Public Sector Procurement for Schools – What’s Changing in 2025

The new Procurement Act 2023, initially scheduled to take effect from October 2024, finally came into force on 24 February 2025. This Act aims to upgrade the procurement regulations and practices by introducing more flexibility and strategic changes.

With budget restrictions and increased financial scrutiny from regulators and stakeholders, your procurement decisions need to fall in line with your school's or academy's procurement policy to gain maximum benefit. Whether your school or MAT is preparing for or is prepared for these changes, be aware and ready for the new challenges and opportunities they bring.

So, what are the new procurement regulations, and what does it mean for the procurement process in public schools?

In this blog, we explain all about the procurement rule changes and their impact on schools and MATs in the UK.

Key Procurement Rule Changes for 2025

The new reforms to the Procurement Act are a part of the Procurement Bill, which focuses on making procurement services for schools more flexible, transparent, and efficient.

Here are the rule changes in brief: 

More Transparency

Transparency is the central change to the new procurement requirements. To ensure clear and transparent procurement services, schools and MATs are expected to publish detailed information on procurement schedules, justify supplier selection and contract awards, and conduct performance audits.

Use of Central Procurement Platforms

To simplify compliance, the Department for Education (DfE) is encouraging the use of pre-approved school procurement portals. Using various central procurement platforms allows for better and competitive pricing, reduced administrative loads, and built-in compliance checks.

Focus on Value For Money

The new framework emphasises a value-for-money approach, but it's not limited to securing the lowest bid. You must now demonstrate the procurement process in your public schools or MAT and how it delivers outcomes beyond cost savings. You'll also need to show how it fits with your long-term goals and is sustainable in the long run.

To learn more about what procurement regulations are, we recommend checking out this detailed breakdown guide from our in-house experts here.

Impacts on Schools and MATs 

New Expectations for Tender Processes

Procurement is more than a simple back-office process to follow to meet compliance requirements. Every stage of the procurement process in public schools must now be documented and justified clearly. The various procurement stages include:

• Collecting requirements from relevant stakeholders
• Evaluating bids using strict, pre-defined criteria
• Rating suppliers fairly and consistently
• Managing the contract 

Challenges for Smaller Schools

The new reforms may present challenges for smaller schools, or single-site secondary schools, due to:

• Limited capacity or experience in procurement
• Smaller internal teams juggling multiple roles and responsibilities
• Limited benefits from scaling up

With this in mind, smaller schools will benefit from central teams by offering guidance, templates, and direct assistance in procurement planning and execution. If you're looking for tailored procurement services for your school or MAT, contact us today.

Long-Term Financial and Educational Impact

Good procurement practices go beyond compliance and have a direct influence on financial stability and learning outcomes.

With effective procurement practices, you'll be able to:

• Tap into savings that can be used for teacher training
• Improve the quality and consistency of school services
• Plan budgets and better manage unforeseen financial risks

Poor procurement processes in public schools and MATs can push your school into expensive, underperforming agreements for years.

Training and Upskilling Teams

Given the complexity of the updated public sector procurement reforms, you may need to arrange for additional training and upskilling of staff in your school and academies. This could include procurement training for school leaders to ensure they're in line with the developments.

In your MAT, you'll need to hold workshops that list out and clearly communicate all the policy changes and best practices. Schools and academies with a forward-minded approach to procurement should have strategic aims and outcomes, not just as another administrative task. 

Procurement Process in Schools as a Strategic Opportunity

Now you know what the 2025 procurement regulations are and the challenges they present, it's wise to see them as more than a compliance check box but as a potential upgrade to your operational strategy.

Approaching the procurement process in schools with a strategic mindset will enable you to:

• Lower costs over time and streamline budgets
• Encourage a culture of accountability
• Improve school governance
• Strengthen relationships with reliable suppliers

How Keystone Knowledge Supports Procurement Services for Schools

Keystone Knowledge's education experts are here to guide you in all aspects of procurement in education, from assessing your current academy procurement policy to providing ongoing support. We can help you navigate the 2025 changes and provide tailored advice on their impact for your school or academy.

We can also support your school,academy, or multi-academy trust with HR, internal scrutiny, finance and interim support, long-term growth, and due diligence services.

If you're ready to take the next step in improving your school's or MAT's procurement process, get in touch with us today.