The summer term is one of the busiest periods in the school calendar… but it’s also one of the busiest in terms of making bigger purchasing decisions.

Back when I was a department head, I’d have a pretty clear sense of what had worked and what hadn’t by the summer term. Budgets were coming into focus, and September was close enough that plans needed to be locked in.

At the same time, it was also one of the busiest times in my diary. Exams were underway, staffing was stretched, and there was always something that needed dealing with.

So my spending decisions didn’t happen in neat, well-planned conditions, but piecemeal alongside everything else that was going on. And that’s exactly what we see reflected in our data…

In our Selling to Schools in the Summer Term report, we asked when larger purchasing decisions are generally agreed. The most commonly selected months were:

June – 24.9% of respondents

April – 22.6% of respondents

May – 19.9% of respondents

July – 17.2% of respondents

It’s easy to assume that, as the year progresses and pressure increases, decision-making slows down. But my own teaching experience - and our data - suggests something totally different.

Decisions are still happening, and in many cases, this is when they are being finalised.

So the question isn’t whether schools are buying in the summer term… but why so many of those decisions are happening at the point when schools are under the most pressure, and what that means for how those decisions are made.

Why this window exists

The amount of decisions made in the summer term isn’t based on preference, but largely based on necessity.

Maintained schools operate on an April to March financial year. Academies typically run September to August. In both cases, there is a clear cycle that shapes when decisions can and need to be made.

From our research:

• Most schools begin forecasting the next year’s budget between January and March.
• By the summer term, budgets are clearer and available.
• Planning for September needs to be finalised within a fixed timeframe.

There are also funding dynamics that reinforce this:

• Sports Premium funding is typically allocated around April or May.
• Pupil Premium is distributed quarterly, including within the summer term.

That creates a period where funding is available, priorities are clearer, and timelines are fixed. That explains why decisions cluster here, even though it’s one of the most operationally demanding parts of the year.

What the data tells us – and what it doesn’t

The data gives a clear view of timing: April, May, June and July are consistently selected as key months for agreeing larger purchasing decisions, with June the most commonly cited.

It also challenges the idea that schools wind down in July and defer major decisions until September.

What the data doesn’t show, though, is how decision-making changes in this context.

To understand that, you need to look at it alongside what we know from our wider State of Selling to Schools research .

Leaders are balancing multiple pressures simultaneously (particularly around attainment, behaviour and staffing) all of which rank consistently as top priorities.

Those pressures aren’t minor background tasks, but multiple competing priorities that shape how teachers’ time and attention are spent.

What pressure does to buying behaviour

When purchasing decisions are happening alongside everything else, they don’t follow a neat process. There’s less time for teachers, and less room for anything that takes effort to understand.

1. Decisions are finalised, not explored

By the time schools reach April, May and June, much of the research and shortlisting has already happened.

Budgets have been forecast, priorities have been identified, and that initial awareness of suppliers and options probably already exists. For bigger purchases, the summer term will be more about bringing decisions to a close - but it doesn’t mean you can’t still secure a ‘last-minute’ sale, even if your product or service falls into that ‘bigger spend’ category. You’ll just need to work harder to stand out and explain how your solution beats your competitors, and do what you can to make the deal as easy as possible for schools.

Make sure you’re positioning your messaging to support decision-making progression, rather than simple brand discovery, and focus on helping schools move forward with confidence. Free trials or delayed payment terms can go a long way here.

2. Time pressure changes how information is processed

From my own experience (and backed up with our State of Selling to Schools data), schools are managing multiple competing priorities in the summer term.

That affects how much time and attention can be given to any individual decision.

Long emails, complex messaging, too many calls to action, or unnecessary amounts of detail will cause friction and create a poor opinion of your brand before you’ve even entered the decision-making conversations.

You could have the greatest product or service that makes the most tangible impact on classroom outcomes and save hours a week in teachers’ time. But if your offer takes time to understand, it becomes less likely to be considered.

3. Filtering happens earlier

The combination of multiple pressures, limited time, and a lot of potential suppliers and decisions to choose from mean schools need to filter what they engage with.

That filtering often happens quickly, so opportunities that don’t feel immediately clearly relevant are less likely to be explored further.

From our State of Selling to Schools research, attainment, behaviour and staffing consistently come up as key priorities. These are the things school leaders are dealing with every day at this point in the year, and that feeds directly into how decisions are made.

Even when schools are planning ahead for September, what’s happening in school right now still plays a big role. If something clearly links to a current issue, it’s easier to bring into the conversation and move forward with.

If that connection isn’t obvious, it’s much harder to prioritise. It often gets pushed down the list or left for later.

The closer your messaging is to the issues schools are actively dealing with, the easier it is for someone to justify progressing it.

You need to be clear about the problem your product or service solves, use language that reflects how schools talk about these challenges, and show how your offer fits into what schools are already trying to improve.

4. Confidence becomes a deciding factor

Our State of Selling to Schools research shows that schools are operating under pressure across multiple areas.

When decisions need to be made within a fixed timeframe, confidence plays a larger role.

Schools are more likely to move forward with options that feel proven; are used by similar schools; and have clear, evidenced outcomes. Make use of case studies and testimonials from other schools, highlight specific stats about impact and outcomes, and make it easy for schools to see how your solution has worked elsewhere, and can work just as well in their school.

This is particularly important at a time when school budgets are stretched more than ever. Schools need to feel confident that they’re buying the right thing, and aren’t wasting their limited budget. Offering demos and free trials will go a long way, as teachers will immediately see the value in your offering, and feel more at ease with their decision. Delayed payment terms or break clauses can also help put decision-makers at ease if they’re sold on your product, but have budget concerns.

Where suppliers get this wrong

A lot of suppliers treat the summer term like a continuation of the rest of the year.

Same campaigns, same messaging, same expectations around how long a school will spend looking at something new.

That makes sense on paper - if your product hasn’t changed, and your messaging worked before Easter, why would you need to change things after? But by this point, schools are working quite differently.

Decisions are being wrapped up while everything else is going on. Time is tighter, and anything that takes a bit of effort to unpack is more likely to be put aside, even if it’s genuinely useful.

That’s where things start to slip.

Messages land, but don’t quite get picked up. Conversations start, but don’t always move forward. Good opportunities sit there without progressing. It’s easy to look at that and assume the window has passed, or that decisions have already been made.

In reality, decisions are still happening all the way through this period. The data shows that clearly. June is the most commonly selected month for agreeing larger purchases, and July is still active.

The difference is how those decisions are being moved forward.

What to do about it now

Even if you haven’t been building visibility earlier in the year, this isn’t a closed door.

You can still generate pipeline and convert business in the summer term - you just need to adjust how you show up.

A few things that make a noticeable difference at this point in the year:

Make it easier to act quickly

Schools don’t have much time to go back and forth. If something looks useful, it needs to be clear what the next step is and how quickly it can happen. Anything that feels drawn out slows things down.

Be direct about the problem you solve

This isn’t the moment for broad positioning. The closer you can get to a specific, recognisable issue in school, the easier it is for someone to pick it up and take it forward internally.

Keep the path to September simple

A lot of decisions being made now are about next year. Show how someone can go from “this looks useful” to “this is in place for September” without a complicated process in between.

Bring proof into the first interaction

There isn’t much time to build confidence gradually. Case studies, examples, and outcomes need to be visible straight away so schools can quickly see how this would work in their context.

Selling to schools in the autumn term

There’s also a second opportunity here.

Even where decisions don’t land immediately, this is when schools are shaping what next year looks like. The conversations happening now often carry through into September.

That means activity in the summer term does two things at once: supporting decisions that are being finalised now, and building familiarity that makes September sales easier to convert.

If you get your approach right at this stage, you have the opportunity to sell both during this summer term, and set yourself up for the autumn term. What this really means

A lot of decisions are still being made between April and July. The data backs that up.

They’re just happening in a very busy, very pressured environment, which changes how suppliers are vetted, how quickly decisions are made, and which purchases get prioritised.

There’s still a real opportunity here. Deals are being agreed. Budgets are being used. Plans for September are being finalised.

If you can make it easy for schools to understand what you do and how it helps, you’re still in the running.

And what you do now doesn’t just affect this term - it shapes what happens in September.

Your summer term marketing strategy - sorted

If you're worried your current approach might not land as well as it should, there’s still time to change it.

We help organisations selling to schools to build campaigns that align with how decisions are actually being made in the summer term, securing sales and setting up a stronger pipeline for September.

Book an education strategy call with one of our specialists today, and we’ll help you map out a more effective approach for the rest of the summer term and beyond.

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Marketing to Schools Marketing to Teachers Selling to Schools UK Schools Marketing

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