Darllenwch y dudalen hon yn Gymraeg
We’d like to congratulate Simon Roberts on receiving the ‘Exceptional Contribution to School Business Leadership’ award, at ISBL National Conference for School Business Leadership at the end of November
Earlier this year Welsh Government launched an exciting pilot project with the Institute of School Business Leaders (ISBL), facilitated by Simon Roberts, Director of Business Finance at Olchfa School in Swansea, who has 24 years’ experience working in education, and 16 as a Senior Leader and School Business Leader.
Working with a cohort of 50 School Business Professionals (SBPs) across Wales, the pilot aims to assess and support the development needs of the profession, provide coaching and mentoring alongside professional accreditation, and support the creation of SBP Champions to provide peer review and system leadership.
Bethan Cullen, Deputy CEO of the ISBL stated: “Simon Roberts has played a pivotal role in shaping the pilot programme for Welsh school business professionals, an initiative that will significantly raise the profile of the profession in Wales. His leadership has strengthened the understanding and application of Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning (ICFP) metrics and empowered school leaders to more effectively evaluate and maximise the resources available to them.
Simon’s unwavering commitment, both through his advocacy for the profession and his impactful delivery of programme content, has been central to the success of this work. ISBL is proud to recognise Simon’s outstanding achievements and celebrate him as one of our Fellows.”
On winning the award, Simon said: ‘It’s a real honour and privilege for me, mostly because it is awarded by the Institute who represent my profession. I would never have won the award without the support, trust and professional freedom I have been fortunate enough to get from all the Headteachers I have worked with in my career. I have championed the SBL role in Wales for a number of years and was delighted to get the opportunity to work with Welsh Government recently on a project to amplify the role of School Business Leaders in Wales and generate the recognition the role deserves, which, without doubt, was a significant contributing factor in me being given this award, and I really appreciate having the opportunity to do so.
“This project is ongoing, but gaining rapid traction and buy-in from stakeholders across the education sector, which is fantastic, but must continue if schools in Wales are to become financially sustainable in the future – it is a real indication of progress for the role of SBLs in Wales and a significant sign of intent by Welsh Government that they are supporting it in the way they are.”
For further information on the project, please contact School Funding / Ariannu Ysgolion