School catering represents a major area of spend, so getting the approach right really matters. But there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Every school is different, and a model that works brilliantly in one setting may be far less effective in another.
With more than 30 years’ experience supporting the education sector, Litmus has worked alongside thousands of state and independent schools, as well as Multi-Academy Trusts, to help them decide whether managing catering in-house or partnering with an external provider is the right route for them.
In many cases, the decision isn’t just financial. It’s shaped by the culture of the school, how catering has historically been delivered, available budgets, and the skills and capacity of the existing catering team.
To help schools navigate this decision with confidence, we’ve set out a clear overview of the strengths of each approach – helping you assess which model best aligns with your priorities and long-term goals.
| Reasons for operating inhouse | Reasons for outsourcing |
| – A series of bad experiences with multiple contractors. – Better value for money or the need to remove significant cost, such as the management fee. – Transparency of costs, with no inflated charges. – The contractor’s staff ‘going native’ in considering themselves school employees with no particular loyalty to their actual employer. – Shared aims – one team, one approach to all aspects of the school. – Complete flexibility around supplier and product purchasing. – Complete sovereignty over the service, and the ability to make changes quickly without impacting the commercial agreement with a third party. – Quicker and more personal response to consumers. – Freedom to engage professional support as required and not pay for unused resources. – The management resource and knowledge is already in the school’s team to manage the services. | – It reduces a client’s involvement in day-to-day catering management and provides expertise where it doesn’t exist within the school’s management and catering team structure. – Continuously evolving industry expertise keeps the food and service offer fresh. – Food safety due diligence and continuous compliance with new legislation is delegated. – The contractor is equipped to provide catering-specific systems to support the operation. – Career opportunities are provided for catering staff. – Insurance against the unexpected, such as the ability to resource substitutes during critical staff absence. – Skilled support for special events. – Guaranteed cost or return and tighter control of costs and transparent accounting for costs, using tried and tested catering accounting software. However, it’s worth noting that this is not always the case, and costs can be hidden from a school or transferred into the account without the school being aware, such as training, relief management and specialist support. – Upfront investment is available. |
It’s also worth remembering that, where catering is outsourced, meaningful savings can often be achieved without changing provider. A best-value benchmarking review or structured contract renegotiation can unlock efficiencies, while going out to tender may reveal alternative solutions that deliver stronger value for money.
Bringing catering in-house can also reduce costs, but only when it follows a thorough and objective options appraisal. Without the right management controls, procurement expertise and investment in staff development, any initial savings can quickly disappear.
Technology now plays an increasingly important role in supporting successful in-house catering models. Purpose-built systems can reduce overall food procurement costs by up to 20%, while improving operational visibility and control. Litmus Edge, our integrated kitchen management and food procurement platform, has been specifically designed for schools. By simplifying processes, eliminating unnecessary paperwork and consolidating multiple systems into one, it frees up time and budget – allowing more of your spend to go directly onto the plate.
Not sure where to begin? Contact Katie Foster to discuss your current catering challenges and explore how the Litmus team can support you through services including tendering, benchmarking, reviews and Litmus Edge.
The Litmus Team
