Procurement & compliance
Frameworks & Accreditations
There are two ways for a school to buy IT support: run a full procurement from scratch, or use a compliant framework that has already done the heavy lifting. AIT is an approved supplier on the Everything ICT framework — a DfE-approved procurement route for schools, colleges and multi-academy trusts — and on the KCS ICT Managed Services and Consultancy framework (Y23038). Add our ISO 27001 certification, and schools and trusts anywhere in the UK can appoint us quickly, compliantly and with the due diligence already evidenced — often without going out to tender at all.
Why procure school IT through a framework?
Public procurement rules exist for good reasons, but they put real weight on school business managers and trust procurement leads: specifications to write, adverts to place, evaluations to score, an audit trail to defend. A procurement framework takes most of that weight away. The framework operator has already run a full, compliant tender to appoint its suppliers — evaluating quality, pricing, data handling, financial standing and service delivery — so when you buy through the framework, that compliance work is inherited rather than repeated.
For schools and trusts, that means three practical things:
- Speed. A direct award through a framework can take weeks, not the months a full tender demands — useful when a contract is ending, a provider has failed, or a September start is looming.
- Compliance and audit trail. Framework routes are designed to satisfy UK procurement regulations, and give governors, trustees and auditors a clean, documented answer to "how did you appoint this supplier?" — the value-for-money evidence the Academy Trust Handbook expects trusts to hold.
- Pre-vetted suppliers. Every supplier on the framework has already been independently evaluated. You are choosing between providers who have proven their standards, not taking a chance on a brochure.
AIT sits on two such frameworks, and both are free for buyers to access. The sections below cover each in full — including our original award announcements, preserved from October 2023.
Everything ICT: a DfE-approved framework
Everything ICT is one of the most widely used technology procurement frameworks in UK education — a fully compliant route for the public sector and, most importantly for our clients, a DfE-approved framework for schools. Buyers can appoint AIT through it in two ways: a direct award, where you appoint us straight from the framework without running your own tender, or a mini competition, where you invite us and other framework suppliers to respond to your requirement so you can compare assurances, pricing and compliance side by side. Either route satisfies UK procurement regulations, and the framework team supports you through the paperwork at no cost.
Being awarded a place was not a formality. Here is how we announced it — word for word.
AIT awarded a place on the Everything ICT Framework
We are thrilled to announce that AIT is now an approved supplier on the Everything ICT Framework. Everything ICT is a fully compliant procurement framework for the public sector, most notably being a DfE approved Framework for Schools, representing Schools, Colleges and Multi-Academy Trusts across the UK.
As an awarded supplier to the Everything ICT Framework, AIT has undergone an extensive evaluation process via the framework panel. During this, we have been evaluated on our innovation, customer service, data handling and compliance. Our team have worked incredibly hard in collating the relevant information, case studies and information to demonstrate our position as an approved supplier to the public sector. "We have been providing excellent services and solutions to schools and academies for over 20 years, and being part of the Everything ICT Framework cements our position as a leading provider. I am very proud of the team we have here at AIT and the way in which they continue to support our clients each and every day."
Being part of the Everything ICT framework gives you the opportunity to direct award to AIT without going out to tender as being part of the framework complies with UK procurement regulations. You can also run a mini competition with other suppliers and us to allow for any assurances, pricing and compliance.
If you would like more information about a potential procurement, please contact info@everythingict.org
You can go to the framework team directly at the address above — or simply call us on 0115 9170 197 and we will walk you through the direct-award process end to end, from scoping your requirement to the award documentation your governors will want on file.
KCS Y23038: ICT Managed Services and Consultancy
KCS Procurement Services — the trading arm of Kent County Council's Commercial Services group — runs national frameworks used by schools, trusts and public bodies across the UK, not just in Kent. Framework Y23038 covers exactly what its name says: ICT managed services and consultancy, from fully managed school IT support to project and advisory work. As with Everything ICT, buying through KCS gives you a compliant route with the supplier evaluation already done, and the KCS team's support comes free to every buyer.
Our award announcement from October 2023, preserved in full:
AIT awarded as a supplier onto the KCS Framework
Advanced IT Services has recently secured a position on the KCS Framework for the supply of ICT Managed Services and Consultancy (Y23038), a division of Kent County Council Commercial Services. Following a rigorous tendering process, AIT are thrilled to be working with KCS Procurement Team and our inclusion as a supplier is the result of a continued commitment to all our clients to provide exceptional customer service, value for money and delivery of high standards.
During the tendering process, AIT were evaluated on our quality of service, delivery of services alongside our implemented standards, regulations and policies. Within our organisation we have a dedicated team who continue to support our customers maintaining standards and exceeding expectations. The ICT Managed Services and Consultancy framework allows public sector organisations to procure ICT managed services via a compliant PCR-15 procurement route which is free for all buyers to access alongside benefitting from the KCS full support.
For more information on the Y23038 framework please contact KCS Procurement Services and visit the official page.
Since that announcement, the UK's procurement regime has moved on — the Procurement Act 2023 took effect in February 2025 — but the principle is unchanged: an established, compliant framework remains one of the simplest routes for a school or trust to appoint a managed IT provider. If you are unsure which route applies to your procurement, our team and the KCS buyers' desk will point you the right way.
ISO 27001: certified information security
Schools hold some of the most sensitive data in the country — safeguarding records, SEND documentation, pupil and family information, staff HR files. Any company with administrative access to your network holds the keys to all of it, so "we take security seriously" should never be taken on trust alone.
ISO 27001 is the international standard for information security management. Certification means an independent external auditor has examined our information security management system — how we handle, store, access, transfer and dispose of data; how we control who can touch what; how we respond when something goes wrong — and verified that it meets the standard, with surveillance audits keeping us honest on a continuing cycle. It is the same rigour on data handling that both frameworks scored us on during their evaluations.
For a school or trust buyer, that does three jobs at once:
- Due diligence, evidenced. Your DPO's supplier-assessment checklist is largely answered by the certificate rather than a questionnaire ping-pong.
- UK GDPR accountability. Appointing an ISO 27001-certified processor is strong evidence of the "appropriate technical and organisational measures" the law expects you to demand of suppliers.
- Procurement scoring. Where a mini competition scores information security, certification answers the question objectively — no marketing prose required.
Information security runs through everything else we do, from cyber security services to safeguarding and filtering — this certification is the independent proof behind it.
Our credentials at a glance
Everything ICT — approved supplier.
DfE-approved framework for schools, colleges and MATs. Direct award or mini competition.
KCS Y23038 — awarded supplier.
ICT Managed Services and Consultancy framework, free for all public-sector buyers to access.
ISO 27001 — certified.
Independently audited information security management across our whole service.
DfE Connect the Classroom — delivery record.
Over £3m of DfE funding secured for schools and trusts across the UK under the programme. Read our Connect the Classroom story.
What you can buy through the frameworks
Both frameworks cover the full breadth of what we do, so a single compliant appointment can carry your whole IT relationship — not just one contract line:
- Managed IT support — fully managed or hybrid support for your school or trust, delivered UK-wide.
- Installations & projects — new builds, refurbishments, summer works and network cabling.
- Connectivity — leased lines, filtered internet and broadband for schools.
- Cyber security — protection, monitoring, audits and Cyber Essentials support.
- Safeguarding & filtering — filtering and monitoring aligned to KCSIE.
- Cloud services — migration, hosting and Microsoft 365 and Google environments.
- Telephony — VoIP systems built for school reception and safeguarding workflows.
- Devices & procurement — device schemes, leasing and hardware refresh.
One line matters to every evaluator scoring value for money: our four platforms — AIT Horizon, Helpdesk Reporting, AIT Atlas and AIT Ordering — are included with our service, not sold on top. When you compare framework bids, check what each supplier charges extra for; with AIT, the leadership dashboards, reporting transparency and procurement tracking are already in the price, behind one login at the Customer Portal.
How a framework appointment works
Talk to us.
A scoping call on 0115 9170 197 — your current contract position, sites, timelines and what you actually need. No obligation, no charge.
Choose your route.
Direct award for speed, or a mini competition if you want side-by-side bids. We support both, including helping you shape a specification other suppliers can price against fairly.
Receive a compliant, itemised quote.
Framework-governed pricing, broken down so your SLT, governors or trust board can see exactly what they are buying. As an illustrative example, a typical trust-wide managed-support quote itemises per-school support, connectivity and licensing as separate lines so each can be evaluated on its own merits.
Award and onboard.
Contracts are executed under the framework's terms, and onboarding is planned around term dates. If you proceed, every subsequent purchase is tracked from quote to purchase order to delivery in AIT Ordering — so the audit trail your procurement started with continues for the life of the contract.
Already an AIT school?
Your framework paperwork lives alongside everything else in one place. The Customer Portal is your single login to all four AIT platforms — AIT Horizon, Helpdesk Reporting, AIT Atlas and AIT Ordering.
Framework & accreditation FAQs
Yes, in most cases. Because AIT is an approved supplier on the Everything ICT framework — a DfE-approved framework whose own tender process satisfied UK procurement regulations — eligible schools, colleges and trusts can make a compliant direct award to us without going to market themselves. If your governance or trust scheme of delegation prefers competition, a framework mini competition gives you comparable bids in a fraction of a full tender's timescale. Always confirm the right route with your procurement lead or the framework team; we and they will help at no cost.
Yes. Everything ICT is a fully compliant public-sector procurement framework and is a DfE-approved framework for schools, representing schools, colleges and multi-academy trusts across the UK. It is free for buyers to access, and its team supports your procurement from scoping to award.
Y23038 is the ICT Managed Services and Consultancy framework run by KCS Procurement Services, part of Kent County Council's Commercial Services group. Despite its home county, it is a national framework: public-sector organisations anywhere in the UK can use it, free of charge, to procure managed ICT services and consultancy through a compliant route — with KCS's procurement team supporting buyers throughout.
The Procurement Act 2023 came into force in February 2025 and now governs new public procurements, replacing the previous PCR 2015 regime for new exercises. Frameworks remain a central, compliant route under the new regime — and one of their biggest attractions is unchanged: the framework operator carries the regulatory complexity so your school does not have to. If you are mid-decision, ask us or the framework team which rules apply to your specific procurement; the answer depends on when and how the framework was established.
The frameworks are public-sector procurement routes, so they matter most to maintained schools, academies, MATs and colleges. Independent schools are not bound by public procurement rules and can simply appoint us directly — and everything on this page still works in your favour, because the same framework evaluations and ISO 27001 certification are your due-diligence evidence. See how we work with independent schools.
Appoint AIT the compliant way
Whether you are weeks from a contract renewal or just starting to explore your options, one conversation will tell you which route fits — direct award, mini competition, or a straightforward direct appointment. Our team has walked hundreds of schools through it.