Leaders backing leaders: a programme of school business management

What future for school business leadership? Recent change and looming possibilities

“…The positioning of school business leaders has evolved progressively and quickly, particularly as schools have become more autonomous and accountable, as governing councillors play a greater decision-making role, and as oneline budgeting processes transfer resource management responsibilities to the local level (see for example, Keating and Moorcroft, 2006;Woods, 2014). Australia's rising Independent Public Schools and 'default autonomy' policies, England's academy schools and multi-academy trusts, USA's empowered district governance model and charter school movement, Canada's provincial-specific variations of site-based management, New Zealand's school restructuring since the late 1980s Tomorrow's Schools reformsare all forms of school autonomy with the rationale of driving up school and national performances standards.…”

“…The work of school business leaders has been shown to be increasingly impactful. The profession: enables principals to save between 35%-45% of their time through their being able to delegate business, administrative, governance and compliance work to a school business leader (see also Moorcroft and Summerson, 2006;PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2010;Southwood, 2010) supports the work of school leaders and teachers, enabling them to focus on learning and teaching improvement.…”

“…School business leaders advise principals and governing councils and take a leading role in education business decisions – they are education leaders (see for example, Starr, 2012; Grieve, 2014; Marchant, 2018; Woods, 2014). They manage and lead ‘the other side of the school’ – the business, administrative, compliance, governance-information side – aspects that exist to support, enhance and facilitate education and its leadership (Armstrong, 2018; Moorcroft and Summerson, 2006; Newton and da Costa, 2016; Odden and Busch, 1998). Education would not exist without a host of business activities that are essential to support it.…”

“…The work of school business leaders has been shown to be increasingly impactful. The profession: enables principals to save between 35%–45% of their time through their being able to delegate business, administrative, governance and compliance work to a school business leader (see also Moorcroft and Summerson, 2006; PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2010; Southwood, 2010) supports the work of school leaders and teachers, enabling them to focus on learning and teaching improvement. provides ideas and advice aiding astute strategic decision making and resources allocation sources and secures resources making a return on investment for school business employment costs of more than 80% (National College, 2010; PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2010) recuperate most costs associated with school business salaries (Oakleigh Consulting, 2010), with the National College and the Training and Development Agency asserting salary recuperation within 3 years (NCLS&CS and TDA, 2010). …”

School Business Management

“…For example, drawing on participant evaluation and case study data from early cohorts of the CSBM, Moorcroft and Summerson (2006) found instances where head teachers had relinquished elements of operational control of the school to their SBMs and recruited them onto their Senior Management/Leadership Teams. In such cases the status of the SBM in their school was markedly improved as were the teaching staff attitudes toward the role.…”