School Business Managers Network

We meet termly, with 2 of those sessions being for our online SBM Development and Network Meetings which always start with a look at the latest news for business managers – including a national funding update, the latest from Ofsted and any relevant policy developments from the DfE. We then take one or two areas of focus for the rest of the meeting which centre around key aspects of the role, including finance, HR, safeguarding, managing resources etc. There are always lots of ‘take-aways’ for colleagues to take back to school and time to share common areas of challenge and good practice. We also occasionally invite guest speakers and/or relevant companies to come and share key information with the group, based on the needs and suggestions of colleagues within the network. The focus of our termly meetings are driven by the current needs of the group which are informed by evaluations from previous sessions.

Once a year we have our in-person Business Managers’ Conference with a leading national speaker and plenty of opportunities to network with colleagues from across the region. The focus for our conference is driven by the needs of the network and provides an opportunity to hear from a number of exciting guest speakers. For details of previous speakers see below.

Keeping in touch between meetings is also supported through our private SBM Network online forum (managed through Facebook). Network members receive access to this group and can use it to post questions and share information throughout the year.

All network meeting resources, recordings and useful links are made available to network members and their schools, via our online resource hub housed on our website. All network members receive personal access to this area to ensure that they can access resources quickly and easily throughout the year.