Find, join or create a network for school business professionals
How business professionals working in schools can find, join or create a network of local school business professionals.
Applies to England
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This guide describes how business professionals working in schools can join or create a school business professional network. Networks help professionals to connect and share information.
The school business professional networks directory includes groups that provide peer-to-peer support to help with a broad range of work-related activity, including buying for schools.
You can find potential networks by region group. Inclusion in the directory does not constitute a recommendation by the Department for Education (DfE).
All levels of staff can benefit from being part of a network. A network offers many opportunities, including:
- sharing experience and best practice between members and the wider schools sector
- creating an on-call community to resolve problems quickly, saving time and money
- getting better value for money through buying together
- sharing local benchmarking data
- linking to wider local, regional and national networks
- supporting innovation
- being a communication channel between school business professionals, professional bodies and DfE
- promoting local opportunities and providing peer support for members
Updates to this page
Last updated
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Updated 'Find a school business professional network' to add Inspiring Leaders – MAT Partnership.
Update history
2025-03-25 17:17
Updated the network chair for Financial Academy Directors in ‘Find a school business professional network’.
2025-02-27 11:00
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’ to add Inspiring Leaders – MAT Partnership.
2025-01-31 15:05
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’. Removed Croydon School Business Professional Network, Leicestershire Academies Group, NE Derbyshire SBM, Northamptonshire School Business Management Forum, SBM (Somerset, Devon and Dorset), Swale & Canterbury Finance Forum, Trust Business Leaders East London, Warwickshire Central Area Business Managers Forum, and Wye Valley SBMs. Added Sutton Primary School Business Professionals Group. Updated the network lead forDurham School Business Managers Group and Fareham & Gosport School Business Manager & Admin Network.
2024-12-20 17:00
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’. Removed South East CFO Network. Added Dunmow and Essex School Business Professional Network, London Borough of Merton, and Southwark School Business Managers. Updated the network lead for NW24 Partnership. Added the website address of UK Schools Sustainability Network. Affinity TSA has changed its name to Inspiring Leaders – MAT Partnership.
2024-11-08 16:09
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’. Added Surrey Schools Business Professionals Network and UK Schools Sustainability Network Operations Group. Updated network leads in Cheshire East School Business Leads, Gateway Alliance School Business Manager Network (South & Central Warwickshire), Association of Business Leaders in Education (ABLE), Enfield MAT Alliance and Somerset School Business Leaders. Added new website links for Manchester and Trafford School Business Leaders Forum, Midlands FD Forum and Unity School Business Leader Network (USBLN). Added new email addresses for network leads in Shires Education Business Association, Hereford Association of School Business Managers, Suffolk School Business Leaders Network and South Gloucestershire School Business Leaders’ Group (SGSBL). Removed the networks Archdiocese of Birmingham Bursar Group and West Kent Bursars Group.
2024-10-10 15:08
Removed the ‘Leicester Secondary Education Improvement Partnership Business Managers’ entry from ‘Find a school business professional network’.
2024-09-19 15:54
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’. Added new network lead for Diocese of Arundel and Brighton SBM Forum, new email address for Redbridge School Business Managers, new network lead for Gloucestershire Association of School Business Managers (GASBM). Changed network name of ‘Bath Education Trust’ to ‘Bath and Avon MAT CFO and Business Leaders Network’. Two new networks added; Peterborough School Business Networking Group and Lincolnshire School Business Management Network. Three networks removed; Liverpool City Region Academies Group, Aim Alliance Schools and Harrow School Business Managers.
2024-05-08 12:17
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’, adding new email addresses for South Yorkshire Business Leaders Group and Leeds School Managers Forum, removing the entry for Solihull Primary and Special School Bursar Group, and changing the name of East Midlands FD Forum to Midlands FD Networking Forum.
2024-04-03 09:58
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’ to remove Bristol School Business Managers, and update the contact details for Bath Education Trust and Durham School Business Managers Group.
2024-03-05 12:25
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’ to add Hereford Association of School Business Managers, and update the contact details for West Yorkshire Academy Business Leaders.
2024-02-14 16:16
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’ to add North Warwickshire School Business Professional Network and SWIFT SBM Professional Community, and update the contact details for Cheshire Finance Network and HASBM.
2023-12-29 10:40
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’ with new contact details for Lancashire Association of School Business Managers (LASBM), West Yorkshire Academy Business Leaders, and Essex Academies School Business Managers Network. Removed Nuneaton Primary Consortium – School Business Forum. Added Gateshead School Business Managers Group.
2023-12-06 13:04
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’ with new contact details for Abingdon Partnership School Business Managers, Bath Education Trust, Middlesbrough School & Academies Business Managers Cluster Group, NYES School Business Manager Network, and West Sussex School Business Managers. Removed North Staffs School Business Leaders Association.
2023-11-02 13:39
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’ with new contact details for Bury School Business Managers’ Alliance, Stockport Association of School Business Managers, Worcestershire Association of School Business Management (WASBM), and North West Surrey Business Managers Network. Removed Lewisham School Business Managers.
2023-06-29 15:36
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’ with new contact details for South Yorkshire Business Leaders Group and Dudley Association of School Business Managers.
2023-05-30 10:40
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’ with new network chair and email address details for Birmingham Association of School Business Management, HASBM (Hertfordshire Association of School Business Management) and Gloucestershire Association of School Business Managers.
2023-04-27 17:01
Updated contact details for Stockport Association of School Business Managers in ‘Find a school business professional network’.
2023-04-05 13:05
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’. Removed the website for the West Yorkshire Academy Business Leaders (Yorkshire and the Humber) and updated the email address for Telford Association of School Business Managers (West Midlands).
2023-03-09 12:04
Updated ‘Find a school business professional network’ to include The Trust Network (all regions) and Walsall School Business Leaders (West Midlands).
2023-01-31 16:01
Updated the ‘Find a school business professional network’ attachment. Removed the Leicestershire School Business Professionals Network and the Peterborough and Rutland School Business Managers Group. Added the Cambridgeshire School Business Networking Group and the Wiltshire area MAT CFO network. Updated the email address for the Bath Education Trust and moved the Essex Academies School Business Managers Network to the East of England section.
2022-11-22 09:24
The names and contact details of the Durham School Business Managers Group and Lancashire Association of School Business Managers (LASBM) chairs have been updated in ‘Find a school business professional network’.
2022-11-07 12:19
Added 5 new networks to the directory, in the North East, London, the South West and the ‘All regions: network’ section. Amended 4 networks, in Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands and the East of England. Removed a network in the South West.
2022-08-25 15:12
The reference to ‘RSC regions’ has been changed to ‘Regions groups’. The network directory in the ‘Find a school business professional network’ guidance has been updated to reflect the new regional split.
2022-08-02 09:45
In the attachment ‘Find a school business professional network’, updated contact details for NYES School Business Manager Network, West Yorkshire Academy Business Leaders and Lancashire Association of School Business Managers.
2022-07-01 14:25
Removed all details for South Leeds Bursar Network. Updated the contact details for Leicester City Primary Business Managers Group, Hillingdon Association of School Business Managers, West Sussex School Business Managers, and Fareham & Gosport School Business Manager & Admin Network. Corrected the spelling of the name ‘Graeme Lloyd’ in the contact details for Swale & Canterbury Finance Forum.
2022-05-30 11:56
In ‘Find a school business professional network’, South West RSC: network lead for SBM (Somerset, Devon and Dorset) changed.
2022-05-05 16:51
North RSC region: Team leader for NYES School Business Manager Network changed. East Midlands and the Humber RSC: Network leader for Leicester City Primary Business Managers Group changed. South West RSC: School Business Network (Dorset and Hampshire) removed and network leader for Bath Education Trust changed.
2022-03-04 11:07
Removed Hounslow Education Partnership Network and added Leicestershire School Business Professionals Network and Bath Education Trust to the ‘Find a school business professional network’ guidance.