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£300 billion of public procurement accounts for around a third of all public expenditure every year and is the largest area of public spending. For this reason, there has been a lot of focus on the opportunity to simplify the regulations now that we are no longer in the EU. Changes to how we procure in the public sector are happening and it is vital that we get the rules and processes right.
In this webinar Lorraine takes you through the far-reaching changes in the pipeline (as well as a quick rundown on the recent changes to the Standard Selection Question (SQ) which have already happened) and provides guidance on what you need to do and where you can find more information.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar.
Do you feel that there is so much CPD available that you do not know where to start? Or that nothing is on offer at all?
Perhaps you know exactly what you need but do not know where to find it. Or you just want some help to pinpoint what you need and point you in the right direction.
In this month’s Webinar we are joined by the fantastic Laura Williams. With over 15 years leadership experience in the education sector, Laura is a school leadership coach and trainer working with SBLs, Headteachers and CEOs. A former COO, CFO and Business Manager she is a school business leadership expert and champion of SBLs everywhere.
30 minutes may not be long enough, but she will do her utmost to provide as much guidance as possible to help you work out the best approach for you so that you take control of your development and find the best CPD to suit you.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar.
If you are a school or Trust that is lucky enough to have £250,000 or more surplus cash at the end of each month, then you may be interested in how you can make this surplus money work for you.
In our second webinar of 2023, we are joined by Ian Buss of Education Banking Consultancy to talk us through what you can do to help maximise your deposit interest returns, specifically looking at:
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar.
Ben Hart is the Co-Founder and Director of Social Media Check (www.socialmediacheck.com) with over 15 years working as an accredited detective and senior investigating officer in roles that included major investigations utilising online searching and data interrogation. Given that online activity has become a key part of our behaviour, social media checks have become an integral part of the recruitment process.
The Department for Education’s guidance on Keeping Children Safe in Education 2022 states that:
“….as part of the shortlisting process schools and colleges should consider carrying out an online search as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates.’
Social media and its uses can open up a vast array of challenges and in organisations that are not used to dealing with this on a regular basis it can be a practical and legislative minefield. As an expert in this field, Ben is well aware of the pitfalls. In this webinar, we will unpick the implications of this guidance alongside practical advice on what you need to do to comply without falling foul of GDPR, issues related to protected characteristics or mistaken identity.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar.
If you are thinking about setting up new contracts or have any renewing for September then you need to start your procurement activity right now.
In the first webinar of 2023, Lorraine Ashover, Managing Director of Minerva, will be focusing on the basics of setting up and running a successful procurement project looking, specifically, at the timings you need to adopt to ensure that your project runs smoothly.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar
This month we are joined by Neil Limbrick. Neil has been in education for 22 years undertaking various strategic IT roles in schools and MATs with particular success in developing systems to improve functions and efficiency.
A new MIS is a significant purchase, not just because of the cost but because of the impact it can have on the entire school.
In this webinar Neil will look at the importance of having a strategy that gathers input from far and wide. He will also delve into the issues with comparing different MIS products and take into account the total cost encompassing, not just the MIS, but also the add on tools such as training and quality of the data.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar
We are joined by our expert panel made up of Zenergi’s Kirsty Christie, Head of Water and Bryan McAlpine, Head of Sustainability.
The Environment Agency confirmed drought status in eight of its 14 areas in August 2022. How water is being used in your local area can determine whether it’s in drought status. With water costs across the UK rising higher this year than at any time since the market deregulated, it’s becoming more important than ever to monitor and reduce consumption and costs.
Registration guarantees you a link to the recording in the event that you are unable to attend the live session.
A growing focus on energy efficiency has brought regulatory obligations to a larger number of schools than ever before. Although compliance can reduce budget pressures, it can be difficult to understand the different reporting timeframes and requirements.
We are joined by Zenergi’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Jamie Hall, and Head of Business Development for Education, Chris Jermy, who will help you navigate this complex topic. Join this session for an overview of all the regulations with which your school may need to comply, the steps needed to achieve a compliant and successful outcome, and the implications for failing to do so.
Many schools are recognising the opportunity to look beyond the requirements and using the compliance and recommendation reports to identify ways to reduce energy consumption and associated costs within a structured net zero roadmap. This webinar will help you understand how Zenergi can help, with offers that can meet your compliance obligations in the most cost effective way, while benefitting from our value added services, including additional recommendation reports and extra resources.
This session is essential viewing for any school business manager or estates professional who is exploring all options to further protect their budget against rising energy costs.
Registration guarantees you a link to the recording in the event that you are unable to attend the live session, along with copies of Zenergi’s energy compliance guides.
We are joined by John Edwards, of 3e Associates, NetZero, procurement and strategic advisor to the academies and education sector, Angela Tregear, Professor of Marketing at University of Edinburgh Business School and Adam Wilkinson, Founder of Impact Measurement Limited in a two part practical guide to the fundamental changes that we need to make in the delivery and management of school catering services to reduce carbon emissions.
Part 1 will look at:
Part 2 will provide a quick look at a very simple meal analyser tool that you can you use to:
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar
In November 2017 the announcement that ISDN / PSTN Telephony would be switched off in 2025 seemed like an ambitious target. Fast forward five years and the process is well underway, with a “stop sell” announced at hundreds of exchanges and scheduled for hundreds more in the near future. The deadline of 2025 is coming ever closer.
Join our webinar with Zenergi’s Chris Jermy, Head of Business Development, Education and industry expert Liam Bonthron, Head of DB Comms, DB Group who will help you understand how to prepare for the change. In our informative webinar, we will discuss the key points to be aware of and cover recommended next steps, as well as allowing time for any questions you may have.
The webinar will cover:
This session will equip you with everything you need to know about how to get prepared for this historic change to telecoms services while ensuring minimal impact to your school.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar
This week, we are joined by Vernon Cox, Business Development Director for Harrison Catering Services to focus on a subject that is hitting us all very hard currently.
Whether you contract out or run an in-house catering service, when it comes to current challenges with your catering provision, there are two recurring topics of conversation; Food Inflation and Recruitment.
Vernon will explore the reasons for these challenges, the specific impact on food service in schools and some of the things we can be doing to minimise the impact on your budgets.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar
This week Chris Jermy, Head of Business Development, Education from Zenergi and Bryan McAlpine , Head of Sustainability from DB Group join Lorraine.
Schools can no longer ignore their responsibility to act on what could be the biggest threat humanity has ever faced and the single biggest challenge facing our generation. Minimising the global increases in temperature and tackling climate change is a truly global challenge, but everyone has a role to play and can make a difference, no matter how small or large.
If it hasn’t already, your journey to net zero can start today and Zenergi can support your organisation, every step of the way. We pride ourselves on delivering reliable and practical advice, underpinned by credible solutions with clearly identifiable benefits. Put simply, not only does this mean we can help you get started by creating a baseline and setting a net zero target, but we can also work with you to define and achieve the roadmap that meets your objectives.
Join this session to find out more about how we can help your journey to net zero with our Zen Zero solution.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
A small number of changes happened to the UK’s procurement processes post-Brexit, but there are are many more to come! Join Minerva’s Director, Lorraine Ashover, for an in-depth look at the current state of public sector procurement, the recent Green Paper, and what you need to consider for your school’s procurement.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
Join our webinar to understand how a school building condition survey will help you manage the long-term financial planning of your school estate. In this session we’ll discuss how a survey can enable planned maintenance and management backed up by comprehensive data to identify the lifecycle costings of your assets and buildings.
The process helps schools manage budgets and prioritise works, making informed investment decisions based on condition and estimated repair costs. As another tool in your net zero toolbox this is an essential session to understand how to further accelerate your net zero roadmap with a clear prioritisation of works.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
Good premises management is an essential prerequisite for the running of a highly performing MAT, academy or school. For this webinar we’re joined by Jeremy Jones, Head of Facilities Management (Education) and Andrea Evans, Head of Property Services at Strictly Education. Jeremy and Andrea will be talking us through the essentials of building maintenance in the education sector, focussing on statutory compliance:
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
Join Zenergi’s industry gurus for a look back at what has happened in the energy market in recent months. We’ll summarise what has caused the spike in energy prices that has led to a number of suppliers exiting the market. More importantly, we’ll outline what this means for your organisation, and discuss options for mitigating increasing prices.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
Join Zenergi’s industry gurus for a look back at what has happened in the energy market in recent months. We’ll summarise what has caused the spike in energy prices that has led to a number of suppliers exiting the market. More importantly, we’ll outline what this means for your organisation, and discuss options for mitigating increasing prices.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
Join our guest presenter, Darren Rose from D.H.R. Consultancy, for our January webinar on Data Protection and learn how to protect your school budget whilst being a graceful swan! Darren is a Freelance Data Protection Officer, Data Privacy Trainer and Consultant and his webinar will cover:
The presentation will include access to free resources, including a toolkit of over 200 letter templates, forms and further reading articles, and a staff video called “Avoiding common mistakes while processing personal data”.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
Do you know how much water your site should be consuming? We all have a responsibility to use less water to protect the environment and future supplies. If your school’s water usage is above the benchmark figure then not only are you wasting water, but you could be missing out on significant budget savings too. A water survey will typically find savings of at least 20% of the current annual spend on water. Join this session for an update on the water market and 2022 prices, and an overview of the value that can be delivered by water surveys, including case studies of schools have saved £1000s.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
Join our guest presenter, Lucy Hutton from FusionHR, for our November webinar on Managing Staff Attendance Effectively. Lucy will highlight how you can save time and money – always key issues for school business managers and bursars! The webinar will focus on:
Lucy is Head of Business Development and HR Consultant, FusionHR and Staff Absence Management, and has been working in HR for Education for over 13 years.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
Chris Jermy, Head of Business Development
Future proof your school and help your Net Zero journey by looking at the opportunity for installing Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers on your site. With the planned ban on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, EVs have a vital role to play in eliminating fossil fuels and improving air quality in the UK. Air pollution poses a major threat to public health and our climate, contributing to around 40,000 deaths in the UK every year. EV charging can help your school lead the way in the community, demonstrating to your pupils, local organisations, and households that there is a cleaner future, while also allowing you to potentially leverage a new revenue stream. In this session, we’ll illustrate how schools are successfully benefitting from this fast evolving technology.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
In order to meet the UK’s Net Zero Carbon target, schools need to improve energy efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions in their buildings. But where do you start? Identify, understand, quantify, and prioritise the energy saving opportunities across your building portfolio with an energy audit. An audit can play a key role in identifying the path to reducing carbon emissions though a strategic plan of works, while delivering immediate cost savings by identifying a range of practical low cost and no cost measures that typically pay for the audit within a year. Join this session for an overview of energy audits and the benefits that can be delivered as you start your Net Zero planning.
If you can’t make the session don’t worry – registering guarantees you will get a link to the recording of the webinar.
Legal contracts can be an absolute minefield if you don’t know what you are looking at.
Join us as we hear from Katherine Douse, Senior Associate with Knights plc, where she will talk us through:
If you’re involved in signing off contracts in your school, then this is a must see session.
Katherine will also be happy to take questions at the end of the session.
If you can’t make the session don’t worry – registering guarantees you will get a link to the recording of the webinar.
Ahead of a new round of the Salix Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme opening for maintained and academy schools on 13 September, join us for a lunchtime session to understand the critical role of a Heat Decarbonisation Plan in your future-proofing strategy.
The publication of the UN IPCC report on 9 August, and the United Nations Secretary General’s comment that it signalled “a code red for humanity”, coupled with the upcoming United Nations COP 26 conference on climate change in Glasgow in November, has sharpened the focus on the Net Zero debate. It is essential that schools take proactive action to mitigate climate change which is why these funding schemes have been launched, supporting the move to a decarbonised heat source and enabling schools to benefit from a range of energy efficiency measures.
Since these schemes have been highly oversubscribed and funding is quickly allocated, we’ll outline the urgent next steps required to enable schools the best chance of accessing a grant to develop a Heat Decarbonisation Plan.
This session is essential viewing for any school that can act quickly to submit an application when the portal opens, regardless of where you are on your net zero journey.
With all the upheaval of the Covid pandemic, you would be completely forgiven if you have missed the Brexit-related changes to school procurement. OJEU is out but the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 remain!
But what does this mean for you? Join Minerva’s own Lorraine Ashover for an in depth discussion of what’s changed (and what hasn’t) as a result of Brexit.
• A look at what’s different about PCR 2015
• Reviewing which elements of OJEU remain part of the new procurement system
• What does this mean for your procurement projects?
• The future of public sector procurement: Transforming Public Procurement Green Paper
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
Following a period of low energy prices during which we reached a 10-year low resulting from significantly reduced industrial consumption during the pandemic, you may have noticed prices rising once more. The long-term forecast looks like prices could continue upwards, so if your contract is due for renewal, how should you proceed in order to protect your budget? Zenergi’s MarketWatch team of energy experts track and monitor the trends and factors that can impact on the market in order to provide guidance to our consultants helping clients secure the best energy prices. Join this session where Andrew Chester from our MarketWatch team will join Head of Business Development, Chris Jermy, for a review of the energy market and provide insights to help you plan for your renewals.
In this session, we’ll help you understand how to identify your school’s energy consuming areas in order to develop a plan for decarbonising your school building and engaging your stakeholders in the journey to net zero. With the closure of traditional interest-free funding vehicles under Salix, we’ll provide an update on options to achieve your school’s objectives, including how to prepare for potential future rounds of the Salix Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme. We’ll summarise some success stories of schools that have gained funding for works that have improved the school building, while offering long-term energy and carbon savings. This session is essential for any school business manager wanting to understand how to future-proof their school with a strategic plan of decarbonisation works.
We’re joined by Phil Webster, Executive Director at Gallagher, for an update on Insurance cover for schools and how to achieve best value from procurement exercises on Insurance and Risk Management services and provision.
Phil specialises in the Education sector and has over 15 years education and experience and over 26 years commercial insurance broking and risk management knowledge, 11 years with Gallagher, a leading insurance and risk consultancy firm.
If you can’t make the live session, don’t worry – registering will ensure you get a recording of the webinar!
With big changes coming to telephone networks and lines in 2025, Sebastian Birch, Director of Focus Group joins us for our April webinar to discuss the future of telephony:
The withdrawal of the traditional BT network (analogue and ISDN): what is happening and why
How these changes will affect your school
What the options are moving forward
The Electric Vehicle (EV) market has exploded in recent years. With the UK Government’s commitment to net zero and the ban on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030, investing in EV charging points now can offer your school a variety of benefits.
Join us to hear from Zenergi’s Head of Business Development, Chris Jermy, for an informative session discussing how Zenergi can help you make the future brighter with EVs. Whatever your business drivers – from charging your own minibuses; demonstrating your Corporate Social Responsibility; or attracting and retaining talented staff – EV charge points can help you achieve your goals, while offering a potential revenue stream. If you’re unsure how to leverage the opportunity, don’t miss this session for a walk through of the technology and an overview of the costs and steps to implementation.
Join our panel discussion where our hosts will discuss the challenges the pandemic has presented to School Business Leaders. We’ll be tackling topics such as how to ensure adequate ventilation while maintaining heating; balancing the unpredictable supply staff costs with the loss of revenue streams; and managing the exponential increase in workload and the anxiety that comes with it. We’ll debate these hot topics and share experiences of how the challenges can be overcome. Bring your coffee and your questions to this lively session, and let us help you feel supported to face the challenges head on.
This session will detail the Government’s new fund of £1 billion for public sector energy efficiency initiatives. We’ll outline the types of projects that are covered under the new fast-track scheme, and provide guidance on how we can help you to formulate and deliver an application. This session is essential for any school who can act quickly to deploy the grant to projects focused around heat decarbonisation, renewables and energy efficiency. Since the window for accessing the funding is very limited, we’ll outline the key dates and the urgent next steps required to enable schools the best chance of accessing it. We will also provide a summary of broader energy efficiency measures and building improvements that can be implemented alongside heat decarbonisation projects.
The vast majority of academy schools will be required to comply with Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) legislation. It will have important financial implications for driving future energy efficiency and carbon reduction.
Join us on 13 July at 11:00 for an informative webinar where we will aim to provide an understanding of the fast-approaching actions required for SECR. We will review the background to the legislation and the mandatory requirement for Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) to report on carbon emissions within their Company (Directors Report) from year-end August 2020.
The webinar will be delivered by Ed Horgan, Managing Director of Zenergi’s technical division, Briar Associates, who is a leading expert in carbon legislation compliance and who will be prepared to answer any questions in the Q&A session at the end of the webinar.
If you are a MAT and are unsure of your need to comply, don’t miss this important session which will overview the requirements for SECR and provide insight into its future in supporting the route map to the Government’s Carbon Net Zero strategy.
Join the Zenergi Projects Division for an inspiring session identifying opportunities to support your energy, infrastructure and sustainability objectives. The session will focus on how you can build a roadmap for your school’s ‘green’ journey from concept to delivery, ensuring you maximise all potential savings. The Zenergi expert team has significant experience in delivering behind-the-meter consumption reduction and generation technologies in the education sector and will be delighted to take you through how to start your own school’s journey, including routes to fund identified projects.
Did you know that fraud losses in the education sector have increased by 280% in just one year?
Fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are using the Coronavirus pandemic to invent ever more ways to catch us all out. At a time when budgets are yet again in focus, as we consider the financial recovery from COVID-19, it’s no time to be losing out to criminal activity.
We’re delighted to be joined by Ian Buss of Education Banking Consultancy to talk us through what to be aware of in this area as well as providing some top tips on how to avoid being caught out.
With schools now outsourcing a wider range of services to varying service providers or contractors, it can be difficult to keep track of them. In this webinar, we’ll focus on two very emotive contracts: catering and cleaning operations.
Are you:
Then join Minerva’s very own Lucy Gittins, Procurement Account Manager, to find about the key factors to each of these operations which will help you to measure the performance of the service and ensure you’re getting the best from the outsourced provision
A bite-sized webinar with our friends from Zenergi
The current pandemic has given lots of us time to think about what we might do differently when life returns to normal. Many would agree that the changes we’ve had to make to habits and day-to-day life are a positive step forward. There are government incentives and funding to support investments in infrastructure and technology to support a greener future for your school, join us for a quick and informative overview.
A bite-sized webinar with our friends from Zenergi
Join Zenergi’s Water Procurement Manager Darren Myers for a quick and informative update on the development of the water market since competition was introduced in 2017 and the changes to pricing from 1 April 2020. Darren will share information about the retail prices, and update you on how you can benefit in this open-market where you have free choice over your water supplier.
If you haven’t already heard, the longstanding ways of catering contractors investing in your catering equipment as part of their financial support for new and renewing contracts has changed. Investing in the equipment and then depreciating it over the term of the catering contract has recently been confirmed as a form of embedded finance lease. The ESFA has advised they will not give permission for embedded finance leases for this purpose. So, we all need to think a little differently.
We’re joined by David Cowe of Alternative Commercial Finance to talk us through what to be aware of in this area as well as providing some ideas for solutions.
A bite-sized webinar with our friends from Zenergi
Join this session to understand how to hibernate your school if it is closed, or minimise your energy usage if you are still open but operating in a reduced capacity. Their experts will share top tips and answer any questions you have about your energy.
Ben Hart is the Co-Founder and Director of Social Media Check (www.socialmediacheck.com) with over 15 years working as an accredited detective and senior investigating officer in roles that included major investigations utilising online searching and data interrogation. Given that online activity has become a key part of our behaviour, social
If you are a school or Trust that is lucky enough to have £250,000 or more surplus cash at the end of each month, then you may be interested in how you can make this surplus money work for you. In our second webinar of 2023, we are joined by
Do you feel that there is so much CPD available that you do not know where to start? Or that nothing is on offer at all? Perhaps you know exactly what you need but do not know where to find it. Or you just want some help to pinpoint what
