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It's now even easier to choose your exercise books
Find your exercise books in no time with our new exercise book selector. Pick your size, ruling, colour, and number of pages, then simply add to basket!
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Sports Day banner
Discover everything you need to kit your school out for sports day. Create an event to remember with our huge range of sports day supplies!
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SEN range
Create nurturing and inspiring spaces with our SEN range of products, handpicked to support key development.
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Making life easier for MATs across the country
Explore the benefits YPO can provide to Academies and Multi Academy Trusts across the country.
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Shop the YPO range and find what you need for less
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  • Construction worker Buildings and Construction

    Our expert team can help with building, construction, repairs and alterations. Browse our frameworks.

  • Meeting Corporate and Financial Services

    Help to increase efficiencies and provide better support to your people.

  • Energy frameworks YPO Energy

    Find ways to reduce your energy consumption with our energy team.

  • Cleaning equipment Facilities and Waste Management

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  • Fleet of white vans Fleet

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  • food and catering worker cooking Food and Catering

    Ordering food and catering couldn't be simpler with our UK Food Deal.

  • food and catering worker cooking Furniture

    Create environments that are tailored to your unique needs.

  • fleet and highways worker Highways

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  • Corporate meeting HR and People

    Our team are here to help with all of your recruitment and training.

  • Woman using technology Technology and Communication

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  • Cart with cleaning supplies Facilities Management

    Essential services to help keep your school running smoothly.

  • Students receiving food Food and Catering

    Everything you need for your school meals and catering requirements.

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    Helping you create inspiring spaces.

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  • Bus Driver Transport

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  • Technician fixing light fixture Utilities

    Review your energy contracts to help save money.

bespoke procurement services
Our bespoke procurement services provide you with access to experienced practitioners, promptly and efficiently meeting your needs when required.
Explore now
In their manifesto, the Conservatives have pledged that they will undertake the following with regard to the education system:
  
  • Ensure a good primary place for every child, with zero tolerance of failure.
  • Continue to expand academies. 
  • Help teachers to make Britain the best country in the world for developing maths, engineering, science and computing skills. 
  • Create three million more apprenticeships, and make sure that there is no cap on university places, so that there is an aspiration for all. 
  • Provide free school meals to all infants.

These policies set out the future for nurseries, schools and universities in the UK for the next five years.  However, with the Conservatives ruling out a ‘real time’ increase in school budgets, this will mean that as the number of pupils increases, budgets will continue to get tighter. 

It will be more important than ever for schools to ensure that they are making the most out of their finances. Equally, with the aim to make Britain the best country in the world for maths, engineering, science and computing skills, teachers will need to ensure that they have planned the relevant resources to deliver an evolving curriculum.  

The Conservatives will also continue to support and establish more academies, with an aim to convert ‘every failing and coasting school’. As academies continue to become more common place in education, it is important for converting schools, as well as already established academies, to consider the implications that come with becoming independent from their local education authorities. 

Whilst it provides them with new freedoms, such as the ability to design their own curriculum, perhaps lesser known are some of the challenges that they, and particularly their school business managers, may face during and after the transition period. 

Ownership of procurement – buying in the goods and services they need to run their schools effectively – will now fall to them.  The responsibility for handling this may be a daunting prospect, but getting the contract negotiation and management right is crucial for achieving considerable cost savings. 

Good practice will also offer a level of protection, ensuring that the goods and services remain fit for purpose, and that contracts are fully compliant with procurement rules and regulations.

Also, as free school meals continue to be rolled out across primary education, we will see further demand for schools to be equipped to meet the delivery. The scheme is already having a big impact on schools’ kitchen or canteen resources, which may not be geared to cope with the increase in demand. 

Last year it was estimated that over 2,700 schools in England required improved kitchens in order to provide free meals for pupils. Figures obtained by the BBC also highlighted that more than 1,700 schools had no kitchen at all, with many resorting to portable ‘kitchen pods’ located in school grounds.  

The 2015 policy means that procuring quality supplies that are both sustainable and affordable is more important than ever. Schools will need to consider a wide range of resources, including appliances, dining room furniture, tableware, uniforms and safety equipment for catering staff, not to mention the provision of food items. Whether re-equipping a kitchen, re-designing a dining area or buying additional catering equipment, schools need to start planning now.

As the Conservative Government gears up to implement these policies, schools need to ensure that they are future-fit and ready to maximise the support on offer from local authorities and organisations like YPO who can help equip them with the infrastructure to get it right.

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Author

Paul Smith

Executive Director