THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL BUSINESS MANAGER Information to Help When You’re Starting Out in Your Career
the courses they are following – see references section for further information. Specialist Schools Funding: A per- pupil allocation for secondary schools designated as specialist colleges. This is currently £129 per pupil up to 1,000 and over 1,200 pupils. School Standards Grant: Direct payment from DCSF to support pupils and/or extended services.
In 2010-11, £12,000
plus £120 per pupil (primary) or £130 per pupil (secondary). School Standards Grant (Personalisation): A direct payment from the DfE to support the tailoring of the curriculum to meet the specific needs of students. The grant is made up of an allocation per pupil (currently £5 primary and £14 secondary) plus substantially higher amounts allocated for pupils eligible for free school meals and with low prior academic attainment. Standards Fund: A range of separate grants, with by far the highest proportion being the School Development Grant, aimed at support schools’ strategic development and improvement. It should of course be borne in
mind that, with the recent change of government, any or all of these allocations and methodologies could be subject to change.
Understand Staff Pay When I first started working in schools, I found the system of pay to be more complex than any I had ever come across. Not only are there two separate pay spines, depending on whether a member of staff is a qualified teacher or a member of support staff, but there is also, in the case of teaching pay, a system of ‘spines within spines’ which complicates things further. Detailed guidance is available on
the internet (see links at end), but I will attempt to summarise the key points below:- 1.Teaching Staff: There are three key pay spines for qualified teachers in schools, these being the Main Pay Spine (MPS) which has six points, the Upper Pay Spine (UPS) which has three points, and the Leadership Spine which runs from L1 to L43. There used to be a further
pay spine for Advanced Skilled Teachers (ASTs), but this has now been merged with the Leadership Spine. Teachers with additional management responsibilities are also entitled to Teaching and Learning Responsibility (TLR) payments, which are paid as an addition to their main salary.
Main Pay Spine: When a teacher finishes their training and becomes a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT), they will start their career on the first point of the MPS, which is M1. Assuming that they complete their NQT year satisfactorily, they will then move up to M2 on 1st September of their second year, and move up one further point each subsequent year until they reach point M6.
Upper Pay Spine: Once a teacher has been on M6 for a full academic year, they can then apply to go through the ‘threshold’ and onto the upper pay spine. The threshold application is submitted to the headteacher together with a file of evidence to indicate that the teacher has met the post-threshold standards. If the application is successful, then
the teacher will be promoted to point 1 of the Upper Pay Spine. They are then entitled to be considered for progression up the spine every two years via the performance management process until they reach UPS3. Leadership Spine: Leadership Team and other key whole-school management posts are normally placed on a five-point range on the Leadership Spine (e.g. L8- L12). The points in the range will depend on the size of the school and the seniority of the post. Staff on the Leadership Spine are entitled to be considered for progression each year and whether this is granted will depend on the outcome of their individual performance management. TLRs: Teaching staff with additional whole-school management responsibilities are paid a TLR in addition to their main salary. This will be somewhere on a range between £2,535- £6,197 (TLR 2) or £7,323 to £12,393 (TLR 1). These allowances are static and do not increase, other than by any cost-of- living awards.
2. Support Staff: School support staff are paid on the National Joint Council (NJC) pay spine. Each local authority has the freedom to divide up the spine into grades in its own way, but the spine points remain the same.
In most cases, a
member of staff will be on a grade which covers a range of spine points. They will start at the bottom of the grade, and will normally be entitled to move up one spine point on completion of 6 months’ probation, and then a further spine point each year on 1st April until they reach the top of their grade. Until recently, an annual pay award has increased NJC salaries each year, also on 1 April. However, the recent public sector pay freeze has affected this. Some local authorities have incorporated an element of performance management into their pay policy for support staff, with progression along the spine influenced by the outcome of performance reviews. Your LA human resources department will be able to advise you on the arrangements in place in your area. It should be noted that support staff
in maintained schools are employees of the local authority, and that there is therefore a duty to ensure that salaries are comparable for comparable posts. It is therefore important that all school support staff roles are subject to job evaluation using LA criteria, as the employer would otherwise be at risk of a claim under equal pay legislation.
2. UNDERSTAND THE CULTURE
Organisational Structures I was once asked by a governor who worked in the private sector to produce a one-page organisation chart for my school. I started confidently enough, but lost heart quite quickly as I came to realise how complex the whole system is. For a start, most schools will have
three overlapping structures, many of which will involve the same staff in different roles. First of all, there is the academic structure, where teaching staff will report to their subject leader and normally through him/her to a curriculum deputy. Then there is the pastoral
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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
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