School Business Managers Network

We meet termly, primarily online, and 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 will 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. Philippa will also facilitate a regular collaborative working session in order to share best practice and provide an opportunity for colleagues to network with each other. 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.

To complement our termly facilitated network meetings, we also offer an opportunity, in the second half of each term, for colleagues to come together again for an informal online networking opportunity. Network members bring questions and queries and use this forum to share information and support each other.

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.