Best Practice

Nurturing your school business professional

School finance Senior leadership Whole-school issues
With stretched budgets and so many competing demands, it is a difficult time for school business professionals and they can often feel isolated. Suzanne O’Connell considers how we can support them
Image: Adobe Stock

For years, administration and business management remained a relatively uncelebrated part of the school machinery. However, the role took on new importance with local management of schools and has now become crucial amid real-terms funding cuts, a cost of living crisis, and a growing multi-academy trust movement.

An effective school business professional (SBP) will carefully manage resources, providing good budget performance and strong negotiating skills to save you money, with direct implications for staffing and teaching and learning at your school.

However, it can also be a lonely job. Often heading a large but diverse group of staff, SBPs can be expected to work miracles with a struggling school budget and must justify difficult financial decisions to a teaching staff desperate for more resources. So how can you help your SBP during the difficult times that will no doubt continue this year?

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