What We Do

How can EDUCO help you?

Educo can assist with the selection, appointment and monitoring of a new contractor for all catering, cleaning and other facilities management services or assist with the management, monitoring and improvement of existing services.

Managing the tender process for selection of a new catering, cleaning or facilities management contractor.

School meal catering contracts are often the largest contract a school or college has to tender. Larger schools or colleges may have a contract with a turnover in excess of £200k per annum. For smaller institutions the catering contract will often be a significant part of the overall school budget.

Cleaning and other facilities management contracts such as photocopying and telecoms are also high value contracts with significant complexity of specifications with which Educo can assist.

The laws governing the tendering of high value contracts are onerous: add to that the complexities of the catering and cleaning service itself and it is clear why specialist skills are needed to create the correct service specification and manage the tender.

Negotiating your catering, cleaning and facilities management contract

On behalf of our clients Educo initially works with the school to create a bespoke and specific service and contract specification. Educo will then manage the tender process and handle all the negotiations with the catering, cleaning and facilities management companies.

A bespoke legal contract is produced between the school or college and the caterer, cleaning or facilities management company.

Leading food specialists and lawyers assist in the tender, selection process and final contract determination.

Educo’s process protects the school’s interests, ensuring an improved meal for the students and often provides a financial benefit for the school or college budget.

Monitoring & auditing your catering contract

Educo’s professional team monitors the food quality, service level and financial performance of the school or college’s incumbent catering contractor, throughout the life of the catering contract.

Key performance indicators are established and monitored to ensure catering standards are met and continuously improved and that our clients are getting best value for money from their catering contractor.

Monitoring & auditing your cleaning or facilities management contract

Educo’s professional team monitors the cleaning quality, service level and financial performance of the school or college’s incumbent cleaning contractor, throughout the life of the cleaning contract.

Key performance indicators are established and monitored to ensure cleaning standards are met and continuously improved and that our clients are getting best value for money from their cleaning contractor.

Similar rigour is applied to other facility management contracts.

Servicing our Clients

Educo provides regular site visits to all client sites and Educo meets with the both senior and local management of the appointed contractors on a regular basis. It is this face to face dialogue alongside exacting KPI’s and formal audits that makes the Educo contracts work for our client schools and colleges.

Educo monitors and audits both newly introduced and already established catering, cleaning and facilities management services in all schools and colleges.

Whether you are looking to improve one specific area of your existing service and could use some help and guidance, or whether you wish to outsource the entire tender process and ongoing monitoring, Educo can provide a customised service to meet your requirements.

Transparency

Educo’s fees to clients are explicitly designed to be transparent, clear and to be aligned to economic success of the work we do for our clients.

Educo is contractually engaged by the School, Academy or College and work entirely on their behalf and have no financial or beneficial gain whatsoever from any catering, cleaning or other contractor who may be appointed to work with our clients. This clearly aligns Educo and our Clients’ interests.

There are other competitor Consultants who aim not to charge their clients any fees. Instead they earn their fees directly from the catering, cleaning or other contractor that they help appoint to the School. This means that the cost of the contracted service is higher than it would otherwise be as the contractor will include the consultant’s fee in their overall cost. The earnings of the consultant are at best opaque and may be hidden completely. Since the Consultant and Contractor are economically linked there is in our opinion a clear conflict of interest at the expense of the School, Academy or College.

Educo confirm that we have no such conflict.