For me, there have been two hugely memorable events in 2024. I finally got to visit Pompeii (which I could talk about for the next millennium!) and I have set up a new business. It’s not hard to see the influence that the one event had over the other and the name felt right as soon as I thought of it. The 1st Pillar of social justice is access to resources, including education, and the 1st Pillar of school business is financial management and sustainability. I believe passionately in the former, and I have over 20 years of experience in the latter, so I can live with the nuisance of having to go back and un-superscript the word ‘1st’ every time.

The design of a pillar, especially one from antiquity, means it is structurally strong as well as beautiful so, to keep hold of the analogy, one of the most important tasks of the School Business Manager (SBM) is to strike a delicate balance between educational objectives and financial constraints, all the while remaining compliant with the myriad of regulations and reporting requirements. When the SBM focuses on finance they are;

• Ensuring that the school meets its financial obligations
• Investing in future growth (a small sentence which supports a massive load in the form of investment in our children’s future as well as the growth (or sustainability) of the school or trust)
• Providing financial stability to enable high-quality education, staff development and facilities improvement.

So, how does the SBM do it?

SBM’s who have been in the role for a while can make it look easy, we often talk about the juggling and plate spinning that takes place, but there is no doubt that the foundation of sound financial management supporting a school is a robust budget, which involves a great deal of work throughout the year. Here are the steps to success.

1. Create a realistic budget – work with other school leaders so that your budget aligns with the school’s goals and ensure that every area, teaching, administration and facilities receives appropriate funding. Skimping on one area to shore up another will inevitably come back to bite you in future years!
2. ICFP – an important to-do every year, and for every year in a 3-year budget. The data will support your analysis of staffing in your school. In my experience, very few schools hit all the benchmarks but, as SBM, your role is to help SLT and Governors understand how staffing costs sit within the context of your school.
3. Prioritise – the mantra of “needs and wants” is an important one for the SBM. The funding is limited. Your role is to allocate resources smartly. Remember that although you “want” a new boiler this year (because it is getting a bit old and cranky), next year you might “need” a new boiler (because it has given up entirely). Don’t look at your budget through the lens of a single year.
4. Operational Excellence – keep looking for ways to streamline processes and reduce wastage. For example, can you share contracts, or consolidate services with other local schools?
5. Monitor and adjust – regularly track actual expenditure against the budget and make adjustments where necessary.
6. Fundraising – so many PTAs have fallen away since Covid but a PTA is such an important addition to a school. It is worth the SBM investing a bit of time, creativity and energy in reigniting their enthusiasm and remind parents and friends of the school what an important social opportunity it is for a community.
7. Report transparently and consistently – in our job, it sometimes feels like everyone needs a different report, but it is important to decide what is needed by each level of stakeholder and consistently give them that. Give it some thought – who really needs to know what in order to fulfil their role in your school structure?

Master the 1st Pillar of school business

Of course, this is a lot, but you don’t have to do it all by yourself. At 1st Pillar Limited we can help you pull it all together, or we can do a small part to leave you to focus on another area. For example, we can produce an ICFP dashboard or a strategic financial plan, both of which will reduce risks for the leadership and governance in your school (and help you sleep at night!). Book in a free, no-obligation call to talk about your schools financial management and sustainability.

As SBM, you have the unique responsibility to ensure your school operates efficiently, meets its financial obligations and is prepared for the future. By focusing on budgeting, resource allocation, cost control and long-term planning, you can help your school thrive in an increasingly complex financial landscape and deliver a high-quality experience for pupils, staff and the school community – now and into the future.

Sounds really exciting for 2025!

If you’ve enjoyed this blog, why not subscribe to the 1st Pillar Newsletter?

Also, if anyone knows how to turn off automatic superscript – call me now!

Emma