Procurement expertise built for independent schools
We understand the pressures on bursars and finance directors. Ink and Acre is a new firm — built on eight years of established sector experience and relationships that Jo has developed working directly within independent schools.
Procurement services shaped around school life
Every service we offer has been designed with independent schools in mind — not adapted from a corporate template.
Full Procurement Outsourcing
Hand over your procurement function entirely. We act as your in-house team — managing suppliers, contracts, and spend categories so your bursar can focus on what matters most.
Learn more→Tender Management & Contract Reviews
From catering to IT infrastructure, we run rigorous tender processes and review existing contracts to ensure your school is getting genuine value — not just the path of least resistance.
Learn more→Procurement Strategy & Supplier Negotiation
We build long-term procurement strategies tailored to your school's size, structure, and ambitions — and negotiate directly with suppliers on your behalf.
Learn more→We understand the pressures you face
Independent schools operate differently from the public sector and the corporate world. Ink and Acre is a new firm — but the experience behind it is not. Jo has spent eight years working directly within the independent schools sector, and the relationships, benchmarking data and category knowledge she brings are established and proven.
Independent schools only
We work exclusively with independent schools. No public sector frameworks, no corporate clients — just deep, undivided focus on your sector.
Established supplier relationships
Years of sector-specific work means we have relationships with the suppliers who matter to schools — and the leverage to negotiate meaningfully on your behalf.
Measurable, auditable savings
Every engagement is tracked against clear benchmarks. You'll know exactly what you've saved — and why.
Plain language, no jargon
We report in plain English. No procurement-speak, no unnecessary complexity — just clear advice your governors can understand.
Results that speak for themselves
Why Ink and Acre?
Why would you come to us rather than hiring your own procurement person? Any experienced procurement professional could undertake a review on your behalf. Our advantage lies in the speed, specialist expertise and practical experience we bring.
Specialist expertise
Few procurement professionals combine broad commercial experience with an in-depth understanding of education — particularly the independent-school sector. We bring both.
A proportionate approach
Our independent-school experience enables us to balance sound risk management with commercial pace and pragmatism, avoiding unnecessarily lengthy or overly cautious processes.
Immediate value without employment overheads
You gain access to 25 years of procurement experience without the ongoing costs of a permanent appointment. No recruitment, onboarding or HR costs — and work can begin immediately rather than after a three- to six-month settling-in period.
Experience across diverse schools
We have supported more than 25 schools across day and boarding settings, ages 2 to 18, in urban and rural locations. Over the past five years, Josephine has worked with more than 30 Heads, developing a practical understanding of the varied priorities of independent schools.
Aren't consultancy services expensive?
Throughout her career, Josephine has had the autonomy to broaden her expertise, learn from other specialists, and consistently track the savings she delivers. Over the past 15 years, her annual return on investment has never fallen below 8:1 in permanent roles or 4:1 in consultancy assignments.
Tracked consistently over 15 years
How are savings identified and measured?
Every saving is identified and agreed in collaboration with the school — nothing is signed off unilaterally. Baseline costs and new costs are calculated to include all direct and indirect costs, taking into account every applicable resource including administration. The result is a figure the school's finance team can stand behind, not a number produced in isolation by a consultant.
How are we different from another consulting or benchmarking service?
Beyond standard benchmarking
Many consultants assess current expenditure against agreed parameters, standard specifications and off-the-shelf pricing. This can show whether today's costs are competitive — but it does not necessarily identify the best future solution.
Challenging the current approach
Our difference is that we assess not only how money is spent today, but also whether it should be spent differently in future. This may involve redesigning the specification entirely.
Looking at price, volume and process
Cost is driven by both unit price and purchasing volume. We examine both — and may recommend changing what is purchased, reducing demand, or simplifying the ordering and payment process to lessen the administrative burden.
Reducing waste and workload
We examine resource use and unnecessary process steps, including how often each product, service, supplier and invoice is handled across the organisation. Reducing the number of suppliers and invoices can significantly decrease the workload of administrative and finance teams.
Jo proved to be excellent support for St Anthony's School as Head of Procurement. She worked tirelessly and with great success at negotiating contracts and lowering cost without compromising quality. With Jo's support the school continues to offer a premium service to parents and boys at costs that remain extremely competitive. I recommend Jo without hesitation.
Thank you for all the support you gave me whilst I was at APG.
Your collaborative approach is refreshing and was incredibly successful in terms of outcomes for your organisation.
It's been an absolute pleasure working with you at Inspired and thank you for all your support in our first year as the group cleaning provider. Any school that engages your services will be in a very good place as you hunt out better value for money in their service lines.
Your combination of high level vision and attention to detail, as well as coverage of both procurement and supplier management, is extremely unusual and will be a huge asset to the schools you work with next.
Jo is a phenomenal transformational leader with a valuable depth of procurement expertise. You would be lucky to have such an asset working with your organisation!
Jo was impressive from the moment she joined our team. She took the time to build relationships and understand the business, delivering sustained, material benefits.
As one of the Headteachers within the Alpha Plus Group, I worked with Josephine a great deal and consistently saw her strong analytical skills, integrity, and ability to secure real value for the organisation. Josephine was reliable, solutions driven, and built constructive relationships with both suppliers and internal teams. Her professionalism and commitment to improving processes are real strengths and I have no hesitation in recommending Josephine.
Ready to spend smarter?
Whether you're reviewing a single contract or considering a full procurement partnership, we'd welcome a conversation. No obligation — just a straightforward discussion about what's possible for your school.