Analysis · No. 4 · Sectors

Education and skills: universities in Parliament, SEND in the contracts.

We sorted everything government published, bought, discussed and was asked about since the July 2024 election into 39 sectors. Education and skills is the second busiest.

Seam analysis by Matt Bevington (how to cite) · first published 3 October 2026 · Data from 5 July 2024 to the end of October 2026, drawn 3 November 2026 · How we did this

37,453records affecting education since July 2024
8.1%of all government activity, latest twelve months
2 of 39sectors, by activity
6×the typical sector’s share of “what it buys”

We read 456,455 records across 24 sources. We placed each record in the sectors its words are about, with the same scorer that runs search on Seam. We measure activity in five strands: what government publishes, what it buys, who it meets, what Parliament asks, and who checks it. The method is at the end of the page.

Where education ranks

Education and skills is the second busiest of the 39 sectors, alongside health and social care and local government. It is strongest in “what it buys”, where it takes 10.4% of records, about 6 times the typical sector’s share, the highest of all 39 sectors (next is transport, at 9.8%).

The busiest sectors in government

Each sector’s share of activity in the latest twelve months (Nov 2025–Oct 2026), averaged across the five strands. It shows the top 12 of 39. The three busiest are darker, and Education and skills is darkest.

  • Education and skills
  • The other two busiest sectors
  • Other sectors
  • 1. Health and social care7.9%
  • 2. Education and skills8.1%
  • 3. Local government8.3%
  • 4. Energy and utilities6.1%
  • 5. Transport5.2%
  • 6. Digital and telecoms4.7%
  • 7. Justice and policing5.4%
  • 8. Life sciences5.3%
  • 9. Manufacturing3.9%
  • 10. Small business3.7%
  • 11. Housing3.9%
  • 12. Construction3.3%
0%5%10%

We order sectors by their average rank on three measures: the average strand share shown here, the middle (median) strand share, and the raw number of records. Ties go to the higher average share. The table shows all three.

Show the numbers
#SectorAverage shareRankMiddle strand shareRankRecordsRank
1Health and social care7.9%38.6%122,6131
2Education and skills8.1%27.9%222,3702
3Local government8.3%16.0%313,3887
4Energy and utilities6.1%45.5%415,1655
5Transport5.2%74.5%717,4944
6Digital and telecoms4.7%85.3%513,8656
7Justice and policing5.4%55.2%610,36610
8Life sciences5.3%63.4%1218,0793
9Manufacturing3.9%104.1%810,9188
10Small business3.7%113.5%1110,4419
11Housing3.9%93.5%108,24614
12Construction3.3%123.3%139,13311
13Financial services3.2%133.7%98,06615
14Environment2.9%152.9%148,25413
15Employment3.1%142.7%178,29912
16Children and families2.8%162.7%167,61316
17Charities2.5%172.9%156,54118
18Planning1.9%212.5%186,14019
19Defence2.3%181.4%267,56017
20Research and science1.8%231.8%204,49824
21Tax and accounting2.2%191.0%305,66120
22Farming and food1.8%242.2%194,40326
23Media, culture and sport1.7%251.5%245,53821
24govaffairs2.1%201.8%213,35532
25Foreign affairs and trade1.9%221.3%284,65123
26Aviation, maritime and ports1.6%271.6%224,16527
27Welfare1.7%261.0%295,41322
28Pensions1.5%281.5%254,13428
29Retail1.5%301.5%233,74330
30Water1.5%291.4%274,04229
31Facilities and estates1.1%320.8%344,42125
32Automotive1.0%330.9%313,41331
33Immigration1.1%310.9%323,28533
34Aviation0.8%340.8%331,94635
35Artificial intelligence0.8%350.7%352,09934
36Hospitality and tourism0.5%360.6%361,82736
37Insurance0.3%370.3%3799837
38Semiconductors and compute0.2%380.2%3866838
39Gambling0.1%390.1%3934939

Where education shows up

Share of each strand’s records that affect education and skills, latest twelve months, against the typical (median) sector.

  • Typical sector
  • Education and skills
  • What government publishesAnnouncements, policy papers, consultations, guidance, transparency releases, statistics, NHS England7.9%
  • What it buysContract notices and awards10.4%
  • Who it meetsMeetings ministers and senior officials hold with outside organisations8.4%
  • What Parliament asksWritten and oral questions, debates, select committee letters and evidence, Holyrood and the Senedd7.8%
  • Who checks itRegulators, the Information Commissioner, the public auditors, the RPC6.0%
0%6%12%

A record can touch more than one sector, so shares across sectors add up to more than 100%.

Show the numbers
StrandRecords in the strandEducation and skillsTypical sectorMultiple
What government publishes33,7527.9%2.9%2.7×
What it buys98,29510.4%1.7%6.1×
Who it meets11,8708.4%1.6%5.2×
What Parliament asks102,8947.8%2.6%3.0×
Who checks it7,0186.0%1.5%4.0×

How it has changed

Since the government’s first year, education’s share of “what it buys” has moved most upward (+2.8 points). Its share of “who checks it” has moved most downward (−0.8 points).

Then and now, strand by strand

Education and skills’ share of each strand in the government’s first year (Jul 2024–Jun 2025) and the latest twelve months (Nov 2025–Oct 2026).

  • First year
  • Latest twelve months: bigger share
  • smaller share
  • What government publishes+1.2 pts
  • What it buys+2.8 pts
  • Who it meets+1.3 pts
  • What Parliament asks+0.8 pts
  • Who checks it−0.8 pts
0%6%12%
Show the numbers
StrandFirst yearLatest 12 monthsChange, points
What government publishes6.7%7.9%+1.2
What it buys7.6%10.4%+2.8
Who it meets7.1%8.4%+1.3
What Parliament asks7.0%7.8%+0.8
Who checks it6.8%6.0%−0.8

Month by month, in each strand

Education and skills’ share of each strand, averaged over three months to reduce the effect of single busy weeks. Each panel has its own scale. Hover over the line to see each month.

  • Higher now than at the start
  • Lower

What government publishes

6.7% → 7.9%

Three months to September 2024: 7.3%Three months to October 2024: 7.3%Three months to November 2024: 7.5%Three months to December 2024: 7.1%Three months to January 2025: 6.7%Three months to February 2025: 6.0%Three months to March 2025: 6.0%Three months to April 2025: 6.3%Three months to May 2025: 6.3%Three months to June 2025: 6.4%Three months to July 2025: 6.2%Three months to August 2025: 6.4%Three months to September 2025: 6.7%Three months to October 2025: 7.1%Three months to November 2025: 7.1%Three months to December 2025: 6.9%Three months to January 2026: 7.0%Three months to February 2026: 7.4%Three months to March 2026: 7.6%Three months to April 2026: 7.6%Three months to May 2026: 7.4%Three months to June 2026: 7.6%Three months to July 2026: 7.8%Three months to August 2026: 8.2%Three months to September 2026: 8.7%Three months to October 2026: 8.8%Sep 24Oct 26

What it buys

7.6% → 10.4%

Three months to September 2024: 10.6%Three months to October 2024: 12.6%Three months to November 2024: 14.2%Three months to December 2024: 9.4%Three months to January 2025: 9.2%Three months to February 2025: 8.0%Three months to March 2025: 8.6%Three months to April 2025: 7.3%Three months to May 2025: 7.2%Three months to June 2025: 7.4%Three months to July 2025: 8.6%Three months to August 2025: 11.1%Three months to September 2025: 12.1%Three months to October 2025: 11.8%Three months to November 2025: 10.4%Three months to December 2025: 9.5%Three months to January 2026: 9.4%Three months to February 2026: 8.7%Three months to March 2026: 8.4%Three months to April 2026: 7.6%Three months to May 2026: 7.4%Three months to June 2026: 7.8%Three months to July 2026: 9.4%Three months to August 2026: 12.2%Three months to September 2026: 12.9%Three months to October 2026: 12.7%Sep 24Oct 26

Who it meets

7.1% → 8.4%

Three months to September 2024: 5.6%Three months to October 2024: 6.2%Three months to November 2024: 7.1%Three months to December 2024: 8.1%Three months to January 2025: 7.2%Three months to February 2025: 6.9%Three months to March 2025: 5.8%Three months to April 2025: 6.9%Three months to May 2025: 7.8%Three months to June 2025: 8.7%Three months to July 2025: 8.8%Three months to August 2025: 9.6%Three months to September 2025: 9.7%Three months to October 2025: 9.6%Three months to November 2025: 8.1%Three months to December 2025: 8.2%Three months to January 2026: 8.4%Three months to February 2026: 9.2%Three months to March 2026: 8.6%Three months to April 2026: 8.5%Three months to May 2026: 7.9%Three months to June 2026: 8.3%Sep 24Jun 26

What Parliament asks

7.0% → 7.8%

Three months to September 2024: 7.5%Three months to October 2024: 7.5%Three months to November 2024: 7.0%Three months to December 2024: 6.9%Three months to January 2025: 7.0%Three months to February 2025: 6.9%Three months to March 2025: 6.8%Three months to April 2025: 6.8%Three months to May 2025: 6.9%Three months to June 2025: 7.2%Three months to July 2025: 7.1%Three months to August 2025: 6.8%Three months to September 2025: 6.4%Three months to October 2025: 6.5%Three months to November 2025: 6.6%Three months to December 2025: 6.7%Three months to January 2026: 6.7%Three months to February 2026: 7.5%Three months to March 2026: 7.8%Three months to April 2026: 8.2%Three months to May 2026: 8.4%Three months to June 2026: 9.0%Three months to July 2026: 8.7%Three months to August 2026: 7.9%Three months to September 2026: 7.9%Three months to October 2026: 7.9%Sep 24Oct 26

Who checks it

6.8% → 6.0%

Three months to September 2024: 7.0%Three months to October 2024: 6.6%Three months to November 2024: 6.9%Three months to December 2024: 6.6%Three months to January 2025: 5.7%Three months to February 2025: 6.1%Three months to March 2025: 6.4%Three months to April 2025: 6.7%Three months to May 2025: 7.4%Three months to June 2025: 7.1%Three months to July 2025: 7.5%Three months to August 2025: 5.8%Three months to September 2025: 6.5%Three months to October 2025: 5.8%Three months to November 2025: 6.6%Three months to December 2025: 5.5%Three months to January 2026: 5.7%Three months to February 2026: 5.8%Three months to March 2026: 6.5%Three months to April 2026: 6.1%Three months to May 2026: 6.0%Three months to June 2026: 5.6%Three months to July 2026: 5.4%Three months to August 2026: 5.4%Three months to September 2026: 5.9%Sep 24Sep 26

Meetings appear a quarter or more late, so that panel stops earlier than the rest.

How much activity affects education, month by month

Records affecting education and skills each month, July 2024 to October 2026, coloured by strand. Hover over a column for the detail.

  • What government publishes
  • What it buys
  • Who it meets
  • What Parliament asks
  • Who checks it
Records affecting Education and skills each month, July 2024 to October 2026, by strand05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500July 2024: 478 records – what government publishes 93, what it buys 8, who it meets 79, what parliament asks 239, who checks it 59Jul 2024August 2024: 265 records – what government publishes 102, what it buys 12, who it meets 49, what parliament asks 76, who checks it 26September 2024: 520 records – what government publishes 132, what it buys 25, who it meets 100, what parliament asks 227, who checks it 36October 2024: 944 records – what government publishes 133, what it buys 22, who it meets 153, what parliament asks 577, who checks it 59November 2024: 829 records – what government publishes 166, what it buys 17, who it meets 133, what parliament asks 475, who checks it 38December 2024: 672 records – what government publishes 126, what it buys 15, who it meets 100, what parliament asks 394, who checks it 37January 2025: 840 records – what government publishes 103, what it buys 17, who it meets 79, what parliament asks 606, who checks it 352025February 2025: 807 records – what government publishes 95, what it buys 39, who it meets 101, what parliament asks 534, who checks it 38March 2025: 1,080 records – what government publishes 132, what it buys 176, who it meets 91, what parliament asks 637, who checks it 44April 2025: 1,047 records – what government publishes 114, what it buys 211, who it meets 126, what parliament asks 558, who checks it 38May 2025: 1,042 records – what government publishes 95, what it buys 231, who it meets 146, what parliament asks 518, who checks it 52June 2025: 1,325 records – what government publishes 129, what it buys 283, who it meets 159, what parliament asks 718, who checks it 36July 2025: 1,423 records – what government publishes 138, what it buys 510, who it meets 154, what parliament asks 558, who checks it 63August 2025: 1,018 records – what government publishes 91, what it buys 658, who it meets 83, what parliament asks 170, who checks it 16September 2025: 1,234 records – what government publishes 139, what it buys 558, who it meets 138, what parliament asks 353, who checks it 46October 2025: 1,559 records – what government publishes 125, what it buys 529, who it meets 141, what parliament asks 728, who checks it 36November 2025: 1,399 records – what government publishes 133, what it buys 504, who it meets 144, what parliament asks 583, who checks it 35December 2025: 1,176 records – what government publishes 145, what it buys 437, who it meets 111, what parliament asks 456, who checks it 27January 2026: 1,587 records – what government publishes 174, what it buys 511, who it meets 146, what parliament asks 719, who checks it 372026February 2026: 1,623 records – what government publishes 188, what it buys 495, who it meets 158, what parliament asks 742, who checks it 40March 2026: 1,778 records – what government publishes 251, what it buys 579, who it meets 134, what parliament asks 764, who checks it 50April 2026: 1,329 records – what government publishes 195, what it buys 421, who it meets 91, what parliament asks 594, who checks it 28May 2026: 1,354 records – what government publishes 201, what it buys 465, who it meets 82, what parliament asks 562, who checks it 44June 2026: 2,143 records – what government publishes 274, what it buys 554, who it meets 126, what parliament asks 1,153, who checks it 36July 2026: 1,813 records – what government publishes 316, what it buys 898, who it meets 0, what parliament asks 563, who checks it 36August 2026: 2,749 records – what government publishes 241, what it buys 2,095, who it meets 0, what parliament asks 383, who checks it 30September 2026: 2,782 records – what government publishes 303, what it buys 1,759, who it meets 0, what parliament asks 680, who checks it 40October 2026: 2,637 records – what government publishes 233, what it buys 1,515, who it meets 0, what parliament asks 871, who checks it 18

The busiest month was September 2026. Counts swing with the parliamentary calendar and with how sources publish (a council can post a hundred contract awards in a day). That is why the rest of this page uses shares.

Show the numbers
MonthWhat government publishesWhat it buysWho it meetsWhat Parliament asksWho checks itAll
July 20249387923959478
August 202410212497626265
September 20241322510022736520
October 20241332215357759944
November 20241661713347538829
December 20241261510039437672
January 2025103177960635840
February 2025953910153438807
March 202513217691637441,080
April 2025114211126558381,047
May 202595231146518521,042
June 2025129283159718361,325
July 2025138510154558631,423
August 20259165883170161,018
September 2025139558138353461,234
October 2025125529141728361,559
November 2025133504144583351,399
December 2025145437111456271,176
January 2026174511146719371,587
February 2026188495158742401,623
March 2026251579134764501,778
April 202619542191594281,329
May 202620146582562441,354
June 20262745541261,153362,143
July 20263168980563361,813
August 20262412,0950383302,749
September 20263031,7590680402,782
October 20262331,5150871182,637

What it is about

The biggest themes are universities, SEND and special schools and further education and colleges. Growing fastest: school transport, student finance and SEND and special schools. Fading: school food and breakfast clubs, school funding and buildings and teachers and school staff. Parliament drives school funding and buildings and school food and breakfast clubs. Contracts drive school transport and SEND and special schools.

What education activity is about

Share of education and skills records touching each theme, first year (Jul 2024–Jun 2025) against the latest twelve months (Nov 2025–Oct 2026). Sorted by the latest share.

  • First year
  • Latest twelve months: bigger share
  • smaller share
  • Universities15.4%
  • SEND and special schools13.4%
  • Further education and colleges9.3%
  • Inspection and academies7.8%
  • Teachers and school staff6.0%
  • Apprenticeships and adult skills6.0%
  • Curriculum and exams4.3%
  • Early years and childcare2.6%
  • School transport2.0%
  • Student finance1.9%
  • Attendance and behaviour1.3%
  • School food and breakfast clubs0.9%
  • School funding and buildings0.8%
0%8%16%

A record can affect several themes, or none. 40% touch none of these, usually because the title says too little (“Lot 2”, “Provision of services”). The word lists are in the method box at the end of the page.

Show the numbers
ThemeRecordsFirst yearLatest 12 monthsRelative change
Universities5,45414.2%15.4%+8%
SEND and special schools4,8429.4%13.4%+43%
Further education and colleges3,5609.8%9.3%−5%
Inspection and academies2,8017.0%7.8%+11%
Teachers and school staff2,4938.6%6.0%−30%
Apprenticeships and adult skills2,2706.7%6.0%−10%
Curriculum and exams1,6314.7%4.3%−9%
Early years and childcare1,0322.9%2.6%−10%
School transport5980.8%2.0%+150%
Student finance5761.3%1.9%+46%
Attendance and behaviour4781.3%1.3%0%
School food and breakfast clubs4521.9%0.9%−53%
School funding and buildings3441.3%0.8%−38%

The themes, quarter by quarter

Share of education and skills records touching each theme in each quarter, in per cent. We set the shading row by row. The darkest cell is that theme’s busiest quarter. Hover over a cell for the detail.

  • Quietest quarter for the theme
  • Busiest quarter
Jul–Sep2024Oct–Dec2024Jan–Mar2025Apr–Jun2025Jul–Sep2025Oct–Dec2025Jan–Mar2026Apr–Jun2026Jul–Sep2026Oct2026
Universities15.714.114.013.911.613.017.119.312.315.4
SEND and special schools9.19.810.28.718.612.18.47.522.411.4
Further education and colleges9.710.88.410.29.89.110.49.98.210.0
Inspection and academies11.28.25.85.77.57.56.66.48.69.7
Teachers and school staff10.29.58.57.55.66.06.46.35.46.4
Apprenticeships and adult skills6.45.17.37.64.86.74.65.06.19.2
Curriculum and exams5.76.13.93.83.55.94.74.23.73.5
Early years and childcare2.12.52.93.43.52.44.12.12.02.5
School transport1.50.70.60.91.21.21.53.11.92.0
Student finance1.21.81.40.90.61.02.52.81.01.9
Attendance and behaviour0.91.51.71.11.11.11.11.51.41.3
School food and breakfast clubs0.92.01.92.20.81.20.71.20.81.0
School funding and buildings1.31.41.41.30.51.00.71.10.60.7
Education and skills records in the quarter1,2632,4452,7273,4143,6754,1344,9884,8267,3442,637

The first quarter starts on 5 July 2024, the day after the general election. The last runs only to the end of October 2026. Read along a row, not down a column.

Where each theme comes from

Share of each theme’s records by strand, since July 2024. Sorted by how much comes from Parliament.

  • What government publishes
  • What it buys
  • Who it meets
  • What Parliament asks
  • Who checks it
  • School funding and buildings13%81%
  • School food and breakfast clubs20%69%
  • Student finance28%68%
  • Attendance and behaviour18%20%55%
  • Early years and childcare22%18%11%48%
  • Curriculum and exams29%12%9%47%
  • Universities24%17%44%
  • Apprenticeships and adult skills19%33%43%
  • Teachers and school staff34%15%40%
  • SEND and special schools61%32%
  • Further education and colleges14%29%25%27%
  • Inspection and academies34%36%10%16%
  • School transport85%12%

Themes near the top are what MPs and peers raise. Themes near the bottom are what government buys, publishes or is checked on.

Show the numbers
ThemeWhat government publishesWhat it buysWho it meetsWhat Parliament asksWho checks itRecords
School funding and buildings12.8%4.4%1.5%81.1%0.3%344
School food and breakfast clubs8.8%20.4%1.3%69.2%0.2%452
Student finance28.3%1.7%1.2%68.2%0.5%576
Attendance and behaviour18.2%19.5%4.0%55.2%3.1%478
Early years and childcare22.1%17.8%11.2%48.5%0.3%1,032
Curriculum and exams29.3%12.1%9.3%46.8%2.4%1,631
Universities5.9%24.0%17.2%44.1%8.8%5,454
Apprenticeships and adult skills19.0%33.3%4.0%43.0%0.7%2,270
Teachers and school staff34.1%15.4%8.2%40.2%2.1%2,493
SEND and special schools4.4%61.3%2.0%31.5%0.7%4,842
Further education and colleges13.8%28.8%25.2%26.8%5.4%3,560
Inspection and academies33.5%36.3%10.5%16.5%3.2%2,801
School transport1.8%84.9%0.3%12.2%0.7%598

Who is involved

Department for Education publishes most, Surrey County Council buys most, and Royal Academy of Engineering is the organisation ministers and officials meet most often on education.

Who is doing the education activity

The ten bodies with the most records in each strand since July 2024. Hover over a bar for the full name and count.

Who publishes most · 157 bodies

  • Department for Education1,408
  • Teaching Regulation Agency598
  • Office of the Schools Adjudicator408
  • Ofqual230
  • Student Loans Company186
  • Ofsted172
  • Department for Work and Pensions101
  • Regional Department for Education (DfE) Dir…69
  • Department of Health and Social Care60
  • Ministry of Defence56

Who buys most · 1,507 buyers

  • Surrey County Council2,544
  • NHS England597
  • Hampshire County Council233
  • The North Yorkshire Council231
  • Department for Education210
  • Suffolk County Council Passenger Transport205
  • Somerset Council175
  • Lincolnshire County Council169
  • Ministry of Defence157
  • Kent County Council147

Who ministers and officials meet most · 1,267 organisations

  • Royal Academy of Engineering63
  • Association of Colleges60
  • Confederation of School Trusts54
  • Universities UK46
  • University College London42
  • Academy of Medical Royal Colleges35
  • University of Oxford34
  • British Academy34
  • National Association of Head Teachers32
  • Association of School and College Leaders30

Which departments answer the questions

  • Department for Education7,548
  • Department of Health and Social Care1,416
  • Department for Work and Pensions633
  • Ministry of Defence426
  • Home Office407
  • Treasury322
  • Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office281
  • Department for Science, Innovation and Tech…265

Contracts went to 7,501 different suppliers. The ten busiest won 6% of them. The meetings chart counts each organisation named on a return once per meeting. Surrey County Council alone accounts for 19% of the 13,544 contract records, so it moves the contract figures on its own.

What Parliament asks

Each party asks close to its usual share of education questions. Written questions here take a median 10 days to answer, against 8 across government.

Who asks about education

Share of written and oral questions on education and skills asked by each party, against its share of all questions, since July 2024.

  • All questions
  • Education and skills: more than its usual share
  • less
  • Labour33%
  • Conservative31%
  • Liberal Democrat23%
  • Reform UK3%
  • Independent4%
  • Crossbench2%
  • Green1%
  • DUP3%
0%20%40%

Based on 12,395 questions where the asking member’s party is recorded. Peers sit in the Lords. “Crossbench” members belong to no party.

Show the numbers
PartyEducation and skillsAll questions
Labour32.9%29.0%
Conservative30.8%39.9%
Liberal Democrat23.1%18.4%
Reform UK2.8%2.5%
Independent4.4%3.7%
Crossbench1.9%1.1%
Green0.8%1.1%
DUP2.7%2.7%

Where the money goes

13,544 contract notices and awards since July 2024. The typical (median) one is worth £102k, against £120k across all of government.

Contracts, quarter by quarter

Education and skills contract notices and awards each quarter. The figure above each column is its share of all contracts that quarter.

Education and skills contract notices and awards each quarter01,0002,0003,0004,0005,0006,000Jul-Sep 2024: 45 contracts, 9.9% of all contracts10%Jul–Sep2024Oct-Dec 2024: 54 contracts, 8.7% of all contracts9%Oct–Dec2024Jan-Mar 2025: 232 contracts, 7.6% of all contracts8%Jan–Mar2025Apr-Jun 2025: 725 contracts, 7.4% of all contracts7%Apr–Jun2025Jul-Sep 2025: 1,726 contracts, 12.0% of all contracts12%Jul–Sep2025Oct-Dec 2025: 1,470 contracts, 9.5% of all contracts10%Oct–Dec2025Jan-Mar 2026: 1,585 contracts, 8.3% of all contracts8%Jan–Mar2026Apr-Jun 2026: 1,440 contracts, 7.8% of all contracts8%Apr–Jun2026Jul-Sep 2026: 4,752 contracts, 12.8% of all contracts13%Jul–Sep2026Oct 2026: 1,515 contracts, 11.1% of all contracts11%Oct2026

The last quarter runs only to the end of October 2026.

Show the numbers
QuarterContractsShare of all contracts
Jul–Sep 2024459.9%
Oct–Dec 2024548.7%
Jan–Mar 20252327.6%
Apr–Jun 20257257.4%
Jul–Sep 20251,72612.0%
Oct–Dec 20251,4709.5%
Jan–Mar 20261,5858.3%
Apr–Jun 20261,4407.8%
Jul–Sep 20264,75212.8%
Oct 20261,51511.1%

How big the contracts are

Share of education and skills contract notices and awards in each value band, against all contracts, since July 2024.

  • All contracts
  • Education and skills: more common
  • less common
  • Under £10k3%
  • £10k–100k46%
  • £100k–1m33%
  • £1m–10m13%
  • £10m–100m4%
  • £100m and over1%
0%25%50%

Values are what the buyer published: an estimate for an open notice, the award for a closed one, and for a framework the ceiling across every buyer that might use it.

Show the numbers
ValueEducation and skillsAll contracts
Under £10k2.6%5.9%
£10k–100k46.3%40.2%
£100k–1m32.8%33.1%
£1m–10m13.1%13.9%
£10m–100m3.9%4.9%
£100m and over1.2%2.0%

On the record

The most recent policy papers and consultations that affect education, dated by when each consultation closed or each paper was last updated. Every one is on Seam with the rest of its source.

If you work in education and skills

  • Know where your sector stands out. For education it is “what it buys”, at 6 times the typical sector’s share. That is where your sector stands out most against others.
  • Follow the rising themes. Growing fastest: school transport, student finance and SEND and special schools. Watch these for new consultations, contracts and questions.
  • Find the people already talking. The organisations in the meetings chart already have access to ministers.
How we did this: method and caveats

Data. The Seam search database: one row for every record in every source on the site. This piece uses everything dated from 5 July 2024, the day after the general election, to the end of October 2026: 456,455 records. We leave out directories (officials, bodies, councils, registers of interests) because they are lists, not activity. We also leave out ministers’ expenses, hospitality, gifts and travel. Meetings appear a quarter or more late, so the latest months hold fewer of them. Charts built on months or quarters use whole months only.

The five strands. What government publishes: announcements, policy papers, consultations, guidance, transparency releases, statistics, NHS England (62,441 records). What it buys: contract notices and awards (132,067 records). Who it meets: meetings ministers and senior officials hold with outside organisations (36,405 records). What Parliament asks: written and oral questions, debates, select committee letters and evidence, Holyrood and the Senedd (208,774 records). Who checks it: regulators, the Information Commissioner, the public auditors, the RPC (16,768 records).

Sectors. The scorer that ranks search results on Seam reads each record. It checks the record against the hand-written lexicon (word list) of 39 sectors: phrases and words for each, with words that argue against a sector. A record counts towards its strongest sector, and towards any other sector that scores at least half as much. If a record’s strongest sector scores below 2.5 (less than one decisive phrase), we leave the record unplaced. 74% of records are placed. We made three changes from the search pages, all because a count needs to be stricter than a search. First, we do not use the publisher, because a department’s name decided too many thin records on its own. Second, we switch off the machine-learned extra terms, because they placed records in sectors they were not about. Third, we remove boilerplate first, such as the “Senior official. Meetings” that ends every meeting record. We make one correction by hand. We take a record out of local government if its only “council” is the UN Security Council or a similar body.

Activity and rank. A sector’s activity is its share of each strand’s records, averaged across the five, so that no strand dominates. The biggest strand, what parliament asks, has 12 times as many records as the smallest. We rank sectors on three measures over the latest twelve months (Nov 2025–Oct 2026): that average, the middle (median) strand share, and the raw count of records. We then order them by their average rank across the three. Health and social care, Education and skills and Local government come third, second and first on the average share and first, second and third on the middle share. On the raw count they come first, second and 7th, because sectors heavy in contracts and written questions collect more records. We also tried the scorer with the publisher and the extra terms switched back on. The same sectors stayed near the top, but digital and telecoms rose sharply on meetings alone. That is the noise those changes remove.

Themes come from keywords in each record’s title and summary. For a meeting, that is its purpose and the organisation met. For a question, it is the question. The lists are below. They are a judgement, and they miss records whose titles say little.

Change over time compares the government’s first year (July 2024 to June 2025) with the latest twelve months (Nov 2025–Oct 2026). We compare shares, not counts, because the amount published swings with the parliamentary calendar.

Caveats. Counting records measures how much paper a subject generates, not how much it matters or what it costs. Some sources publish in bulk. One council that posts each school-taxi route as its own contract award can move a sector’s share of contracts on its own. The charts say so where one buyer accounts for 15% or more of a sector’s contract records. Contract values are as published. Frameworks carry their ceiling, which is why we use bands and medians, never totals.

The theme word lists

ThemeWords and phrases in the title or summary
School funding and buildingsschool (funding, budgets?, buildings?, rebuild, estate, capital), RAAC, condition improvement, pupil premium, national funding formula, falling rolls, school places
Teachers and school staffteachers?, teaching, headteachers?, head teachers?, school (staff, leaders?, workforce), support staff, teacher (pay, recruitment, training, misconduct)
SEND and special schoolsSEND, special educational, special schools?, EHCPs?, education,? health and care plans?, alternative provision, high needs
Attendance and behaviourattendance, absence, truan, exclusions?, suspensions?, behaviour
Curriculum and examscurriculum, GCSEs?, A levels?, A-levels?, exams?, examinations?, Ofqual, qualifications?, SATs, T levels?, grades, oracy, phonics
Early years and childcareearly years, childcare, nurser(y, ies), childminders?, funded hours, family hubs, best start, pre-?school
School food and breakfast clubsfree school meals, breakfast clubs?, school (food, meals, milk, catering)
School transporthome to school, school transport, SEND transport, passenger assistant, school (bus, taxi, run), pupil transport
Inspection and academiesOfsted, inspect(ion, ions, ed, or, orate), report cards?, league tables, schools adjudicator, academy trusts?, multi-academy, academ(y, ies)
Universitiesuniversit, higher education, Office for Students, OfS, tuition fees?, international students, vice-chancellor, undergraduates?, postgraduates?
Student financestudent (loans?, finance, support, maintenance), maintenance (loans?, grants?), Student Loans Company
Further education and collegesfurther education, FE, colleges?, sixth forms?
Apprenticeships and adult skillsapprentic, skills england, skills (bootcamps?, gaps?, levy, funding, system), growth and skills levy, adult skills, lifelong learning, technical education, training providers?, NEETs?, youth guarantee

← All analysis