There has never been a time in recent memory where so many critical decisions around school operations have had to be made with such short notice.
Now is the time to take stock and breathe. But it is also the time to evaluate and embrace new, smarter ways of doing things.
That begins with designing intelligent operations that seamlessly handle systems, management and contracts – creating genuine partnerships between schools and outstanding suppliers, while freeing school leaders to spend more time focusing on school life.
Smarter Buying
In procuring a wide range of goods and services in often complex marketplaces, schools can face higher costs than they need to, spending money which could be better spent on providing high quality teaching and achieving better educational outcomes for their pupils. We need to help schools overcome these procurement challenges.
The rising costs of materials, resource shortages and driver shortfalls hindering the supply chain are just some of the macro issues presently affecting non-staff expenditure. Schools do not typically have specialist procurement skills available in-house. This can make efficiency savings to help manage these ongoing financial pressures, while continuing to improve standards for their pupils, difficult for schools.
In the future, we need to think differently about the way we approach procurement. Supporting schools to look locally, developing a sharing economy across school network or creating strong relationships directly with suppliers can realise tangible cost savings. From catering services to site cleaning, schools need to re-evalute the way in which they contract suppliers to ensure they are getting the smartest value for money.
PAYG Procurement Advice
Procurement of key services is not an everyday task, which is why Smart School’s Central Procurement Team offer their services on a per day basis. Advice, support and guidance during the planning, implementation and awarding stages from professionally qualified individuals ensures your procurement process is more robust. The procurement team can also help with the on-going management of procurement activities.
Zero Carbon
Reviewing which suppliers schools contract is one of the services provided by Smart School’s Facilities Management team, and is one of many ways they are helping schools reduce their carbon footprint – an increasing priority at both a local and national policy level. The team are also helping schools to prepare funding applications for de-carbonisation projects and to carry out energy audits.
