SCHOOL business managers from across the borough have gained national qualifications.
Six local people were among the 40 from schools, colleges and a council across the North West to receive recognition for their work.
They have been awarded either the Certificate of School Business Management (CSBM) or the more advanced Diploma of School Business Management (DSBM) by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL).
The successful candidates collected their awards at a special graduation ceremony at NCSL’s state-of-the-art Learning and Conference Centre in Nottingham.
The CSBM (entry-level) and DSBM (advanced diploma level) are designed to give school business managers high-level financial and administrative management skills so that they can support school leadership teams - a role that is becoming increasingly important.
Nationwide, a total of 165 school business managers across nine regions graduated in the latest phase of the programme.
Trevor Summerson, who manages NCSL’s successful Bursar Development Programme, said: ‘School business managers have an increasingly vital role to play in schools today.
‘By providing the latest in a broad range of management functions including financial and HR management and administrative know-how they ensure their schools get best value.
‘They also reduce the management burden on heads and teachers and allow them to concentrate on their core job - teaching and raising school standards.
‘These graduates should feel proud of their achievement. They are now qualified to make an invaluable contribution to the smooth running of schools across the North West.’
The local recipients, who all got the CSBM, were: Carol Bell, William Stockton Community Primary School; Freda Galasso, Wolverham Primary and Nursery School; Heather Gilfoyle, Parklands Community Primary School; Gill Griffiths, Brookside Primary School; and Janet Woollen, Woodlands Infant School, all Ellesmere Port; and Carole Cottrell, Neston Primary School, Neston.
