Playbook / Run the buying process
Above-threshold academy trust: the open procedure from brief to award
Use this operational map with a competent procurement lead. It shows the documents, notice sequence and approval gates for a standard Procurement Act open procedure, including the problem of short-lived energy prices.
Check that this is the correct procedure
This playbook concerns a new standard procurement of goods and services under the Procurement Act, rather than a framework call-off, dynamic-market competition or legacy PCR exercise. An open procedure is a single stage in which any interested supplier can submit a tender. Do not shortlist preferred suppliers and still describe the process as open.
Owner: trust procurement lead, with CFO and specialist support. Confirm the valuation for the whole trust, options and aggregation, and document why this procedure suits the requirement. Appointing one TPI does not appoint the licensed energy supplier. The academy approved-route requirement and equivalent-value exception must be addressed alongside the procurement. Checked 2 November 2026.
1. Approve the strategy and prepare the buyer account
Document: procurement strategy, authority matrix, conflicts assessment and timetable. Set the legal buyer as the trust, name the approver and decide who publishes notices on Find a Tender. A third party may perform tasks, but trust responsibility and access to the records must remain clear.
Gate: the procurement lead can explain the contract being put out to tender, the price mechanism, supplier participation and award basis. Budget time for preparation, supplier response, evaluation, feedback and standstill. If preliminary market engagement is undertaken, address its notice or tender-notice explanation requirements and prevent an unfair advantage for a participant.
2. Build an executable tender pack
Document: specification, site and meter schedule, demand assumptions, service requirements, draft contract, pricing schedule, submission instructions, conditions of participation and award methodology. Separate proportionate capacity checks from the criteria used to choose the most advantageous tender. Make pass/fail requirements, price calculations and quality scoring understandable before publishing.
Owner: procurement lead, with finance and estates sign-off. Include how supplier questions are answered, permissible clarifications, offer validity, tax changes and material demand scenarios. Ask a reviewer to price a sample response using the proposed instructions. Gate: bidders have enough information to prepare a tender and evaluators can apply the published method consistently.
3. Resolve energy execution before inviting tenders
A supplier quotation lasting a few hours cannot simply override an advertised competition or statutory standstill. Determine whether suppliers can offer suitable validity, or whether a clearly documented and legally reviewed pricing mechanism can separate evaluated commercial terms from later authorised commodity execution. The mechanism must be transparent in the tender documents and compatible with the chosen procedure.
Document: pricing and acceptance protocol. Identify the decision limits and the evidence preserved when execution occurs. Do not introduce material post-tender negotiation under an open procedure or silently replace the evaluated price. If the proposed market approach cannot work within the procedure, reconsider the procurement design or an appropriate framework before publication.
4. Publish UK4 and make the complete documents available
The tender notice invites the market. For a standard open procedure with electronic tenders and all associated documents available with the notice, the ordinary minimum tendering period is 25 calendar days. The period starts the day after invitation. This is a minimum, not a universal suitable timetable.
Owner: notice publisher and procurement lead. Record publication time, accessible document links, deadline and notice reference. Do not assume shorter periods applicable to pre-selected suppliers or dynamic markets apply to this open procedure. Any permitted reduction needs its own documented statutory basis. Provide enough response time for complexity and avoid creating artificial urgency through delayed planning.
5. Control questions, amendments and receipt
Use the stated clarification channel, log responses and provide material information consistently. Assess whether document changes require deadline extension or other corrective action under the applicable rules. Keep a record of every version and ensure no evaluator accesses submissions outside the authorised process.
Document: clarification log, amendment record and tender receipt register. Owner: procurement administrator with procurement-lead oversight. Gate: the final evaluation pack uses the version bidders actually received. If a material error or ambiguity appears, resolve it properly before evaluation rather than inventing a convenient interpretation after prices are known.
6. Check suppliers and evaluate the tenders
After receipt, check excluded/excludable supplier status, conditions of participation and relevant section 19 requirements, then assess eligible tenders against the published criteria. Use the required supplier information and checks, including applicable debarment considerations. Record reasons for disregarding tenders and obtain specialist advice where the position is contested.
Owner: evaluation panel and moderation chair. Keep individual evidence, moderated scores, the delivered-cost model and contractual qualifications. Produce the award recommendation for the authorised decision-maker. Gate: the most advantageous tender can be explained from the published method, without new criteria or undisclosed preferences. Prepare feedback from this evidence rather than reconstructing reasons later.
7. Send assessment summaries, then publish UK6
Before publishing the contract award notice, provide assessment summaries simultaneously to all suppliers that submitted assessed tenders. Successful and unsuccessful assessed tenders receive the required information; unsuccessful suppliers also receive the required information about the winning assessment, with lawful redactions. An assessment summary is sent to suppliers, not published as the UK6 notice.
Owner: procurement lead and notice publisher. Check the relevant regulation 31 content and retain evidence of dispatch. Inform suppliers whose tenders were disregarded appropriately, without assuming they receive exactly the same statutory summary. Publish UK6 only after the summaries, recording the intended contract, decision and standstill end date.
8. Observe standstill before creating a binding commitment
The standard minimum is eight working days beginning with the UK6 publication day, which is working day one if it is a working day. Exclude weekends and bank holidays anywhere in the UK. With no holidays, Monday publication permits entry no earlier than Thursday of the following week: working day nine. A longer published standstill must also be respected.
Document: checked date calculation and standstill issues log. Owner: procurement lead and authorised signatory. Do not accept verbally, digitally or through a broker during the prohibited period merely because the paper signature is planned later. Escalate concerns or legal proceedings immediately; applicable automatic suspension can prevent award. A short quote window is not a reason to ignore standstill.
9. Enter the contract, publish UK7 and mobilise
After the lawful award gate, preserve the binding agreement and publish the contract details notice within 30 calendar days beginning with entry into the standard public contract. Identify the real binding date; it is not necessarily the date of a later ceremonial signature. Link the notice to the procurement and correct any discrepancies.
Where estimated value exceeds £5 million, assess the statutory KPI requirements and publish the contract, with lawful redactions, within 90 days beginning with entry. Allocate subsequent performance, modification and termination-notice responsibilities. Complete the school’s mobilisation and first-bill checks. Gate: an accessible contract file, notices register and management owner are in place, not simply a purchase order.