations

You must comply with your school or trust’s procurement and finance policy, including:

  • how and when you make payments
  • any reporting arrangements
  • procedures consultants must comply with

There’s also separate guidance on buying procedures and procurement.

Find the right way to buy

Use the DfE-approved framework to find consultancy services from NEPO, which is managed by Bloom Procurement Services Limited.

As a neutral vendor, Bloom does not directly provide suppliers but contracts with suppliers on your behalf so you can:

  • access over 20 professional service categories, including 340 sub-categories
  • choose from over 6,000 suppliers with experience of working with schools and the public sector
  • remain compliant with UK and EU procurement rules with pre-accredited suppliers
  • save time by selecting more than one professional service
  • get support - Bloom will help you resolve any issues you have with your project
  • get good value - payment is only made once suppliers meet agreed milestones

Bloom can also help you by:

  • drawing up a business plan
  • advising on budgeting and costings
  • providing operating models which target savings
  • defining what deliverables are in scope
  • defining what outcomes suppliers should deliver
  • sharing best practice and findings from other schools’ projects