View by

The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

The Optimus blog

The blog that inspires leaders in the UK education sector

Sue Birchall

Sue is an experienced business manager with knowledge across the sector both in maintained and academy through all phases.

She has worked as an assessor for the DSBM, written for various sector publications and contributed to training manuals. She is currently a specialist leader in education and is registered as an associate trainer for the NASBM.

Latest blog posts

Sue Birchall
1 November 2017

School funding reform: welcome relief or wishful thinking?

The government's promise of more investment in schools is welcome news to SBMs, but Sue Birchall thinks the proof is in the pudding. Never one to turn my nose up at more money, imagine my delight at the secretary of state for education, Justine Greening’s announcing that there will be even more...
Read more...
Sue Birchall
7 September 2017

Ofsted is coming: how SBMs can prepare

No truer is the saying 'Proper preparation prevents poor performance' than when an inspector calls. Here are the steps school business managers can take to stay ahead. For many school leaders, the autumn term can be the winter of their discontent. Image source: HBO At the beginning of term, nothing...
Read more...
Sue Birchall
24 July 2017

A day in the life of a SBM

I recently left my job as the financial controller of a multi-academy trust and returned to a more ‘traditional’ school business manager role. Or you could say I rejoined the circus. If I look up to the ceiling in my office, all I can see are a series of spinning plates that I – the school's top-...
Read more...
Sue Birchall
6 June 2017

Education: on the ballot, or in the clouds?

After more than a month of campaigning, election day looms. Are party promises for education trustworthy enough to determine where we mark our cross, or is there more at stake? The NAHT’s summary of the party manifestos offers a simple table of the various education policies that voters should keep...
Read more...
Sue Birchall
9 May 2017

Dawn of MAT or: the evolution of the SBM

The old days of school business management are gone, but not forgotten. Sue Birchall looks at the history of this complex role. With the announcement of an election and the subsequent freeze on publishing the response from the grammar school consultation process, the education sector – and the...
Read more...
Sue Birchall
27 April 2017

SBMs: let's focus on solutions, not problems

Given its skewed portrayal in the media, you'd forgive people for wondering if there's any hope left in education. It's time SBMs took a solution-based approach to funding challenges. ‘Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.’ ~ George...
Read more...
Sue Birchall
21 February 2017

To MAT, or not to MAT?

Academisation has significant implications for the role of the SBM. If you place your trust in trusts, collaboration will be the key to meeting the needs of pupils. Are multi-academy trusts the future of academies? As someone who works within a multi-academy trust (MAT), I’m eagerly watching the...
Read more...
Sue Birchall
9 January 2017

Short-changed: the future of the small school in financial hardship

In a time of ever-shrinking budgets, there is evidence that smaller schools are beginning to feel the financial pinch a little more than the rest of us. A report by the BBC highlights concerns previously raised by the ACSL that smaller schools ‘will fall off a cliff’ before the next round of...
Read more...
Sue Birchall
17 November 2016

Academisation u-turn: a change for the better?

The government's decision to row back on academisation spells uncertainty for many, a welcome relief for others. What will the future hold for the sector? The Education Bill, which included legislation forcing academisation, has been dropped. Yet another conundrum for schools, a change of heart...
Read more...
Sue Birchall
26 September 2016

The May education philosophy and the SBM

The start of the new school year again brings fresh announcements from the government on the direction of education. The prime minister, Theresa May, announced her wish to increase access to grammar school education for our young people. Theresa May's ideas of a meritocratic education system based...
Read more...
Sue Birchall
6 September 2016

SBMs, don't look back in anger

From budgets and academisation to the NASBM professional standards, here’s what we can learn from the last twelve months but also what we can expect looking forward. As we broke up for the summer the announcement that the government was to honour the promise of a national funding formula (NFF) came...
Read more...
Privacy statement Terms & Conditions