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In this blog we look at the crucial aspects of procurement, to help you with your planning. To be most effective, you should consider: key contract renewal dates, below and above threshold timetables, strategies for managing procurement delays, and best practices for ensuring compliance with regulations. This blog summarises a recent webinar – if you’d […]
Effective Procurement Planning Read More »
Disclaimer: Anything posted in this blog is for general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice on any general or specific matter. Matthew Wolton is a partner at VWV in the Commercial Law team. He has worked in the education sector for over 21 years, and with academy trusts since 2007, and has significant
Guest Blog: How to Exit a Contract You’re Unhappy With: A Guide for Schools and Trusts Read More »
The introduction of the Procurement Act 2023 has brought with it a new wave of changes for public sector procurement. For schools and academy trusts, this means adapting to a legislative landscape that aims to enhance transparency, promote fair competition, and simplify processes. This article provides a practical overview of some key changes under the
We are delighted to have a guest blog by the brilliant Jo Marchant MBE. Jo is an expert in her field. With 15 years’ experience of estate management, specifically in the education sector, her experience in this sector is unparalleled. She is the bestselling author of The Schools Premises Handbook (the bible for school premises
It is no secret that schools across the UK are under unprecedented financial strain. with the cost of heating and powering buildings and equipment eating into schools’ already over-stretched budgets, diverting funding that could be better spent on pupils. Energy Sparks highlights four changes schools can make to save thousands of pounds each year. Most
Four Tips For Cutting Energy Costs – At Little Or No Extra Cost To You Read More »
Food waste management is undergoing significant changes, with new legislation having taken effect on 31 March 2025. Businesses and workplaces, particularly educational institutions, will need to adjust their waste segregation practices to comply with the new regulations. To help you understand what this means, we worked with Amanda Hepburn, Account Director at GPT Waste on
Guest Blog: Understanding New Food Waste Legislation and Its Impact Read More »
Navigating the complexities of The Procurement Act 2023 (TPA2023) can be daunting for schools and other public sector organisations. Understanding the various stages of the tender process under these regulations is crucial to ensure compliance and achieve the best outcomes for your school or Trust. Under the new legislation, the most common procedure likely to
If you understand how to value a contract under the old Public Contracts Regulations 2015 then (good news!) you understand how to value it under The Procurement Act 2023 as nothing has changed in that regard! However, if you don’t know or aren’t sure then read on! Check the contract value TPA2023 sets specific thresholds
Does My Tender Need To Be Compliant With The Procurement Act 2023? Read More »
The landscape of public procurement in the UK has undergone significant changes with the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February 2025. This new legislation aims to streamline procurement processes, give greater flexibility to how processes can be conducted, all whilst ensuring compliance with legal requirements. For schools, academies,
If your tender is above threshold for The Procurement Act 2023 (or The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 if your tender has already started), then there are certain processes that you must follow once you’ve selected your winning bidder: Notification of Intent to Award Once you have confirmed your winning bidder the Notice of Intent to
What Happens At The End Of An Above Threshold Tender Once We’ve Made A Decision? Read More »
A presentation day is an important part of your tender, whether you are running a Public Contracts Regulation 2015 (soon to be The Procurement Act 2023) compliant process or a below-threshold Request For Proposal process. The presentation day is where your shortlisted suppliers get the opportunity to expand on their proposals and answer any questions
What To Expect From A Presentation Day Read More »
Disclaimer: Anything posted in this blog is for general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice on any general or specific matter. Matthew is a partner at VWV in the Commercial Law team. He has worked in the education sector for over 21 years, and with academy trusts since 2007, and has significant experience
Guest Blog: Contracts: Key Terms and Things To Look Out For Read More »
Disclaimer: Anything posted in this blog is for general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice on any general or specific matter. Matthew is a partner at VWV in the Commercial Law team. He has worked in the education sector for over 21 years, and with academy trusts since 2007, and has significant experience
Guest Blog: What To Look For When Entering Into A Contract Read More »
We’re absolutely thrilled to be celebrating the second anniversary of our partnership with B1G1, and we wanted to take a moment to reflect on how much this initiative has meant to us. Two years ago, we made a decision: instead of giving small gifts to clients for new projects (which, let’s face it, can be
Celebrate Another Year Of Giving With Us Read More »
Once you have a clear idea of what you should be expecting from your contractor, then you can get down to the detail of the service. The two key areas to consider as part of your monitoring: review meetings and financial performance. Review meetings (formal and informal) As with cleaning services, these are the meetings
Getting The Best Out Of Your Services: Catering Contract Monitoring Read More »
Review meetings are a critically important part of keeping your contract on track. As previously discussed for catering and cleaning services , hopefully you’ve been keeping in contact with your area manager or operations manager through informal meetings. Frequency Formal meetings should be planned in advance. The frequency may be broadly dictated by whatever was
Contract Monitoring – Getting The Best Out Of Your Services: Formal Review Meetings Read More »
You’ve run your tender process, awarded the contract, the new provider has started in your school or Trust, but how can you be sure that what you wanted (and what they promised!) is what you’re getting? Two of the most complex services in a school or Trust are catering and cleaning. In this blog we
Once you have a clear idea of what you should be expecting from your contractor, then you can get down to the detail of the service. There are three main elements to your cleaning monitoring, and keeping on top of these will help ensure that the service runs smoothly. Review meetings (formal and informal) As
Getting The Best Out Of Your Services – Cleaning Contract Monitoring Read More »
Neil Limbrick is an independent consultant who has worked in an IT Strategy Role with MATs and Schools for over 20 years. He is currently working with over 100 different networks through theEducationCollective made of up of 10,000 individuals in over 5,000 schools. Neil also joined us for an excellent webinar on this subject. In
Guest Blog: Preventing And Responding To A Cyber Attack Read More »
Navigating the complexities of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR2015) can be daunting for schools and other public sector organisations. Understanding the various stages of the tender process under these regulations is crucial to ensure compliance and achieve the best outcomes for your school or Trust. The most common procedure used by schools is the
Navigating the Stages of a Restricted Procedure PCR2015 Tender Process Read More »
With a decade of working with schools and academies on construction and estate management, both as a client and as a consultant, Jonathan Jones of MAC Construction Consultants is well placed to understand the complexities of procuring professional support services. In this blog he brings his expertise to bear to highlight what you need to do to
We are very proud to be ISO:9001 accredited (read more about why it matters here) and recently completed our annual surveillance audit, which were very pleased to pass without any issues. Particularly pleased, as we recently moved to a new auditing company. Why did we change companies? Not because we were dissatisfied with our previous
ISO:9001 certification – a benchmarking case study Read More »
KPIs are measurable values that demonstrate how well a service is performing. They may be high level, focussing on overall performance, or low-level, focussing on detailed requirements. As part of your school or Trust’s contracts with your service suppliers you should ensure that you have terms or clauses in your legal agreement referring to Key
First question – are you an independent school? If you are, then the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR2015) doesn’t apply to you. You can stop reading, go and get a cup of tea or coffee, move on to your next task and thank your lucky stars you don’t have to follow these complex Regulations! If
Does my tender need to be PCR2015 compliant? Read More »
Since the pandemic, energy rates have been volatile. We teamed up with Zenergi, to review what is happening in the energy market. Now that it is starting to calm down, we want to give you all the information you need to make the best buying decisions.
Energy Masterclass: How To Leverage A Favourable Energy Market Read More »
In the last of our blogs on writing tender specifications, we are focusing on the dark art of ICT Managed Service and they key things you need to include.
Advice on Writing ICT Managed Service Tender Specifications Read More »
In the third of our series of blogs on writing tender specifications, we focus on detailed issues around cleaning and the key areas you need to include – which might not always be as clear as you think…..
Advice on Writing Cleaning Tender Specifications Read More »
Minerva achieved Cyber Essentials accreditation in January this year, after months of hard work, and what felt like a million new tracking documents, policies and training sessions. But what does Cyber Essentials actually mean for us and our customers?
Cyber Essentials: The Advantages for Minerva and our Customers Read More »
Catering is one of the contracts that Minerva deals with most frequently. So, we know what you need to include in your specification so that you get the best outcome. Read on to get the benefit of our wisdom….
Advice On Writing Catering Tender Specifications Read More »
On the face of it, recruitment and retention may not seem to have a direct link to procurement. However, with rising resignation rates, we can expect to pay more for recruitment which further squeezes our budgets. We need to understand what the levers are that encourage retention.
Guest Blog: Staff Retention by Role: Unpicking The Reasons Why Your Staff Leave Read More »
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