Teach Secondary 13.7

looking at ‘averages’, then you’re assuming it’s okay for a significant number of schools to fall below those averages, and they’re the ones that are really going to suffer. Schools themselves have to examine a whole range of metrics – which, if done well, will be used to get as muchmoney into classrooms as possible. It’s not always helpful to give aspirational operational costs. Given that a school leader’s biggest cost will be curriculum delivery, howmany teachers will they need delivering it in the way they want? Can they afford that many teachers – and if not, howwill they move other areas of their spending around so that they can reach that ‘optimal’ number of teachers? The priority for school leaders should be to look at their pupil-to-teacher ratios and how affordable they are. If you’re working below your affordable pupil-to-teacher ratio, you can be certain of ending up in deficit. It’s a question of understanding that, and putting mitigations in place to prevent it fromhappening, because reactive financial management is always going to be more expensive and negatively impactful. Difficult waters Can you call to mind any notable examples of schools that have managed to budget successfully, despite being in an unenviable situations? The schools that navigate difficult financial waters the best are those where principals and heads work closely with their business leads on maintaining a rolling three-year financial plan. They’ll review it regularly, joining the dots between known figures and assumptions as needed – a tricky task in itself – and managing uncertainty by identifying the best possible information available to them. One viewwe often hear is that it’s impossible for leadership to draw up a meaningful three-year plan because they simply don’t know enough. I completely understand that, and can empathise, having previously been in that position myself – but it’s ultimately not okay to PROCUREMENT REFORM – key changes for schools and trusts The new Procurement Act 2023 is set to go live on 28th October 2024, bringing significant changes that aim to make the transition from EU to UK law post-Brexit more transparent and straightforward. The impacts of this new legislation will significantly change the way education budgets are spent. Education leaders should therefore take note of the following: Refined procurement notices One key change under the new Act is the refinement of procurement notices. These notices will be required throughout the lifecycle of the procurement process – from planning to tender, contract award, contract management and termination. Whilst this will enhance transparency, it also risks adding administrative strain, exposure to data breaches and legal challenges. Schools and trusts must therefore improve their training, upgrade their data management systems and ensure their e-tendering systems can handle new demands. A centralised hosting platform The Act also introduces a new centralised digital platform for procurement, which will be rolled out in phases. This platform will gather all procurement-related information together in one place, making it easier for schools and trusts to access data on suppliers and those excluded from compliant spending. In theory, this will streamline the process, allowing suppliers to input their information once, and then have that information be directly accessible by education organisations. To ensure that education organisations receive the best return on value and procure products compliantly, YPO advises schools and trusts to keep up with updates by visiting the government’s Transforming Public Procurement page (see tiny.cc/ts137-BF1) or signing up for alerts. Competitive routes to market The new legislation replaces existing procurement processes with two competitive routes and a third direct award option: • Open Procedure – A single-stage, unrestricted competition • Competitive Flexible Procedure – Allows schools and trusts to design their own procurement processes • Direct Awards – Enables contracts to be awarded without competition in specific situations; schools and trusts can continue to use frameworks and existing DPSs (though all DPSs will end in October 2028) Flexible open frameworks and dynamic markets Frameworks will still be used under the new Act, but they will operate in a slightly different way. Open frameworks will allow for more frequent appointments of new suppliers, enhancing flexibility and reducing the exclusion of smaller or newer suppliers. Dynamic Purchasing Systems (DPS) will be removed. The Act will further see the introduction of Dynamic Markets, which require a Tender Notice for each procurement and cannot be used for contracts below a certain threshold. For schools and trusts using a framework or DPS set up under the 2015 Public Contract Regulations, those rules will still apply when calling off contracts. Andrea Smith is Procurement Director at YPO; to help schools and trusts navigate these changes, YPO is offering a range of resources and support – find out more at ypo.co.uk 54 teachwire.net/secondary