How to buy goods, works or services

Always follow rules set by your school, trust or local authority (LA)

These may set out different procurement processes or thresholds to those listed here.

You should also check with your LA, multi-academy trust (MAT) or diocese before you start, as it may be responsible for buying certain things.

Don't have a procurement policy?

You can use our model policy template to help you create one.

Procuring or re-procuring an MIS?

Here's what to look for in a management information system (MIS).

Know what to consider before you start

The DfE has guidance on what you need to think about if you're buying:

• Books and educational resources
• Catering services
• Cleaning services
• Consultancy services, HR, payroll and legal advice
• Energy
• ICT and computer hardware
• Multi-functional devices, for example devices that copy, print or scan

Write your draft specification

You should always write a specification. It helps you to make decisions and tells suppliers exactly what you need.

The first version of your specification only needs to be a draft. You can refine it later if you need to, before you send it to prospective suppliers. 

Before you write your specification, you should speak to:

• The people who will use whatever it is you're buying, to make sure it meets their needs
• The people who will approve the purchase, to understand what they want to see in the specification
• Suppliers, so you can get a sense of prices and what's available. This isn't the same as the invitation to tender/selection of supplier/request for quotes though – these come later
• Experts, as you might need specialist help writing the specification or with the whole purchase process

Think about what's essential, what's nice to have, and what you might need in 1 or 2 years' time

Your specification should include:

• A precise description of what you need
• How it should meet the school's needs
• The quantity and quality required
• When you need it

This is explained in the DfE's guidance on writing a specification.

Speaking to suppliers

To assess the market, you can talk to suppliers before writing your specification.

However, if you do speak to suppliers, make sure:

• Any information you give them at this stage is given to everyone else who bids later
• That your specification doesn't unnecessarily favour the suppliers you've spoken to

Estimate the whole-life cost of the contract

Include:

• The initial cost of the goods, works or services
• VAT
• Delivery charges
• Ongoing maintenance or support costs
• Running costs
• The cost of removing or disposing of an item or service when you no longer need it

The cost will affect which buying process you use (see more on this below). Check your procurement rules to see what's defined as low, medium and high value. The DfE generally considers:

• Low to be under £10,000
• Medium to be £10,000 to £40,000
• High to be over £40,000

Write a business case

This might not be necessary for low-value purchases. Your procurement policy should specify the types of purchases that require a business case for sign-off.  

The DfE recommends writing a business case as part of the procurement process, to:

• Set out what you need, why you need it, and by when
• Ask for approval to make the purchase
• Record your decision-making process

A business case should include:

• Your draft specification 
• The estimated whole-life cost of the contract
• Any opportunities to work with other schools, such as borrowing equipment, buying together to get a better deal, or comparing prices and experiences from previous purchases

Identify and remove any potential conflicts of interest before you start

Follow your conflict of interest policy.

If it's not possible to eliminate a conflict of interest, you can:

• Ask everyone involved to declare their interests in writing
• Withhold company names while their bids are assessed
• Ask different staff members to assess the bids

Use 1 of the 5 routes to buy

The DfE guidance on buying for schools identifies 5 routes to buy. The route you use will depend on the amount you're spending:

• Route 1: use a framework agreement (this is the DfE-recommended route for all purchases)
• Route 2: use catalogues to find low-value goods
• Route 3: get quotes from at least 3 suppliers (for low or medium-value purchases)
• Route 4: advertise a contract and run a buying process (for high-value purchases under the public procurement threshold)
• Route 5: run a process compliant with the Procurement Act 2023 (for high-value purchases over or near to the public procurement threshold)

The table below sets out your options more clearly:

Use a framework if possible

The DfE recommends you only use routes 3, 4 and 5 if you can't get what you need through a framework (route 1).

Find more information on each route in the following sections.

Follow the guidance for your chosen route

Get free advice from DfE procurement specialists

Use the get help buying for schools service for advice and support at any stage in the procurement process.

This service is available to all state-funded schools (including academy trusts) in England. You can ask for:

• Guidance on buying compliantly, even if your procurement process is already in progress
• Reviews of your documents to make sure they're compliant
• Support in choosing or using a framework agreement
• Advice when you need to seek legal advice
• Help running complex or high-value procurements