Schools and Academies have a sharp focus on learning and teaching outcomes whilst facing a number of challenges, including new demands on academic staff, including changing expectations of academic roles; a changing and often more diverse student body and the ubiquitous drive to improve results.
The move from County-controlled budgets to independent sourcing and financial freedom is welcomed by many, but the processes of procurement can be extremely time-consuming. Value-for-money whilst maintaining or improving standards is key to all of the Finance Managers that we speak with. Our free ‘health-check’ on current spending is warmly welcomed as a means of bench-marking what possible savings can be made.
“With the increasing pressures that a modern school or academy manager has to deal with, Utilise has a team of experts who have come in to look at many of our services, including: telecoms and IT, energy procurement, postage and insurance. These guys make my life much easier and ensure that we are getting the most up-to-date- systems as well as value for money.”
Case Studies
Energy
Managing a duel-site school in Hertfordshire with over 1,500 students was a challenging enough task without having to spend time trawling through energy contracts. The school had a substantial energy spend, so the Finance Manager welcomed our free service that will take care of the administration for you.
To support this busy Finance Manager, firstly we got full contract information on his entire energy portfolio. We diarised all relevant dates and managed the contract dates. At the appropriate times we tendered all his energy contracts with the dependable suppliers in the market. With comprehensive and transparent market reports they could see exactly what new prices were available. We demonstrated, against their renewal and current prices, the exact savings for each meter. We made independent recommendations (we work for the client, not the suppliers), but the choice was always theirs to make.
The school now have an Individual Account Manager who they can contact about any issues with their supply or contract. The friendly personalised service has resulted in this company being confident that they can concentrate on running their operation, while they know that Utilise are managing their costs.
Utilise only deal in fixed-prices. This school saved 14% p.a. with prices fixed for a two year term to protect them from future price increases and assist their forward planning and budgeting.
Telecoms and ICT
The ICT needs within a modern school or academy are often complex. A high quality business grade broadband ensures that you have a wide variety of solutions to satisfy the demands of successful delivery of learning. Our experienced technical sales team go through all the options available in plain English and guide the school or academy team in selecting the best solution. Our consultants have been involved in a number of demanding and complex scenarios and will manage the project from the initial contact to maintaining the system throughout its lifecycle.
Recently, the telecoms team analysed the telecoms usage including landlines and mobiles ascertained that the high cost of landline calls could be reduced through adopting a hosted system. A Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system is currently being considered. If it is taken-up, it will deliver a cost savings of 34% on landlines.
Office Supplies and Services
The size and style of each operation will determine your office supply needs, but often there are significant savings to be made.
We recently carried out a comprehensive three month analysis of all stationery items purchased by an Academy. We conducted a detailed like-for-like analysis, which was presented in a report for the Academy. At the same time we introduced an on-line ordering and authorisation system, which has added significant efficiencies for both the purchasing officers and the finance department. A superior delivery service has provided a reliable and dependable system for this Academy.
At present they are saving on average 19% on their previous costs, with significant time saved by the Finance team due to the new ordering system.
Insurance
Property Cover
The drive towards greater independence and choice for a growing number of schools, together with the rapid increase in financial investment, points to the need for professional advice on how to best manage risk and put appropriate and cost effective insurance protection in place. Our Insurance Partner’s Education team, recognise that not every school or academy is exposed to the same level of risk. The buildings, vehicles, equipment and facilities of one school can be dramatically different to another.
In the same way that every pupil has their own unique skill-sets and personality traits, every school or academy has its own nuances which need careful consideration. The Education team pride themselves on the importance placed upon understanding these often unique requirements; encouraging a partnership approach with the school, the broker and the ultimate insurer of choice.
This approach is then harnessed to produce a tailored policy, unique to your school or academy. The Education team are passionate about providing quality insurance and risk management solutions for schools, so that you can focus on your pupils and your school’s future.
Staff absence insurance
If, like most schools or academies, you are working to a tight budget, you might not find it easy to balance the cost of temporary staff in the event that some of your teachers are absent. Staff absence and sickness cover will save you what can be unbearable costs from staff absence. This could help lower your school’s reliance on Resources Held at Centre. Key features of staff absence insurance: business interruption; employers and public liability; engineering insurance. Our insurance partners are an approved partner of the National Association of School Business Management, offering NASBM members staff absence insurance services.
Other key areas of school or academy insurance: Governor’s and Trustee’s Indemnity; Hirer’s Indemnity; Minibus and other motor; Personal Accident; Property Damage; School trips and travel.
Average cost savings of 11% although many schools and academies opt for improved cover at the existing costs in the budget.
Postage
If your school or academy still uses traditional post for some communications to parents or the local community then we can help. We recently reduced the costs for an academy which sends out bulk mailings of its theatre programme guide to over 2,500 homes. If you have a bulk mail-shot of over 1000 items, we can take care of the printing, address labels, folding into envelopes and postage, as part of our integrated service.
You can achieve postage savings on all mail categories including: letters; large letters; packets; parcels. This applies to Next Day, 2-3 day, and seven day UK postal services. Our postage experts have recently brought in savings of over 12.5%.
We can review your operation with our “no cost, no commitment” audit, enabling you to can check if you are buying wisely or not.