Advice and support
Kevin Draisey is Head of Procurement Operations for Get help buying for schools, the DfE’s free supported buying service for schools and trusts. In this blog post, Kevin explains what Transforming Public Procurement (TPP) means for people who buy for schools and trusts, and how they can get ready for the changes ahead.
Amy Greenough, DfE’s lead for the Schools Water Strategy, talks about the sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) projects her team has worked on in partnership with water companies and Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFA), to reduce the surface water flood risk across the school estate.
Paul McKeown works in the Department for Education’s Water Strategy Team. In this blog post, Paul shares some useful tips to help prepare your school for winter and reduce the risk of disruption that adverse weather conditions can bring.
Teachers are the foundation of the education system – there are no great schools without great teachers. Alistair Guest from the DfE’s NPQ Policy Unit talks to Dave Ellison-Lee, Director of Education at RISE multi-academy trust about his experience of the departments support for teachers and leaders to develop their expertise.
Emily Wignall, Digital Engagement and Information Manager in the DfE’s Schools Commercial Team explains what a framework is and how using one can help your school navigate a legally compliant buying process, whilst saving time and money.
In this blog post, Kathryn Swanson, DfE Project Manager, explains more about how smart meters could help you better understand and manage energy use in you school or trust.
In April 2022 the department included cyber cover as part of its Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA). We are almost a year on and Katy O’Connor, RPA Future Projects Strategy and Delivery Lead thought it was a good time to check in and see if all members are taking full advantage of this vital cover.
Charlene Pink is an Innovation Lead at the Department for Education and is currently working on a project which aims to give those who buy for their school the knowledge, skills and confidence to do so as effectively as they can. In this blog post, Charlene highlights a new training pilot which launches in February 2023.
Peter looks at the importance of planning ahead when buying for your school and why you don’t necessarily need to wait for the school holidays to make big changes.
