Is your school's money working as hard as it should?

Calculator and papers

Chris McGunnigle, DfE Banking Team Lead, returns with an update to his November 2025 blog. New tools are live, real results are coming in, and the question every school should be asking their bank has never been more important. Please …

How one trust saved over £78,000 a year on energy costs

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Hand putting money into a jar

For All Saints’ Trust, a multi-academy trust with seven schools across London, it meant new computers for one of their schools when Windows 11 arrived. Without switching to DfE Energy for Schools, they simply couldn't have afforded them. Your trust …

Smarter banking: how Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust increased their annual interest income to over £1 million

David Leane, Chief Financial Officer, shares how Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust has benefited from reviewing their banking arrangements. When I joined Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust twelve years ago as a small trust of just four schools, managing our …

My experience of the risk protection arrangement (RPA) claims process when our school flooded.

Catherine Morley is the Headteacher at Theale Church of England Primary School in Reading, West Berkshire. In this blog post, Catherine shares her experience of the RPA support her school received when an incident with the sprinkler suppression system resulted in severe water damage to her school.

Update for schools and trusts on Procurement Act 2023 - are you ready?

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Photo of Hannah Mears

Hannah Mears is a Commercial Lead for Get help buying for schools, the DfE’s free supported buying service for schools and trusts. In this blog post, Hannah updates on the latest advice around the Procurement Act 2023, and how schools can get ready for the new regulations that come in February 2025.

Getting your school or trust ready for new recycling regulations

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Photo of Amanda Quinn

In this blog post, Amanda Quinn, Education Procurement Category Manager at YPO, highlights new, simpler recycling regulations coming into force in 2025 and the action that schools and trusts will need to take to be compliant.

My experience of using Get help buying for schools to buy multi-functional devices and more

Photo of Jacqui Whiting

Jacqui Whiting is a Procurement and Contracts Manager at Our Lady of the Magnificat Multi-Academy Company (MAC), a family of 17 schools across Warwickshire and Worcestershire.  Jacqui has used Get help buying for schools to buy multi-functional devices, grounds maintenance and catering.

New Transforming Public Procurement (TPP) e-learning for procurement practitioners in schools and multi-academy trusts

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Image showing text which reads 'Procurement Act 2023' and underneath this 'e-Learning modules now available'

Kevin Draisey, Head of Procurement Operations for Get help buying for schools, updates on the new Transforming Public Procurement (TPP) e-learning now available for procurement practitioners in schools and multi-academy trusts.

What is social value and how can schools and trusts benefit from it?

Stacey Speakman wearing an orange top, smiling at the camera

Find out why the Get help buying for schools service wants to work with schools and trusts to ensure they are getting not just value for money, but wider social value from their procurements, and why schools shouldn’t be afraid to ask suppliers what additional value they can bring to the table.

Get help buying for schools turns 2 and celebrates supporting over 2,000 schools and trusts

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A head and shoulders picture of Jane Davies, who is smiling. Jane is wearing a black and cream striped jumper.

As Get help buying for schools celebrates its second birthday, Jane Davies, Head of Schools Commercial Operations at the Department for Education, reflects on what has been achieved so far, and the future aims of the service.