Would you like to write an article for Primary First?

Primary First is the triannual published journal of the National Association for Primary Education (NAPE), which brings together everyone who has a concern for the learning of children from birth to 13 years. Members and affiliated schools work to improve education through the Early, Primary and Middle Years.

Articles would be warmly considered covering broad ranging themes and topics within education, birth to 13, from children, parents, teachers, teacher trainers, policy makers, governors, in fact anyone who has an interest and passion for primary education.

If you wish to submit an article, please read the following guidance: • Articles are not to have been published elsewhere (unless with permission) • Articles to be typed on Microsoft word document • Type – size 12 • Font - Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri • Line spacing 1.5 • Standard English to be used (unless for a specific purpose within an article). Although articles will be received written in Welsh,

Gaelic, Scots or Cornish • Acronyms to follow introduced terms • Contracted words, for example, ‘don’t’ to be written as ‘do not’ • URLs may be used if extant • Tables and figures, if used, to be labelled • References are to be used but may be either

Harvard or foot note • First or third person may be used • Numbers fewer than 100 to be written in words • Photographs are welcome – if consent of the subject is given • The minimum word count is 1,000; maximum word count is 4,000 • Shorter pieces, fewer than 1,000 words, are also welcomed, for example, opinion pieces, book reviews, poetry or originally drawn cartoons

If this would be your first contribution you can have your article developed by one of the editorial team who can advise you and support you prior to publication. Please email any article to Robert Morgan

r.a.morgan@gre.ac.uk

Issue 32 is to be published in November 2021 and is likely to cover the theme of LGBTQ+ within education.

If you would like to advertise a commercial product or service in Primary First, the cost would be £400 per page; £200 per half page or in discussion with the editor.

How to get the best Energy contract for your school(s).

The energy market has changed considerably in recent years, making it harder for the end user to have clear visibility of exactly what they are buying when signing a new contract. The team at BCR Associates provide some best practice advice for those with procurement responsibilities to help with the energy buying process.

What’s the first step to securing the best contract?

When seeking a new energy contract, the most important thing is to look beyond the headline unit rate or the estimated annual value. Make sure that you ask for the quotations to include the selected supplier’s contract together with the Terms and Conditions (T & Cs) for the specific supply. It is important that you are quoted the total cost of the contract over its lifetime.

Why is this important?

Due to the way that the cost of business energy is calculated there are often unseen charges written into the T & Cs. Energy costs are split into two parts – the commodity (wholesale) cost, and the non-commodity cost, which consists of Government levies and taxes, currently equating to about 60% of the unit rate. Below is an example of three electricity quotes recently provided to a school by an Energy broker:

Supplier

Cost

Eon

£56,461.99

EDF

£59,140.73

Type of contract Fixed and Inclusive Fully Fixed

Commodity Cost

Fixed Non-Commodity cost Included not fixed Fixed Fixed

Risk Non-commodity element can be reconciled Budget Certainty

SSE

£63,511.65 Fully Fixed Fixed Fixed Budget Certainty

New legislation has made it harder for suppliers to forecast the impact of the non-commodity levies. Suppliers use their terms and conditions to control how these levies are treated during the lifetime of the contract. Suppliers reserve the right to go back and reconcile if their terms allow – this may mean that you will receive additional charges on your bill.

If we look at the quotation above, the quote from Eon looks to be the most attractive as it is the cheapest. However, as most suppliers offer more than one product, it’s important to understand what type of contract is on offer and what risks are associated with it. You will notice that the EON quote has not included a fixed non-commodity cost which may mean that it could be more expensive in the long run. The quote from EDF or SEE are fixed for the duration of the contract which is better for budget certainty.

It should be noted that this does not mean any of these contracts are better or worse than the other, they are just different. This is about the school having all the information so that they can make an informed decision and fully appreciate the risks related to each type of contract. Schools with half-hourly meters also need to bear in mind that the unit costs for electricity in that market are more expensive.

For a more detailed explanation of the different contract types and how this may impact overall pricing or for help and advice with anything procurement related, please get in touch with Ben Leighton at BCR Associates, on 03300 245 828 or by email: ben.leighton@bcrassociates.co.uk.

ENERGY COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS SUPPLIES INSURANCE ADDITIONAL SERVICES

THE PROFESSIONALS’ PROCUREMENT CHOICE

Discover how our fully managed service can help schools to:

„ Rationalise costs „ Manage supplier relationships „ Ensure compliance „ Become carbon neutral

Call 03300 245 828 Email ben.leighton@bcrassociates.co.uk Visit bcrassociates.co.uk