Head teachers have more time to focus on leadership thanks to School Business Managers

Funded as part of the School Business Managers pilot and the Small and Rural Schools Grant, the business support officers take on some of the administrative and organisational tasks that head teachers would usually undertake.

This allows head teachers to manage their workload better, meaning more time to focus on leading teaching and learning, raising standards, and improve pupil performance within schools.

The meeting took place at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy in Llanrwst , where the 3 business support officers in charge of the Conwy Valley school cluster are based.

Now a year into their employment, the business support officers are already making a big difference to the 21 schools within the cluster.

Speaking after the meeting, Kirsty Williams said:

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to meet with the school business managers and head teachers to hear first-hand the effects the programme has had on the schools they are responsible for.”

“It is encouraging to see how Conwy has used its grant to provide additional administrative support to free up time for the head teachers of primary schools to focus on leadership and management.”

“I am also extremely pleased to see that 70% of head teachers that have taken advantage of this project have reported that they have seen reduced workloads in terms of administrative tasks, and that this has led to more co-operation between primary schools.”

Delyth Williams Business Manager at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy said:

“This scheme makes a real difference in schools.

“The introduction of Business Support Officers within our schools has allowed us to be released from our higher administrative tasks, meaning that we can focus more of our time on leadership.

“Not only has this helped to raise standards and improve the performance of the learners, it has also been a big help in contributing to the sustainability of our small and rural schools.

“The benefits associated with the SBM goes hand in hand with the ‘cluster model’ approach adopted for schools in Conwy, as it encourages and supports school-to-school working, enabling head teachers to share good practice and collaborate to maximise capacity and share expertise.”