These free School Business Manager Standards set out expectations for finance and operations staff, covering financial management, HR, procurement, facilities, and strategic leadership. They describe progression from managing day-to-day administrative and financial tasks to providing strategic oversight, ensuring compliance, sustainability, and effective resource use that supports whole-school improvement.
Roles included: school business manager (SBM), bursar, finance officer/assistant.
Primary school context: a part-time bursar or an office manager might handle finance due to smaller budgets.
Secondary school context: a full-time SBM likely sits on the senior leadership team.
Special school context: SBMs must also navigate additional funding streams and resources for SEN needs.
Schools can use these standards as a standalone paper-based tool, or integrate them into our Flourish Staff Appraisal and Development software to record and analyse staff and peer reviews along with objectives and meetings related to professional development.