Spring Term 2016
Education Update The newsletter for schools and academies
‘A Happy New Year’ to all our education customers I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the continued support you have shown to ESPO over the years. As a fellow public sector organisation we fully understand the growing pressures on your sector and we’re continuing to work hard to provide the best possible service to you.
Order your free 2016 desktop calendar By now you should have received your 2016 ESPO desktop calendar, our free gift to you to mark the New Year. You can now order additional copies of this handy little calendar completely free on a first come, first served basis. Small enough to sit neatly on your desk with room to make notes, order your free copies now using ESPO code: 803804. Be quick, when they’re gone they’re gone!
We begin 2016 in the privileged position of being able to say that 97% of customers rated our service either Good or Excellent last year and we’re fully committed to keeping this satisfaction level high. I’m excited to say that work is almost complete on our new 2016/17 catalogue which will be available from April. Based on your feedback we’ve added hundreds of additional products to our new and improved curriculum range, as well as an extensive new range of colourful exercise books and we now have even more SmartBuy essentials than ever before! I take great pleasure in saying that on behalf of everyone here at ESPO we hope that you have a great term and we look forward to working with you throughout 2016. John Doherty ESPO Director
Don’t miss out on 7.5% off selected exercise books and paper. See inside for more details!
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Mr Pritt comes to visit Congratulations to St John’s CE(A) Primary School in Stoke-on-Trent who were the proud winners of our Mr Pritt Roadshow competition bagging themselves an arts and crafts day hosted by Mr Pritt himself! “It was really good, I liked making the puppets.” - Oscar Y3 “The children loved it!! It was a fantastic day which really brought out the personalities of the children in their puppets.” - Mr Walter, Teaching Assistant
7.5%
OFF Choose from a great range of: ✓ Exercise books ✓ Project books ✓ Exercise papers
selected exercise books and paper Plus, prices held on a range of Academic diaries, registers, mark books, homework diaries and planners. Academic year diaries still just 99p.
Simply contact your local Account Manager (espo.org/Contact) to request your order form. Hurry! Offer ends Friday 26 February 2016
Crafty projects for your class to get stuck into
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Find more seasonal ideas at espo.org
Festival activity pack 180394 £6.30
Chinese New Year 8 February
Poster pack Contains 12 posters 200913 £17.95
2016 is the year of the Monkey
Pastel cards and envelopes Pack of 50 215511 £6.30
Mother’s Day 6 March Make and take home a gift for Mum
Easter Sunday 27 March
Tapestry classpack Contains everything you need to get started 213985 £12.70 Felt butterfly classpack 116548 £18.50
Easter craft kit 191639 £18.70 Chicks and bunnies sequins 190667 £2.72 Easter chick boxes
Win a class pack of craft supplies worth £50
Tweet us @easternshires with a picture of your class’ crafty creations to be in with a chance to win £50 worth of craft supplies from ESPO. Entries open from 18 January to 28 March 2016.
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Behind the scenes at ESPO HQ
We’re busy getting ready for our 2016/17 catalogue launch in April!
Managing the procurement of new products and contracts
Reviewing product samples and testing
Creating eye-catching page designs and layouts
Making space for our new stock
Adding the final brand touches
Our new curriculum range is bigger and better than ever!
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Low order value service charge From April 2016 ESPO will be applying a small service charge to stock orders less than ÂŁ15. As a fellow public sector organisation we must adapt to increasing commercial pressures and this small charge of just ÂŁ5.95 will help towards covering the cost of processing low value orders. We are pleased to state that orders over ÂŁ15 will not incur any charge and customers can still enjoy the free standard delivery we have always provided.
Hundreds of curriculum products added
We thank you for your understanding and cooperation with this matter. If you have any questions about how your orders will be affected, please contact our Customer Services team on 0116 265 7901 option 4 or email c.services@espo.org.
Coming April 2016 Add some colour to your class room with our bright new range of exercise books!
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Beat the furniture rush It’s never too early to start thinking about your summer furniture order. Beat the rush and stay one step ahead of the masses by ordering your school furniture anytime between now and May 2016. By doing so you’ll cut out the stress and ensure that your order arrives in good time for the start of the new term in September.
Planning a school or classroom refurbishment? Get in touch with our Major Projects team who can help streamline your project and coordinate delivery schedules. majorprojects@espo.org
Make e-ordering your New Year’s resolution Let’s leave paper based ordering back in 2015! E-ordering is now easier than ever before, making it the perfect time to switch to this more efficient method. Plus, it offers so many benefits for your school and your workload. Features and benefits: ✓ Save time as orders are passed directly onto our system
Register today at espocatalogue.org or contact our IT team on 0116 294 4078
✓ Save money by significantly reducing your paper usage ✓ Improve order accuracy by cutting out the middle man ✓ It’s simple to download and use
Sign up for online ordering by Monday 29 February 2016 to be in the draw to win £50 towards your next ESPO order.
✓ You can utilise the regular ‘order pad’ feature for faster ordering ✓ Easily search for products and check stock availability ✓ Easily view and download COSHH sheet information ✓ Consolidate your orders with our shopping basket feature
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Don’t get a shock from your energy bill - choose ESPO Energy As energy market prices continue to fall, is your school seeing the savings or have you, like so many others, been talked into a fixed rate? These fixed rate deals are often sold by energy brokers and consultants who target public sector organisations offering ‘cheap’ fixed price contracts and ‘savings reviews’. Schools are often attracted to deals with headline offers such as ‘zero standing charge’, but as seen in this recent example highlighted to ESPO by an education customer, sometimes a standing charge can add up to be the best value option. Energy brokers offered this large multi-academy trust, comprising of many academies, management fees as part of their contract at just 0.3p per kWh, compared to ESPO’s 33p per day per meter charge. On face value this looks the better deal however, as the data shows, over the life of their contract the trust will end up paying a massive £212,580.00 more through this broker than if they went with ESPO for the same service!
An average school uses 375,000kWh in a year, with one meter point
Energy broker/ Consultant fee per annum based on a fee of 0.3p per kWh
fully managed service fee per annum based on a fee of 33p per day per meter
£120.45
(33p per day) £1,125
(£3.08 per day)
ESPO’s team of Energy Buyers only buy your energy at the lowest market prices meaning that these savings get passed directly onto you through our lowest rates.
Want to know more? Get in touch with our dedicated Energy Customer Relationship Manager for a friendly chat about how we could save you thousands off the cost of your energy bill. Sally-ann Kempin t: 0116 294 4140 m: 0776 699 2268 e: s.kempin@espo.org
ESPO energy facts ✓ 25 years’ experience buying gas and electricity ✓ Savings of £6.8m for our energy customers since 2008 ✓ Management of the full OJEU procurement process on your behalf ✓ Fully compliant with the Public Contracts Regulations 2006/2015 ✓ Transparent energy pricing and billing
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Great deals for you
Berol Drywipe Bundle
Reduced price
Only £44.00
Edding 7, Mini Highlighters
Includes: 1 x pack of 48 assorted washable drywipe markers 30 x Whiteboard tablets 30 x Mini drywipe erasers ESPO code: 208981
Tub of 100 assorted neon colours
Bostik Quick Stick
Edding Handwriter Bundle
Pack of 36 x 36g sticks
Only £16.98 Solvent free solid glue sticks. Clean and easy to use, ideal for sticking paper and card materials.
Only £27.50 With chisel tip nib, refillable and water-based ink. ESPO code: 209058
2 x classpack of 200 handwriting pens, one each of black and blue.
Get 400 pens for only £70.00 ESPO code: 208965
ESPO code: 209112
If you prefer to receive an electronic copy of this newsletter in the future, email: info@espo.org © ESPO 2016 ESPO Barnsdale Way, Grove Park, Enderby, Leicester LE19 1ES • espo.org This publication is printed on paper made from a mix of wood sourced from sustainable forests and recycled pulp.