School budgets are under constant pressure, which means every contract needs to deliver exactly what was originally agreed.
Yet over time, it’s not unusual for contracts and invoices to slowly drift apart. Prices increase, product specifications change, or services evolve, and the detail on the invoice no longer quite reflects the contract that governors originally approved.
This rarely happens overnight. More often, it’s a gradual shift that goes unnoticed while school teams focus on the day-to-day running of their schools.
At ACE Advice, we work with schools and trusts to review operational contracts — particularly in areas such as catering and cleaning — to check that what is being delivered, invoiced and paid for still aligns with the original agreement.
A straightforward independent review can help schools understand whether contracts are still delivering the value they were intended to provide.
If you’d like to explore some of the key questions school leaders and governors should be asking, visit: