These days there is much more to the work of school business managers (SBMs) than signing a few invoices and making sure all the dinner money is counted. These highly skilled leaders now play an increasingly valuable role in helping head teachers to focus on leading teaching and learning, and provide a strategic focus on how all school classes, including nursery and reception, can work together to provide the best results for children.
As SBM with responsibility for community and development, Debra Moore oversees areas of school development that impact directly on teaching and learning at Spitalgate Church of England Primary School in Grantham. She leads on matters relating to extended schools and projects involving external organisations across her own school and partner secondary, St Hugh's High. As such, the impact of her work is being felt across the whole four-to-19 years age range, but particularly in the nursery and reception class.
'Just like any other member of staff, I am here to support the holistic development of children,' she says.
As reported in Nursery World (News, 23 October) Ms Moore has recently led a transformation at Spitalgate by introducing Montessori methods into nursery and reception.
After gaining the head teacher's interest, Ms Moore spent several months researching the Montessori concept - finding out what it could achieve for children, how it would fit in with the new early years strategy and school development plan, and what financial, training and resource implications there might be for the school.
A speculative call to the chief executive of Montessori International in London speeded things up, quite unexpectedly. Ms Moore explains, 'By chance, he was looking for a state school in a deprived area of the country in which to pilot Montessori methods and he was willing to sponsor it with £20,000.'
With this funding the nursery and reception classroom has been completely refurbished to make it easier to adapt the learning environment to the developmental levels of individual children. Softer shades have replaced bright colours, while desks and surfaces now have a natural finish to promote a calmer atmosphere and to ensure learning equipment stands out from the surfaces it is placed on.
Teachers, teaching assistants and Ms Moore herself have also been trained in the Montessori method. It means a considerable change in the way learning is organised, as children themselves choose the direction of their learning while teachers act as directors or guides, relying more on clinical observation than making interventions.
Early years teacher Natalie Smythe has been delighted with how confident and independent the children have become. She says, 'As a school business manager with a different perspective, Debra brings an objective eye when it comes to teaching and learning. She always gives good advice about how to move things forward in a child-centred way.'
Ms Moore is in the middle of trying out a software application that matches teachers' observations to the Early Years Foundation Stage targets. Even though she will not be teaching herself, she says she went on the Montessori training course because 'it is important to understand what will be going on in the class if I am to manage and lead things effectively'.
Working across children's centres
Ms Moore is part of one of the National College for School Leadership's School Business Director demonstration projects, which is aimed at promoting the wider role of the SBM at a more senior level. So far around 135 schools have been involved, with more set to follow over the coming months.
Often school business managers operate across groups of schools and other settings such as further education colleges and children's centres. The ideas is to share expertise and raise both collective and individual capacity. One such SBM, Morag Somerville, explains how her work has impacted upon the two children's centres within the Yewlands Partnership in Sheffield.
'Leadership and management across the two centres can become more cohesive and in line with the other settings within the partnership,' she says. 'Three- to five-year-old children at the children's centre on the site of Yewlands Primary School benefit from continuity of learning and procedure and also from the closer collaboration their staff have with colleagues within the school.'
She points out that it makes it things easier if there is a member of the senior leadership team available during the day to deal with any enquiries that staff at the children's centre might have. Ms Somerville also considers effective communication between stakeholders to be the key to successful collaboration.
'Things can move more efficiently, as children's centre staff don't have to wait for the head teacher or member of the teaching staff, who are less likely to be available, to respond and make a decision,' she says.
'Working with children's centres means that we, as a group of schools, can more effectively provide additional support to local families as well as their children.'
As the children's centre and extended schools agenda continues to roll out, SBMs look set to broaden their scope and the importance of their roles.
FURTHER INFORMATION
A range of high-level professional development is now available for bursars and school business managers. For details see www.ncsl.org.uk/programmes-index.htm.
