Head teachers in Conwy have met with the Education Minister to
discuss how schools within the authority have benefited from the
introduction of business support officers.
Funded as part of the School Business Managers pilot and the Small
and Rural Schools Grant, the business support officers take on some
of the administrative and organisational tasks that head teachers
would usually undertake.
This allows head teachers to manage their workload better,
meaning more time to focus on leading teaching and learning,
raising standards, and improve pupil performance within schools.
The meeting took place at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy in Llanrwst , where
the 3 business support officers in charge of the Conwy Valley
school cluster are based.
Now a year into their employment, the business support officers
are already making a big difference to the 21 schools within the
cluster.
Speaking after the meeting, said:
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to meet with the school
business managers and head teachers to hear first-hand the
effects the programme has had on the schools they are responsible
for.”
“It is encouraging to see how Conwy has used its grant to provide
additional administrative support to free up time for the head
teachers of primary schools to focus on leadership and
management.”
“I am also extremely pleased to see that 70% of head teachers
that have taken advantage of this project have reported that they
have seen reduced workloads in terms of administrative tasks, and
that this has led to more co-operation between primary schools.”
Delyth Williams Business Manager at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy said:
“This scheme makes a real difference in schools.
“The introduction of Business Support Officers within our schools
has allowed us to be released from our higher administrative
tasks, meaning that we can focus more of our time on leadership.
“Not only has this helped to raise standards and improve the
performance of the learners, it has also been a big help in
contributing to the sustainability of our small and rural
schools.
“The benefits associated with the SBM goes hand in hand with the
‘cluster model’ approach adopted for schools in Conwy, as it
encourages and supports school-to-school working, enabling head
teachers to share good practice and collaborate to maximise
capacity and share expertise.”
