sector INTERVIEW
15
it’s important that school
business managers stick their head above the parapet, engage with policy and articulate their opinion
one thing the profession needs is more championing in
Westminster – and Morales believes the new NASBM is fully prepared to do this. “We want to get to a position where we’re very in tune with the Government’s direction of travel and as policy develops and changes we are able to make sure our members understand what that means for them so they can contribute to the consultation process,” he says. This includes, he explains, working harder to interpret policy documents into an accessible format for members. it also means ensuring once policy is in place, supporting members to deliver as practitioners.
Morales also hints at a future of more joined-up working between unions and other membership organisations across the education sector, something that was confirmed to education executive by a source at an education union. This is not only desired by members, but Westminster too, which sees divisiveness in the school leadership sector as a weakness. “We’ve got to find synergy in what we’re offering and also recognise that there are areas where we’re not in the best position to provide the support, for instance we’re not a union and we don’t have ambitions to be a union,” says Morales. “What we hopefully are is an organisation that is very close to those people working at the sharp end.” he adds: “if we’re not precious about our own territory i think there’s a lot we can do.” As part of this move to collaboration, the NASBM is also working with the education Funding Agency and FASNA to run a series of training and development workshops to support schools that have recently converted to academies.
A BRIGHTER FUTURE Morales believes it’s not just NASBM that needs to do some soul searching. “School business managers find themselves in the shadows of educators,” he says and “headteachers still don’t fully appreciate the expertise that high-performing SBM[s] bring to the education sector”, but he says “it’s important that school business managers stick their head above the parapet, engage with policy and articulate their opinion”, pointing to the two different types of school business manager being those who are ambitious and those who coast.he thinks that as NASBM makes policy more accessible to
members, more will be inspired to take up the cause of advancing the SBM profession. “i would like to get to a point where you have 50 school business managers at a conference with 50 headteachers and they are mingling and networking as equals,” he says.only then, does he believe, will SBMs as a whole have a chance at getting paid the same as senior educators on the leadership team. “The extent to which individuals step up to the plate will depend on individuals and us making sure they have the support to do that,” he says. A move towards school federations has left some SBMs worried
for their future. But Morales thinks this is unnecessary. “There will be a requirement for school business managers to raise their game, particularly if they’re in a lead school, but i don’t think that that means there won’t be a requirement for there to be entry level practitioners,” he says. But SBMs would be fooling themselves if they did not think academies will consider restructuring the leadership team in preparation for changeover, particularly in federations or multi-academy trusts. “in some cases, the lead school may need to think about whether or not the person they’ve got in place is the right person.” Morales does acknowledge that it hasn’t been an easy time for
those in the job. “School business managers have been given this huge burden of responsibility, probably haven’t been consulted and have inherited it, and are drowning in a sea of bureaucracy and a sea of requirements, and it’s so unnecessary,” he says. “it just needs somebody who really understands how you can prioritise work without compromising any of your statutory obligations.” As NASBM’s new executive director looks to a better future
for the organisation and SBMs in general, he seems motivated – but calls on the profession for help. “i really want to raise the SBM game and get them to step outside their little box,” Morales concludes. “if you try and get commentary from school business managers, it ends up being a conversation about photocopier procurement or how they wrote their last Capital Maintenance Grant bid. All that stuff is great, but it’s bread and butter and if we’re really serious about aspiring to be equals with our leadership team colleagues than we need to be raising that debate.”
www.edexec.co.uk / september 2013
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