Who is this template for?
This template is designed specifically for School Business Managers (SBMs) and school office administrators in England. It provides a robust framework for professionals managing the vital business functions of a school or trust, enabling them to engage in meaningful self-evaluation and plan for their career development.
Why use this template?
This template supports a structured and evidence-informed approach to performance management, moving beyond simple checklists to foster deep professional reflection. It helps you to:
- Empower Professional Growth: Take ownership of your performance management by reflecting on your practice against the nationally recognised ISBL Professional Standards.
- Structure Appraisal Conversations: Build a clear, evidence-rich portfolio that facilitates more meaningful and focused appraisal meetings with your Headteacher or line manager.
- Identify CPD Needs: Pinpoint specific areas for development across the core disciplines of school business leadership, ensuring your CPD is targeted and impactful.
- Evidence Your Impact: Articulate and demonstrate your contribution to the school's strategic objectives by linking your work to established professional benchmarks.
- Enhance Strategic Thinking: The logical iAbacus process of judgement, evidence, analysis, and planning encourages a deeper understanding of the factors helping and hindering your effectiveness.
- Promote Consistency: Provides a consistent framework for SBMs across a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), supporting a shared understanding of excellence and professional standards.
How does it work?
This template uses the standard, intuitive iAbacus process to guide you from reflection to action. You will evaluate your performance across key professional disciplines, making judgements, adding evidence, analysing factors, and creating a targeted action plan. The key areas evaluated are:
- Leading Support Services
- Finance
- Procurement
- Infrastructure
- Human Resources
- Marketing
Gaining Strategic Insight
For leaders in a Multi-Academy Trust, this template offers powerful strategic oversight. A trust-wide lead responsible for CPD or business management can stack the completed ‘Reflection and Growth Plan’ abacuses from each school's business manager. This provides an instant, powerful comparison of professional strengths and development needs across the trust, highlighting where best practice can be shared and where targeted support or training is most required.
Clear, Professional Reporting
With a single click, you can export your evaluation into a polished, visually compelling PDF report. This is perfect for sharing with a Headteacher as a comprehensive and evidence-informed basis for an appraisal discussion. For a MAT lead, the 'Overlay' or 'Stack' views can be exported to provide the board with a clear strategic overview of business management capacity and development priorities across all schools in the trust.
References / Source Material
How to Get Started
New to iAbacus? Discover how this template can support your improvement strategy. Book a personalised demo or start a free trial to explore the full platform. Visit www.iabacus.com to learn more.
Already a subscriber? You can find this template in the template library within your iAbacus account. Simply log in, create a new abacus, and select it from the list to get started.
