My new client is a school - does anyone have experience with this?

[TallBox]

Hi, I run a small business providing training services to individuals (e.g. team building, leadership etc), and we have a contract which we use for that. My new client, in which I'm providing training services to their students, is a school.

What are unique issues with entering a B2B contractual relationship with a school?
- I get the feeling that even their senior management staff are not very savvy when it comes to contracts - if I gave them a contract with lots of fine print I'm worried it would scare them off.
- I know that academy schools now have new autonomous powers but who is legally entitled to enter into a contract on behalf of the school? Is it the Head? The governors? The local authority?
- What 'principles' should the contract cover?

Just trying to protect my back, and of course those of the students...!

Thank you!

 

[businessfunding]

I haven't had dealings with academy schools but have done with the 'traditional' State sector - albeit a few years back.

You are right that they are not savvy, which reflects itself in interesting ways - they either ask 1001 strange questions, or just sign anything (in one case the head of year signed a leasing contract printed onto A3 paper)

It may have changed, but it used to be the case that different schools had different parameters for needing to refer to their LEA (which is a whole new world of bureaucracy). However in reality the view was taken that the head could generally commit the school to a contract.

We never had serious defaults, though payment could be erratic.

 

[Anonymouse72]

we don't deal with schools directly but we do subbie for a contractor who does lots of work for them. don't expect payment on time would be my warning, even if you've got all the paperwork in order & have contacted the right person, it seems to make very little difference.

 

[TallBox]

Thanks for your replies. If I give a proposal with an indicative contract to say the Deputy Head, I'm wondering whether they'll sit on it because of confusion or get scared off because they may not want to enter into contracts on behalf of the school.

 

[Steve Sellers]

Its a fine line. Ive done these sort of contracts. If they are too complex then the school will simply pass it to the local authority solicitors to check - which can slow the process and of course lose a deal.

They will have a lot of things they will want you to cover, not least child protection and data protection.

 

[TallBox]

Thanks for your response.

The school now seems a bit tentative on entering into a contract - they have instead suggested a pilot scheme for just 6 weeks (the total value of services not being more than a thousand pounds)... if they don't physically sign a contract, are they still essentially entering into one with us by accepting and paying for our services?

 

[digital way]

We've done websites for schools and dealing with them is difficult as every minute of their day is accounted for. I've found them harder to work with than commercial clients as they're just hard to get hold off during the week and they seem to busy to pay full attention. I've also noticed that staff can sometimes get dragooned into things they don't want to do. Private schools are a different kettle of fish though.

 

[Root 66 Woodshop]

All I'm going to say is make sure that you get an official order number.

IF they're using the p2p/aggresso system that council's use then they'll have to provide you with the order number generated by that particular system before you'll actually get paid.

Local Councils are now refusing to pay any bills whether it's a one off payment or contractual agreement if they do not receive the correct order number.