Good Practice Library
This Good Practice Library started life in 2013 as a shared initiative between ISBL and the Education Funding and Skills Agency (ESFA). Following the DfE move to house all material on Gov.uk from 2019, this site is now being developed and maintained by ISBL in partnership with ISBL Fellows.
The ISBL Good Practice Library is organised according to our Professional Standards disciplines. If you feel you would like further training or to undertake a qualification in these disciplines, take a look at our training pages.
The aim of the library is to develop, share and promote good practice whilst providing practical assistance to schools.
Sharing your resources and feedback: If you have any documents that you feel are relevant to school business good practice, or any feedback relating to the ISBL Good Practice Library, please email info@isbl.org.uk
Operational Leadership
DPIA Guidance and Form (Data Protection Policy Appendix 5) (2019)
Privacy Notice for Staff (Data Protection Policy Appendix 1b) (2019)
School Records Retention Schedule (Data Protection Policy Appendix 6) (2019)
Staff Data Breach Form (Data Protection Policy Appendix 3) (2019)
Subject Access Request Form (Data Protection Policy Appendix 2) (2019)
Finance
Academies should also consult the Academy Trust Handbook. Our Professional Standards are also cited in the ATH.
Procurement
The Department for Education publishes guidance on Buying for Schools. This is non-statutory guidance for schools about buying practices and how to achieve better value for money. It also explains your obligations in relation to the basic rules of procurement when spending public money.
Estate Management
The DfE also has a Good Estates Management tool page, which includes Top 10 estate checks for boards, required skills and knowledge which cites our Professional Standards, and tips to reduce energy and water use
Human Resources
Marketing
ISBL Professional Clerking Programme
During 2018 ISBL worked with CIPFA and CST to design and develop the ISBL Professional Clerking Programme which consisted of 9 module workbooks. This programme was delivered to clerks, through a series of face-to-face sessions and private study, and came to an end in December 2020. Participants have ranged from new to longstanding clerks working in settings ranging from small local authority (LA) schools to large multi-academy trusts (MATs). Thirteen cohorts and 179 participants later, ISBL’s programme has seen 95% of those who responded to a survey in May 2020 said their skills and/or knowledge has improved. Due to this excellent feedback from participants, ISBL has decided to make the workbooks available for all school business professionals (SBPs) and clerks. The original programme provided funding by the DfE for participants to attend group training sessions and provided mentoring and feedback. This funding has come to an end and so we cannot offer mentoring or feedback. We are aware that the programme and materials have not been updated since 2021 but ISBL is confident that this these workbooks will be useful to the sector and the DfE has agreed that they can be made public.
If you would like copies of these resources please email training@isbl.org.uk and we will share the suite of resources with you.