Imagine signing up for a gym membership that quietly renews itself every year, no reminder, no fanfare—just another invoice landing in your inbox. Now scale that up to your entire school's digital infrastructure, and you’ll start to see why a contracts register isn’t just a finance tool—it’s a survival guide.
Too often, schools lose control of key services not because of poor choices, but because nobody knew the broadband contract needed six months' notice to cancel. Or because the MIS support deal auto-renewed, and now you're tied in for another three years. These things don't go wrong all at once—they slip, quietly, through the cracks.
Whether it's your MIS, cloud backup, broadband, filtering, or safeguarding platform, most schools now rely on dozens of services that all come with contracts, support agreements, and renewal clauses. If even one fails—especially the wrong one—it can bring your school to a halt.
That’s why we’ve created a practical, ready-to-use Contracts Register Template, designed specifically for schools and trusts. It’s simple, Excel-based, and includes:
It’s designed for school business professionals and digital leads working together—and it’s aligned with EdFITS, the DfE digital and technology standards, and your responsibilities under KCSiE.
This isn’t just about budgets. It’s about continuity. When systems support safeguarding, payroll, or parental communication, failure isn’t just inconvenient—it can be critical. A contracts register helps you see which contracts matter most and gives you time to act before the renewal date traps you for another year.
You can download the contracts register template here:
Download the Contracts Register Template
We’ve also published a step-by-step guide on how to implement the register and build it into your school’s routines. It’s not technical, and it’s full of examples to help you get going fast.
You don’t need to audit everything in one go. Start with your highest-value and most critical contracts, and build from there. Before long, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.
This isn’t just admin—it’s digital confidence in action.
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