Where to access free procurement advice

Free and impartial advice and guidance you can access from procurement specialists about buying goods and services can be beneficial

The ‘get help buying for schools’ service is made up of various resources to help you buy goods and services efficiently and compliantly. This is a free advice and guidance service for state schools. There is no cost to access it and could help to save you money on your existing contracts.

Advice and guidance

You can:

• request advice and guidance from the DfE’s procurement specialists when you need it; they can advise and give guidance on running a compliant procurement using a DfE-approved framework;
• read guidance on buying procedures and procurement law to learn about the steps of procurement and how to buy compliantly;
• read guidance on buying goods and services, such as catering and furniture.

Tools

Use the DfE’s tools to help you at specific stages of your procurement. You can:

• use the create a specification tool to write a catering or multifunctional devices specification;
• use the find a framework tool to find quality-checked suppliers.

Stay up-to-date

To learn more about the ‘get help buying for schools’ service, you can:

• join @Buying for Schools on LinkedIn for regular updates about how the DfE is supporting schools to make the most of non-staff spend;
• read the DfE’s Buying for Schools blog to see what the DfE are working on now and what the DfE are doing next;
• email schools.commercial@education.gov.uk if you have any further questions;
• sign up for emails about the latest products and guidance to get great value from your school’s resources;
• get emails when the DfE add or update pages on GOV.UK.