Over the past few decades, England has seen a sustained move towards greater autonomy and self-management for schools, starting with the 1988 Education Act, which has recently culminated in the development of Academies and Trust schools which are largely independent of local government. This move towards increasing school-based management has led to an increased role for school leaders, both in determining the educational policies of the school and in the financial and business management thereof, making their task increasingly complex and challenging (PwC 2007). As identified in the PriceWaterhouseCoopers (2007) report, school leaders are having problems balancing their dual roles as operational and strategic leaders. The report suggests the more widespread and effective use of devolved leadership to enable senior staff to develop their practice in ways that have potential to impact favourably on pupil attainment. I It is therefore not surprising that a number of initiatives exist that aim to lighten the burden for heads in this regard. One is the increased use of Business Managers in schools. This role has grown from the traditional bursar role in many schools, and has expanded to take on an increasingly managerial bent. This evolution is being actively encouraged by the National College for School Leadership, which is providing programmes aimed at developing the skills of bursars and business managers. The Certificate in School Business Management (CSBM) and Diploma in School Business Management (DSBM) have now been running for five years, and evaluations generally appear positive (e.g. Woods & Brown, 2003). A question that remains largely unexplored, however, is that of the impact of trained business managers on school leadership and school effectiveness.

Data will be taken from three studies: 1) The evaluation of the CSBM and DSBM programmes; 2) The evaluation of the advanced business leaders demonstration project; and 3) The evaluation of the advanced DSBM pilot, all commissioned by NCSL. All three studies take a mixed methods approach, using surveys, case studies, and analysis of existing data (e.g. national datasets). Surveys will be administered to all participants in the programmes evaluated, as well as too heads of their schools and a random sample of participants (300 in total) who participated in the programmes during the previous five years of their existence. In this paper we will focus in particular data collected on the impact of the programme on the effectiveness of the school. In addition to the surveys, case studies will allow us to develop a picture of the full impact of trained School Business Managers on both individuals and schools, and of the processes involved. A total of 30 cases across the three evaluations will be followed, with the School Business Manager interviewed on four occasions in their schools and during programme participation. Between 2 and 4 visits will be made to each school, where we will also interview the Headteacher, a Deputy/Assistant head, a middle manager, a teacher, another member of the Administrative Team, and staff of agencies the school is working with.

In this paper we intend to present multi-faceted data on the impact of trained school business managers on school effectiveness, management and leadership. This paper will therefore contribute to our knowledge of workforce remodelling and its relationship to school effectiveness, and in particular the role of non-teaching staff in schools.