From Whole-School Solutions to Targeted Support: Why Schools Are Changing How They Buy

The conversations we are privileged to have, alongside the feedback we receive from MAT and school leaders almost by the hour, are exceptionally powerful - and one of the most common discussions we hear and are part of is the rapid move to individual and small group product and service procurement and the shift away from whole school solutions.

Over the last few years, since Covid / Lockdown there has been a significant and tangible shift in education procurement behaviour. MAT and School leaders are increasingly motivated to invest in targeted, needs-led interventions for individual pupils and small groups, rather than considering buying products and services designed to potentially benefit an entire school.

This procurement behaviour reflects changes in how schools manage budgets, demonstrate impact, demonstrate value for money (ROI) and respond to diverse pupil needs and make decisions about what works. This of course is in addition to the latest iteration of the Ofsted Framework and DfE guidelines which continue to move and drive the procurement needle.

The key procurement behavior change we continue to hear and observe at The Education Showroom is that schools are increasingly focused and looking for solutions to specific, identifiable problems rather than potentially buying broad programmes in the hope that they will improve outcomes for example across the school.

There is a growing recognition that pupils with different needs and challenges must be supported through tailored, effective methods, rather than a 'one size fits all' approach.

Why is this procurement shift happening?

1. Tighter budgets and greater pressure to demonstrate impact and value for money

Schools face highly competing demands on limited resources. A whole-school programme can involve substantial upfront costs, staff training, implementation time and ongoing subscription fees.

By contrast, a targeted intervention can be purchased for a defined group of pupils, with a clearer link between expenditure and intended outcomes.

• Whole-school purchasing: “We need to improve literacy across the school.”
• Targeted purchasing: “We need to improve reading fluency for these 18 pupils who are falling behind.” Or perhaps “We need to better support these 5 children with severe speech and language difficulties.”

The second proposition is often easier to cost, justify to school leaders (and governors) and evaluate. We also hear that schools are becoming more reluctant to commit to long-term contracts when budgets and the educational landscape are so challenging, uncertain and unpredictable.

2. Greater identification of specific pupil needs

Schools increasingly recognise that pupils who appear to have the same broad difficulty may need very different support. Underachievement in reading, for example, might reflect decoding difficulties, limited vocabulary, weak comprehension, language needs or wider barriers to learning.

A single whole-school product may not adequately address these differences to an appropriate and or exceptional standard in all areas. Targeted interventions allow schools to match provision more closely to the needs of particular pupils.

Some of the most common procurement areas school and MAT leaders request from The Education Showroom include:

• Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) & EHCP
• Speech, language and communication needs.
• Literacy and numeracy gaps, including phonics.
• Social, emotional and mental health needs for staff and students.
• Attendance, engagement and behaviour.
• Pupils who have fallen behind following disruption to their education.
• Online Alternative Provision

The result is a stronger demand for solutions that can be deployed flexibly, at the right level, at the right time, at the right price point which minimises risk.

3. Pressure to evidence measurable impact and value for money

School leaders, governors, trusts and external stakeholders increasingly want to know whether spending makes a tangible difference and are holding people to account for procurement decisions being made.

Targeted interventions often offer a more straightforward impact / evaluation model:

1. Identify a defined group of pupils.
2. Establish a baseline.
3. Deliver a specific intervention.
4. Measure progress over a set period.
5. Decide whether to continue, adapt or stop.

This creates a more compelling business case than a broad whole-school product whose contribution to outcomes may be difficult to isolate.

It also aligns with a wider emphasis on evidence-informed practice, intervention fidelity and accountability for outcomes and purchases.

4. SEND and inclusion are making targeted provision a much higher priority for schools and MATs

In England, schools are under increasing pressure to identify needs earlier and make provision that is appropriate to individual pupils. This encourages investment in resources that address a particular barrier, rather than relying on one generic approach for all learners.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) advises schools to select structured interventions carefully, match them to pupils' current needs and adjust the intensity of support accordingly. It also stresses that interventions should complement, not replace, high-quality teaching.

For school leaders, targeted products can therefore feel like a practical and affordable way to respond to specific needs that classroom teaching alone has not yet resolved.

5. Targeted products are easier to trial and implement

A whole-school product often requires a major organisational commitment: multiple staff training, changes to established practice, leadership sponsorship and consistent implementation across multiple year groups and or departments. This puts huge pressure on school and MAT leaders when time constraints, teacher workload and stress levels are already at an all time high!

A targeted intervention can often be introduced by one specialist teacher, SENDCo, pastoral lead or small team for example.

Feedback regularly provided to The Education Showroom from education solution providers we partner with regarding the commercial advantages of this intervention approach include:

• A smaller initial purchase is easier for schools and MATs to approve.
• A pilot can demonstrate impact and value for money before a larger commitment.
• A specialist can champion the product internally.
• Schools can start addressing an urgent problem without waiting for whole-school agreement or implementation.
• Successful interventions can potentially expand to other cohorts or departments.
• Minimises stress, does not add to already high workloads and provides a manageable way to get started

In other words, the smaller purchase may be a stepping stone to wider adoption, not necessarily a rejection of whole-school provision.

6. Schools increasingly distinguish between universal teaching and additional support

There is an important shift in how schools think about improvement. Rather than expecting a single purchased programme to solve every problem, they may separate their approach into three layers:

Universal: whole-school provision

High-quality classroom teaching, staff development, curriculum design and consistent school-wide practices.

Targeted: small-group support

Structured literacy, numeracy, language or wellbeing interventions for pupils with a shared need.

Specialist: individual support

Intensive, personalised provision for pupils requiring a more specific or sustained response.

This tiered approach is reflected in EEF guidance and in its September 2026 analysis of Pupil Premium spending. In the 2025–26 reporting data, schools allocated an average of 38% of their reported spending to high-quality teaching and 35% to targeted academic support, with the remainder allocated to wider strategies.

This is an important distinction: a school can continue to invest in whole-school improvement while buying more individual interventions to address gaps that remain.

7. The market is making targeted solutions more attractive

The shift is not just about schools. Education Solution Providers are also responding to how schools want to buy.

Targeted products can be easier to package around a specific problem, such as improving reading fluency, supporting pupils with anxiety or developing speech and language skills. They also lend themselves to clear propositions: this is the problem, this is the intervention, and this is how you measure progress, and this is affordable for your setting.

Digital assessment tools, adaptive learning platforms and specialist intervention programmes can make it easier to identify pupils, deliver differentiated support and track outcomes. The EEF's guidance on digital technology emphasises that technology should address a clearly identified learning challenge and be grounded in effective pedagogy.

There is also a sales dynamic: a specialist intervention can have a clear budget holder and internal champion, whereas a whole-school product may require agreement from multiple senior leaders, curriculum leads, teachers, IT teams and governors.

So With This In Mind, Visit Us On Stand E46

We would be delighted to learn and discuss your procurement needs, whether very targeted or whole-school or MAT wide. Whatever your priority areas may be, we are absolutely confident we can help and support you find the perfect, affordable solutions to explore.

We would also love to pick up on this blog post with you and learn your experience and views on targeted solutions vs whole school.

Visit Us: Stand E46

Website: www.educationshowroom.co.uk

Call: 01485 240150

Email: matt@educationshowroom.co.uk