Foundation Career Pathway

What is the career pathway for FOUNDATION practitioners?

As a Foundation practitioner, you are likely to:

  • be a new entrant to the profession/an aspiring SBP/in an administrative role

  • work with a task-orientated emphasis, delivering day-to-day tasks

  • seek information to help you understand and guide your work

  • actively engage in the strategic plans for the school or trust and understand your role in influencing change through supporting your colleagues

  • be qualified to (or working towards) level 3 or above.


If you are not already a member of ISBL and feel that this is the right fit for you, then you can apply for Foundation membership of ISBL, click here for more information.

As a Foundation practitioner, there are many opportunities for you as a member of ISBL – you may want to further develop your knowledge and experience through taking advantage of networking or mentoring opportunities or else undertaking accredited training or qualifications to gain formal accreditation. A number of benefits and opportunities are set out below:

  • The first stage of ISBL membership is to undertake a self-assessment against the ISBL Professional Standards to verify that you are operating at Foundation Practitioner level.

    As a member, you have free access to the ISBL self-assessment tool, which allows you to carry out a diagnostic assessment of yourself and reflect on your areas of responsibility, experience and expertise across the various discipline areas of the ISBL Professional Standards. 

    On completion of the self-assessment, you will be provided with a report that summarises where you are currently in relation to each discipline area, identifies your overall practitioner level, and highlights professional development opportunities that you may want to consider to improve your knowledge, skills and experience within the relevant discipline area or to progress to an Associate level. Further details of the self-assessment process can be found by clicking here. 

    This assessment should be carried out as a continual process and as a member of ISBL on at least an annual basis.

  • ISBL recognises that there are many forms of development not only achieved through training and qualifications; examples can be viewed in our CPD guidance.

    As a foundation practitioner, there are many opportunities that you can take advantage of as a member of ISBL to connect with ISBL, expert practitioners and other school business professionals. Some of these are identified below:

    • One-to-one professional development advice – If you would like personalised advice and guidance on your career development, then you can set up a meeting with our Director of Professional Development by emailing training@isbl.org.uk.

    • Mentoring opportunities – If you would like to be set up with a mentor to help you develop your leadership skills, then email training@isbl.org.uk.

    • Access to funded SBP programmes – Priority access to free and subsidised bursary funded programmes developed in consultation with key sector stakeholders including the DfE.

    • Accredited training – Member rates for contextualised accredited training are available across the discipline areas and delivered by subject matter experts.

    • Accredited qualifications – Relevant generalist, specialist and apprenticeship accredited qualifications are available for SBPs, at levels 2–4 at member rates.

    • Access to a repository of resources – Access the good practice library and member repository library.

    • Policy influence – ISBL acts as the conduit between policy and practice by testing government thinking with frontline practitioners.

    • Free student/foundation conference – A half-day event focused on career pathways, professional development and how ISBL and peers can support you in your career progression.

    • Free attendance at ISBL regional events – Network with other local professionals and benefit from specialist training, advice and the latest guidance relevant to your local area. Click here for more information.

    • Member rates for the ISBL national conference – Attend our two-day showpiece event with training, expert advice and personalised workshops, including networking opportunities and our annual celebratory gala dinner. Click here for more information.

    • Professional support – Access to a member-only LinkedIn group where you can share best practice, ask questions and have professional discussions.

  • If you are a Student or Foundation member of ISBL, then you can apply for formal Foundation Practitioner Level Accreditation against the Professional Standards. For membership details and rates, please click here.

    To do this, you will need to provide three pieces of evidence:

    1. Your self-assessment report confirming that you operate at foundation practitioner level.

    2. A signed employer statement verifying that you work at a foundation level.

    3. Proof of relevant qualifications at level 3 or above.

    On completion of this process, you will be accredited as an ISBL Foundation Practitioner and will be sent a certificate and digital badge to confirm your status. For more information on the accreditation process, click here.

  • If you want to develop your responsibilities within your role and progress towards Associate Practitioner level, you may want to consider developing your knowledge across the associate level descriptors of the Professional Standards. A good starting point to help you to improve your knowledge or progress to a higher level is to complete a Personal Development Plan (PDP) to identify 3–5 areas where you may wish to improve your knowledge and experience. You can download the ISBL PDP template by clicking here.

    To develop your knowledge and skills, you may also want to consider undertaking any of the following qualifications:

    • ILM Level 4 Diploma for School Business Managers (DSBM) – This qualification’s aim is to provide learners who are new or aspiring school business professionals (SBP) with the knowledge and skills required progress in their career. More details can be found by clicking here.

    • Level 4 School Business Professional Apprenticeship (SBPA) – The School Business Professional Apprenticeship will develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required by school business professionals in the ISBL professional standards. More details can be found by clicking here.


    Additional accredited qualifications at level 4 or above can be viewed by clicking here.

    If you wish to view the Associate career pathway, you can do so by clicking here.

The people we support

  • Grace Formosa Mpungi, Senior Office Administrator at Heathbrook Primary School, has completed the Aspiring School Business Management and Diploma of School Business Management programmes. Grace found our National Conference “wonderful and inspiring”.

Related Qualifications at Level 4

  • Level 4 ILM Diploma for School Business Managers (DSBM)

    This qualification’s aim is to provide learners who are new or aspiring school business professionals (SBP) with the knowledge and skills required progress in their career.

    This ILM Diploma qualification is mapped to the ISBL Professional Standards for school business managers (Associate level) and reflects the changing roles performed by school business professionals across schools and trusts.

    Read more

  • Level 4 School Business Professional Apprenticeship (SBPA)

    This Apprenticeship will develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours required by school business professionals in the ISBL professional standards. The programme reflects the changing roles performed by school business professionals across schools and trusts. It will help you manage school or trust resources more efficiently and effectively, evaluate the nature of school business operations within your school or trust, and gain specialist expertise in leading support services.

    Read more