School payroll in the UK is becoming increasingly complicated in the face of advancing technology and reporting requirements. Payroll administrative requirements have continued to become more complex with the growth of academies and multi-academy trusts becoming self-governed entities breaking away from local authority control. Schools & multi-academy trusts simply do not have the capacity to stay up to date with legislative updates which affect payroll issues such as:
Understanding and effectively following public sector procurement regulations is challenging for schools and academies. Failure can result in wasted resource as well as legal issues, contracts being cancelled and financial penalties, all of which are costly, time-consuming and bring reputational risk. The set-up and ongoing management of multi-academy trusts can also prove to be challenging in terms of the aggregation of services.
Here at Bloom, we are well-positioned to support a full review of your payroll provision and identify the most suitable provider to meet your needs from our extensive range of pre-accredited suppliers. This includes instances where schools have joined others as part of a multi-academy trust with multiple providers and may have a mix of private and public sector professional services support.
We operate the NEPRO³ professional services solution on behalf of NEPO (the North East Procurement Organisation). NEPRO³ is the only professional services framework approved by the DfE for schools and academies. The solution is a fast, compliant, cost effective way for schools to buy and manage professional services, such as payroll solutions.
DfE have mandated Bloom as a route to compliant procurement through the Buying for Schools gov.uk platform and recognise Bloom as procurement specialists who can provide specific advice and guidance on what schools need to consider through the procurement journey. As the experts in public sector procurement, Bloom understands the unique challenges schools face and how we can work together to solve them. Through this cost-effective and fully compliant route, schools have access to ready prepared specifications and can find the right solution to suit their individual needs.
To speak to a member of our education team about the right payroll solution for your school, please complete the below enquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch.