Today (Thursday 8 July) school business leaders will be attending a virtual conference held by school leaders’ union NAHT.

NAHT deputy general secretary Nick Brook said: “Throughout the Covid crisis school business leaders have been the quiet heroes. In the face of immense challenges they have been crucial to helping to make sure schools can deliver all that has been asked of them.

“They stayed up to the early hours of the morning to access the broken free school meals vouchers to make sure children had food over the holidays and during lockdown. They agonised over the books, squeezing every extra penny to pay for the necessary safety measures required to keep schools open, without promise of reimbursement.

“The stress of trying to keep things going in schools this year cannot be underestimated. School business leaders have been right there alongside other school leaders making it work.

“NAHT has long called for a national pay scale for school business leaders which brings them into alignment with other school leaders, recognising the value they bring to the system, and delivering parity and equity. Recognition on the national leadership pay scale would be a just reward for school business leaders’ essential work during the pandemic.”

The conference will welcome keynote speakers from education and commerce. It will focus on setting up SBLs for a successful future, inspiring individuals to develop and grow, add their voice to shape the future of the profession, and improve the professional standing and status of SBLs in the educational sector.

You can register for the conference here: https://www.naht.org.uk/sbl.