The Board of Management should establish a set of procedures governing purchasing and should set out the arrangements for buying, receipt of goods and accounting for same.
A purchasing policy needs to strike a balance between quality and cost, (as the cheapest is not necessarily the best) and between cost-effective bulk purchasing and inefficient overstocking. Registers of known suppliers may be built up for frequently required items but occasional comparative checks should be made with prices of other suppliers.
The Office of Government Procurement have in place an ever increasing number of contracts and frameworks which are available to schools to use – insert link
Where no contracts or framework exists the school will need to consult procurement thresholds )
For further support and advice on procurement contact spu.ie