Education Procurement in United Kingdom
Numbers
More information| Number of schools K-12 | Number of teachers K-12 | Number of students K-12 | Number of students per computer K-12 |
| 29.019 (in 2017)[1] | 290.000 (in 2017)[1] | 8.154.000 (in 2017)[1] | 1,4 (in 2012)[2] |
Sources:
[1] Department for Education; Welsh Government; Scottish Government; Northern Ireland Department of Education
[2] https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264239555-en.pdf?expires=1584967492&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=8D975C42B68988C8983186503855CBB6
Legislation of Education
More informationOrganisations
More information| Organization responsible for education | Role of the organization | Website |
|
Responsible for the educational policies | www.gov.uk/government/ organisations/department -for-education |
| England and Northern Ireland: a separate department of government | Responsible for policies relating the vocational education and adult learning | |
|
Responsible for qualifications |
|
|
Responsible for the student assessment policies and national data collections from schools |
www.gov.uk/government/ |
|
Responsible for the reviews of schools | www.gov.uk/government/ organisations/ofsted www.etini.gov.uk/news/eti-remote-learning-advice
|
|
|
|
| There are several other stakeholders such as funding councils, national institutions, industry groups, different teacher unions, government associations and parent groups | ||
Sources: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-national-funding-formula/guide-to-national-funding-formula OECD: Education Policy Outlook – United Kingdom, 2015 European Commission / EACEA National Policies Platform / Eurydice
|
||
Funding of education
More information| Type of schools | Source of funds |
The funding mechanisms of schools are different in each of the four countries. Basically, there are three categories of educational institutions in all the four countries:
|
|
| Publicly funded schools | Get financial resources from the government and local authorities as well, while they have a very low level of self-income. |
| Academies and free schools | Funded directly by national governments (but they are independent of local authorities) |
| Independent private schools | Do not get any subsidies neither from the national governments nor from local authorities, thus they are funded from private financial resources. |
| Source: www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-national-funding-formula/guide-to-national-funding-formula OECD: Education Policy Outlook – United Kingdom, 2015 European Commission / EACEA National Policies Platform / Eurydice
|
|
Public expenditure on education ISCED (2011) (million EUR)
More information| Year | Primary education | Lower secondary education | Upper secondary education | Total |
| 2012 | 34785,0 | 18574,1 | 28397,1 | 81656,2 |
| 2013 | 33974,0 | 20918,8 | 27413,3 | 82306,1 |
| 2014 | 41281,1 | 21437,4 | 31226,1 | 93944,6 |
| 2015 | 48112,5 | 21701,7 | 32334,5 | 102148,7 |
| 2016 | ||||
| Source: Eurostat (online data codes: educ_uoe_fine01) | ||||
Expenditure on educational institutions ISCED (2011) (Million EUR)
More information| Year | Expenditure | Primary education | Lower secondary education | Upper secondary education | Total |
| 2012 | Current expenditure | 38 221,9 | 20 315,1 | 30 152,3 | 88 689,3 |
| Capital expenditure | 1 096,1 | 506,8 | 730,5 | 2 333,4 | |
| Total | 39 318,0 | 20 822,0 | 30 882,8 | 91 022,8 | |
| Share of capital expenditure (%) | 2,8 | 2,4 | 2,4 | 2,6 | |
| 2013 | Current expenditure | 37 628,2 | 24 216,3 | 33 461,4 | 95 305,9 |
| Capital expenditure | 1 077,9 | 622,7 | 835,0 | 2 535,6 | |
| Total | 38 706,1 | 24 216,3 | 34 296,4 | 97 841,5 | |
| Share of capital expenditure (%) | 2,8 | 2,5 | 2,4 | 2,6 | |
| 2014 | Current expenditure | 44 356,6 | 24 186,9 | 36 968,7 | 105 512,2 |
| Capital expenditure | 1 236,2 | 586,7 | 852,4 | 2 675,3 | |
| Total | 45 592,7 | 24 773,6 | 37 821,0 | 108 187,3 | |
| Share of capital expenditure (%) | 2,7 | 2,4 | 2,3 | 2,5 | |
| 2015
|
Current expenditure | 50 920,2 | 24 634,1 | 36 321,2 | 111 875,5 |
| Capital expenditure | 1 360,7 | 552,0 | 815,0 | 2 727,7 | |
| Total | 52 280,9 | 25 186,1 | 37 136,2 | 114 603,2 | |
| Share of capital expenditure (%) | 2,6 | 2,2 | 2,2 | 2,4 | |
| 2016 | Current expenditure | 44 185,1 | 22 321,4 | 33 252,3 | 99 758,8 |
| Capital expenditure | 1 393,2 | 926,9 | 1 150,8 | 3 470,9 | |
| Total | 45 578,3 | 23 248,4 | 34 403,1 | 103 229,7 | |
| Share of capital expenditure (%) | 3,1 | 4,0 | 3,3 | 3,4 | |
| Source: Eurostat (online data code: educ_uoe_fini01) |
|||||
Procurement Procedure
More informationSchools buy ICT-equipment for themselves. Schools have two options when they enter procurement: find and use a framework, or run their own procurement.
Buying from a framework can be quicker and easier for schools than getting their bids or quotes because the agreements:
- have already been through a full competitive tender process
- have been quality checked
- are checked to make sure they comply with the law
- may have draft specifications and help available
Schools can run their own procurement for:
- lower-value tenders (getting at least 3 quotes from suppliers)
- high-value and EU tenders
Knowing how other school business professionals work and sharing contacts, can help schools get the best deals, and save money and time.
For example, networking with other buyers for schools can help find suppliers, benchmark costs and budgets and get support with making purchases.
Source:
www.gov.uk/guidance/buying-for-schools/ict-and-computer-hardware
https://find-dfe-approved-framework.service.gov.uk/list#category-ict
European Commission / EACEA National Policies Platform / Eurydice
- United Kingdom – England Overview:
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/united-kingdom-england_en - United Kingdom – Northern Ireland Overview:
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/united-kingdom-northern-ireland_en - United Kingdom – Scotland Overview:
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/united-kingdom-scotland_en
United Kingdom – Wales Overview:
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/united-kingdom-wales_en
Public procurement – Study on administrative capacity in the EU United Kingdom Country Profile:
https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/policy/how/improving-investment/public-procurement/study/country_profile/uk.pdf
Other Important Information
More informationThe education system in England, Northern Ireland and Wales are similar, but in Scotland, there are some differences regarding the structure and the qualifications.
Most policies are determined within the four countries, and no policy decisions are taken on the level of the United Kingdom. Basically, the sovereignty of all the four countries are ensured. There are several intergovernmental arrangements and cooperation between national governments, however, they are limited.
In England and Scotland, most decisions regarding education are taken at local level and at the school level. In England, some authority (e.g. for school place planning) has been maintained at the local governments, but the majority of the decisions are taken at the school level. However, in Scotland, it is a recent movement and process that the decision-making rights of the schools have been increased through the delivery of curriculum and general policy as well as resource decisions being shared with local authorities