Case Studies

Inspection readiness isn’t about folders or last-minute preparation. It’s about embedded systems, strategic clarity and calm leadership. As School Business Managers, we underpin every judgement made by Ofsted — through safeguarding assurance, financial strategy, risk management, operational excellence and staff wellbeing. 

Inspection under Ofsted is not about perfection. It’s about proof. Proof that our safeguarding is robust. Proof that our finances are strategic. Proof that our systems protect staff and prioritise pupils.

As School Business Managers, we are not in the background — we are the support structure that underpins every strong judgement. When our leadership is embedded, inspection doesn’t feel like scrutiny. It feels like validation. Excellence isn’t built in two days. It’s built every day.

Join me to discuss my Single Central Record meeting with the inspector during our recent Ofsted inspection under the new framework – January 2026.

This session will focus on:

• Lockdown incidents in schools are increasing, but approaches are often inconsistent and unclear
• Traditional “full lockdown” responses can create confusion and unnecessary panic
• Real incidents have shown gaps in roles, communication, and decision-making
• SMART Response introduces a levelled approach (0–4) to ensure proportionate, calm responses
• Clear roles (Gold, Silver, Bronze) improve leadership and coordination

The aim is to create safer, more controlled, and consistent responses across schools.

This session presents a four‑year review of the mental health and wellbeing of School Business Leaders, drawing on findings from Education Mutual’s School Business Leader Wellbeing Index since its first publication in 2023 through to the most recent edition. It explores how the realities of the role have evolved over time and what this means for those currently working at the heart of school and trust operations.

Using data and respondent insight, the session reflects the experiences of School Business Leaders working in both local authority-maintained schools and multi‑academy trusts. Attendees will gain a clear overview of where wellbeing pressures have intensified, which challenges are becoming more prominent, and where progress is beginning to be seen. It also highlights the top five challenges facing School Business Leaders today, providing valuable context around workload, accountability, capacity and support.

Crucially, the session looks beyond the data to consider what can be done next. It offers practical insight into how School Business Leaders themselves, alongside schools, trusts and the wider education sector, can better support and improve wellbeing across the profession. While grounded in the lived experience of School Business Leaders, this session is designed for a wide audience, including colleagues who work closely with them, trust leaders, COOs, CFOs and others with responsibility for organisational culture, sustainability and staff wellbeing.

Amy speaks candidly about being diagnosed with cancer at 12, beating the 30% survival odds and undergoing an amputation. From not being allowed to participate in PE, to becoming a 4X Paralympian. Questioning if she would ever walk again, to walking London and Paris fashion week – redefining what she believed possible. Through her story, Amy shares powerful lessons on building resilience through adversity, mastering mindset during life’s toughest moments, and learning how much our attitude and personal narrative shape our happiness. Her talks focus on backing yourself when the odds feel impossible.

This interactive session provides essential knowledge and practical guidance for individuals involved in the administration and management of medications within educational settings.

Participants will develop the confidence and competence to handle medicines safely, with a focus on storage, administration, record keeping, and relevant legislation and guidance. The session is designed to enhance best practice and ensure the safety and wellbeing of those receiving medication.

By the end of the session, delegates will be able to:

• Apply best practice principles in the safe handling, storage, administration, and recording of medicines.
• Identify the key legislation and statutory guidance governing the safe handling of medicines.
• Understand the different types of medicines and their intended purposes.

Join an immersive tabletop exercise, where you’ll be placed into a realistic end‑of‑day school scenario where cyber security, data protection, AI use, and leadership decision‑making intersect. The focus is not on technical solutions, but on governance, communication, judgement, and risk management under pressure. Led by Alan Goodwin, Dave Orford and Martin Wilson participants work through a fictional but highly plausible incident that unfolds in stages. These include a suspected phishing email requesting sensitive parent data, informal use of AI involving pupil information, and a ransomware‑style system outage accompanied by parental rumours. As new information is introduced, participants must decide what to prioritise, who to involve, what to communicate, and how to remain compliant and proportionate in their response.

By the end of the session, participants will have a clearer understanding of how cyber incidents, AI use, and data protection risks overlap, greater confidence in their leadership and governance responsibilities during an incident, and experience of asking the right strategic questions without becoming operational. The session also supports reflection on whether existing policies, training, and risk registers are fit for purpose, and how decisions should be made and recorded under pressure.

This session will show how schools and trusts can use the DfE Energy for Schools service to secure better value, reduce risk, and simplify energy procurement. It will provide practical guidance on joining the DfE’s centrally managed energy contract, benefiting from collective purchasing and protection against market volatility. Schools can save on average 36% on energy bills while reducing procurement burden and avoiding risks associated with unregulated brokers. The session will help you make confident, compliant decisions and get the best value from your energy spend.

The school estate is one of the most valuable assets in education, yet often underutilised in strategic planning. This session will explore how schools and trusts can take a more proactive, long-term approach to estates management to drive efficiency, sustainability, additional income, and improve outcomes for pupils. Delivered in collaboration with the Department for Education and a North East estates leader, this session will bring together national strategy and day-to-day delivery. Delegates will gain insight into the Department for Education’s Education Estates Strategy, alongside practical examples of how schools and trusts are optimising their estate to support curriculum delivery, reduce costs and plan effectively for the future.

This session will show how schools and trusts can use the GCA Supply Teachers and Education Recruitment framework (RM6376) to secure better value, improve transparency, and ensure compliance in agency supply spend. Delivered with Affinity Workforce Solutions, it will provide practical guidance on accessing approved agencies, understanding capped supplier fees, and making informed procurement decisions. With the Academy Trust Handbook (September 2026) requiring trusts to use the GCA framework unless a compliant, better-value alternative is in place, this session will help you prepare, stay compliant, and maximise value from your supply spend.

School Business Professionals play an increasingly critical role in ensuring schools can operate sustainably, strategically and effectively, making them central to the Maximising Value for Pupils agenda. This interactive session will explore the current School Business Professional (SBP) strategy, reflecting on what it set out to achieve, the progress made so far, and the challenges that still remain across the sector. Led by the Department for Education, the session will share key findings from the latest SBP survey, including insights into professional development, wellbeing, retention, progression and perceptions of Department for Education support. Delegates will also have the opportunity to contribute live through interactive polling and discussion, helping to shape the future direction of the profession and the next phase of the strategy. The session will conclude by exploring how SBPs can continue to influence and contribute to future developments through networks, consultation opportunities and wider sector engagement.

From December 2025 the DfE has required all schools to create a Climate Action Plan and have a sustainability lead in place. This session provides an introduction to the DfE’s climate requirements for schools and highlights the free support available – including Climate Ambassadors, Let’s Go Zero and the National Education Nature Park. Wherever you are in your climate planning journey, this session will help you find support to take the next step to develop a practical and impactful Climate Action Plan.

The administrative demands on school business managers keep growing. Procurement, compliance, HR, finance, communications — and rarely enough hours or hands to do it all well.

AI tools are increasingly part of how professionals across every sector are managing that pressure. But for most SBMs, the question isn’t whether AI is interesting — it’s whether it’s actually useful, right now, in a school context.

This session takes a practical look at where AI can genuinely help: drafting routine documents, summarising guidance, working with data, preparing reports. We’ll look at real examples, be honest about the limitations, and cover the basic questions around data, safeguarding, and appropriate use that any school professional should be asking before adopting new tools.

The aim is to leave with a clearer sense of where to start — not a solution to everything, but some concrete things worth trying.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 marks a significant shift in employment law, with a number of key provisions coming into force from April 2026. For schools, academies and trusts, understanding these changes is essential to ensuring compliance, managing risk and maintaining effective workforce practices.
In this session, employment law specialists from Ward Hadaway will guide delegates through the latest developments and their implications for the education sector. Topics will include new day-one rights to parental and paternity leave, bereaved partner paternity leave, changes to Statutory Sick Pay, enhanced whistleblowing protections relating to sexual harassment, and new requirements for annual leave and working time record keeping. The session will also explore increased penalties for collective redundancy consultation failures, changes to trade union recognition processes, and the introduction of the Fair Work Agency. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of the reforms, the practical steps schools and trusts should be taking now, and how to prepare their organisation for the evolving employment law landscape.

This session will explore how schools and trusts can take a more strategic approach to banking to maximise value, strengthen financial resilience and improve long-term planning. Delivered in collaboration with the Department for Education and featuring Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust’s experience, the session will provide practical insight into how effective banking arrangements can significantly increase returns and support better financial decision-making. This session will cover how the Department for Education’s banking service can help you ensure you’re gaining the best interest including how to manage cashflow, reserves and risk more effectively, and how to work collaboratively with banks and the DfE to optimise financial outcomes in a changing landscape.

The Government’s Schools White Paper sets out a significant shift in how support for children and young people with SEND will be delivered, including a future where every secondary school has an inclusion base and every primary school has access to specialist provision.

For school business professionals this raises key questions.

• What will inclusion bases actually look like?
• How will specialist expertise be shared?
• What will this mean for funding, staffing and estates?
• And how can mainstream and specialist settings work together to improve outcomes for children and young people?

Join our expert panel representing specialist and mainstream education as we explore what these reforms could mean in practice and answer your questions.

This closing keynote will reflect on the key themes, insights, and practical takeaways from throughout the day, bringing together the collective learning from sessions focused on finance, procurement, and operational excellence across schools and trusts.

The Department for Education’s Head of Commercial Services will set out the DfE’s forward vision for strengthening future support across the sector, with a clear focus on supporting schools to maximise value for money and deliver the best possible outcomes for pupils.

The session will close with an open Q&A, offering attendees the opportunity to raise key challenges, and explore how the DfE can continue to support schools and trusts in this evolving landscape.