LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE
S TAY I N G P O W E R
Growing from the roots: unleash your staying power According to ISBL’s professional standards, being ‘agile’ is one of the key behaviours for SBLs. This is often demonstrated through SBLs changing jobs, moving on to other schools, adapting to new teams and systems. So, what happens if a school business professional does not move around, but stays in the same school? CONNY BRANDT shares her CPD journey.
I
have been at my school for almost 30 years now, having originally started as an office assistant, then moving on to secretary and office manager before training as a school business manager. There have been several factors that have contributed to me staying put for such a long time: GROWING WITH THE JOB While I have been at the same school, it has not been the same job. I have been given ample opportunities to grow, and the school has always supported my professional development. When I first took on the SBM role, I completed the Level 4 CSBM qualification, and followed this up with a CMDA degree apprenticeship in 2022. I have taken on new responsibilities, whilst delegating tasks that
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March/April 2024
I have outgrown to members of our admin team, which offers them scope for development. At my annual Performance Management Review, I discuss and agree new targets and training to support my continued professional growth, to ensure that I do not stagnate. My school is part of a larger charity, and as my role has grown, so has the extent to which I am working with our head office, other departments and services across the whole organisation, so that my job now extends beyond my own school. The school itself has also changed significantly over the years. I have supported a change in status from independent to non-maintained, increases in pupil numbers, changing pupil cohorts, and am currently supporting a large site development project.