Start with the scheme that applies to your school

For a maintained school, the starting documents are your LA's current scheme for financing schools, its relevant purchasing rules and your school's delegations. Ask for the versions that apply now. A broker's general statement that schools can buy independently cannot establish your specific signing authority or exit rights.

DfE's 2026 to 2027 scheme guidance requires effective resource management and value for money, taking account of LA purchasing requirements. It also says schemes should make clear schools' right to opt out of LA-arranged contracts. These principles support choice within a properly governed process.

Separate the right to choose from an existing commitment

An LA having procured a contract does not by itself bind a school into it. However, your school may already have joined an arrangement or entered a supply agreement. Check what was actually accepted, by whom, for which sites and for what period.

Our recommendation is to request a written contract-status summary from the current provider. Ask for the supply end date, notice deadline, exit conditions, unpaid balances and any separate service agreement. Resolve ambiguous renewal language before approaching an alternative. Put each deadline in the school's calendar with a named owner and a deputy. An available future choice is more useful when you have preserved the ability to take it.

Identify the purchaser and approval chain

Governing bodies of maintained schools usually enter contracts on behalf of their LA, although the position can differ for particular statutory functions. Confirm the correct contracting name and any countersignature requirement. The DfE scheme guidance contains detailed limits and exceptions; use your actual scheme to apply them.

Prepare a short authority record before prices are sought. It should distinguish approval to investigate, approval of the procurement method and permission to execute the contract. If the LA is itself buying centrally, ask its procurement team which duties it is discharging. Do not assume that a school-specific exemption necessarily applies to a separate council purchase.

Agree the competition and comparison

DfE's scheme guidance generally prevents local rules permitting fewer than three quotations or tenders for contracts above £10,000 in one year, subject to listed exceptions. Establish what your scheme requires for this exercise and what evidence would satisfy it. A TPI producing several offers may assist, but the school still needs to understand the underlying route and independence of the comparison.

We recommend a common written brief so respondents price the same meters, usage assumptions, dates and service requirements. Ask the current LA provider to explain its offer on the same basis where possible. Assess the administrative support you would gain or lose by moving. Do not count the same service twice or assume that a headline rate includes bill validation.

Give governors a decision they can examine

Our recommendation is to attach the comparisons and record the reasons for the decision in accessible language. Include any conditions that must be satisfied before signature. A recommendation to remain with the existing arrangement is a valid outcome when the evidence supports it.

Keep the final documents with the school's financial records and link them to its annual resource-management review. Confirm the first bill against the agreed terms and ask whether promised support has started. A well-run independent purchase should leave the school with a clearer management process as well as a new contract. Guidance checked on 2 November 2026.

• What is being bought, by which entity, and who can authorise the commitment?
• Which competition and approval rules were followed?
• How do full cost, contract conditions, service and risk compare?
• What changes when the school leaves or remains in the existing arrangement?
• Who will manage switching, invoice checks, complaints and the next renewal?