Leadership and Governance Resources

This handy bundle focuses on exploring your financial management skills in order to effectively manage your school budget. Designed for headteachers, business managers or anyone with responsibility for finance in schools, the three resources in this pack can help you determine your current level of understanding about school budget management and, crucially, what knowledge and skills you need to develop to manage the budget effectively. For this reason, it's ideal for new heads, academy headteachers or anyone stepping into school budget management for the first time. 

👉 Looking for more budget support? These templates are also available in the full School Budget Management Pack, which can also help you to plan your budget and identify where cost savings can be made.

Rising costs and reduced funding are huge challenges that schools face when managing their budgets. This supportive bundle, designed for headteachers, principals and school business managers, gives you four cost saving toolkits that you can utilise to explore how to maximise income coming into your school as well as reduce unnecessary costs. Each toolkit covers a key pain point in school budget management: low pupils numbers, high staffing costs, managing SEND and linked budgetary costs, and planning an effective and efficient school budget. These provide ideas and reflective questions to work through in order to identify cost-saving measures, supporting your thought process when managing and balancing your entire school budget.

For greatest effect, purchase the full pack which contains all four toolkits but each toolkit is available individually too. 👇

👉 Looking for more budget support? These templates are also available in the full School Budget Management Pack, which can also help you to plan your budget and evaluate your financial management understanding in order to develop your skills and knowledge.

This handy 18-page editable document is designed to help school finance governors to support and challenge their setting's headteacher, principal or academy head when planning and setting the school budget. It contains reflective questions to be used in a constructive dialogue in the following areas:

• Budget planning
• Budget risk factors, contingency and compliance
• Income
• School improvement
• Contracts and benchmarking
• Staffing
• Pupil numbers and class sizes
• Pupil premium and SEND
• Deficit and recovery planning (use if applicable to your setting)
• Budget variation

For each question, there's space to note any discussion outcomes as well as the evidence you've gathered to support budget planning decisions. It can be used by both maintained schools and academies where governors or local board members support the academy's headteacher to plan the budget.

Whether you're a finance link governor, the chair of a governor finance committee or a school leader looking to support your governors, this checklist allows you to work collaboratively and ensure that governors are fulfilling one of the governing body's core functions of ensuring the sound, proper and effective use of the school’s financial resources.

👉 Looking for more budget support? This template is also available in the full School Budget Management Pack, which can also help you to plan your budget, upskill yourself on financial management and identify where cost savings can be made.

👉 For broader support for finance link governors that covers a fuller picture of the school's finances and governor skill development over time, our Finance Link Governor Support Pack may also be of interest.

This budget planning checklist and calendar set is designed to help you with staying on top of managing your budget across the school year. The editable budget planning checklist has suggested tasks to attend to when planning your next budget, including for school improvement planning, curriculum budgeting and expenditure, staffing and payroll, pupil premium and SEND. There are also suggestions for when to follow up and monitor each element across the school year. The accompanying calendar provides a month-by-month overview, giving you a quick and easy breakdown of what to explore each month when it comes to monitoring your budget - you could print it out and pin it to your noticeboard as a handy reminder (plus there's a print-friendly version included too). And best of all? This pack is free!

👉Looking for more budget support? This template is also available in the full School Budget Management Pack, which can also help you to upskill yourself on financial management, identify where cost savings can be made and work with your finance governors. This pack offers you best value for money if you want to get a better grip on your budget, but each strand is also available as a separate purchase should you need to explore a single area of budget management: School Budget Planning and Cost Saving Toolkit, School Budget Management Skills Bundle and Budget Planning Questions for Governors.

AI use and ethics in schools – clear, reflective and leadership-focused.

Designed for heads, SLT, trust leaders and anyone interested in exploring effective use of AI in schools, this editable toolkit supports ethical use of AI in education by helping your school explore the risks, responsibilities and values that should guide staff use of AI tools. Use it to identify opportunities for AI to reduce workload, reflect on AI risks in schools and shape a clear, responsible and purposeful way forward for your setting.

☑️ Created for leaders reflecting on AI use and how it can benefit their school as well as potential risks
☑️ Supports school-wide discussion across seven areas of school life, including teaching and learning, assessment, administration, SEND and inclusion, parent communication, leaderships and ethical use of AI
☑️  Includes structured reflection entries with benefits, risks and discussion questions

Ideal for teams starting to explore AI, or for leaders who want to lead with clarity, not hype.

🔎 Want a closer look? Click here to preview the toolkit pack🔗 

Start meaningful conversations about AI use in schools without needing all the answers. This free editable download offers sample reflection questions across key areas of school life, plus prompts to help you think more widely about the ethical use of AI in education.

It’s designed for headteachers, SLT, trust leaders and any school leaders starting to explore how AI might support or impact their setting.

Use it to begin strategic thinking, shape SLT discussions or evaluate where AI fits into your wider school planning. You can also upgrade to the full toolkit if you're ready to go deeper.

🔒 Fully aligned to the final Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 2025

Help your school prepare for Ofsted's new School Inspection Toolkit 2025 with this comprehensive Personal Development and Well-being update pack - everything you need to understand the changes, brief your team, and ensure your school is inspection-ready.

What you'll get:

☑️ Staff & Governor Briefing PowerPoint (24 slides) – Ready-to-use presentation covering all Personal Development and Well-being requirements, from strategic leadership to inclusive provision

☑️ Toolkit vs. Handbook Comparison Document – Clear side-by-side analysis of what's changed from the Personal Development requirements in the old Ofsted framework to the new Personal Development and Well-being requirements

☑️ Understanding Ofsted's Toolkit Guide – Easy-to-digest breakdown of the new evaluation criteria, with practical considerations for school leaders

☑️ Leader Action Checklist – Strategic planning tool to help you implement the changes across your school community

☑️ Editable Grade Descriptor Grid – Customisable toolkit reference for your leadership team

Perfect for: Headteachers, SLT members, and pastoral leads preparing for Ofsted inspection under the new 2025 School Inspection Toolkit, or wanting to ensure their Personal Development and Well-being provision meets the latest requirements.

Save hours of research time – we've analysed the new toolkit so you can focus on implementing the changes that matter most for your pupils' outcomes.

🔎 Want a closer look? Click here to preview the update pack🔗 

🔒 Fully aligned to the final Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 2025

Support your school to prepare for Ofsted's 2025 School Inspection Toolkit with this comprehensive Safeguarding update pack: everything you need to understand the changes, brief your team and ensure your safeguarding arrangements are inspection-ready.

☑️ Staff & Governor Briefing PowerPoint (26 slides) - Ready-to-use presentation covering all updated safeguarding requirements, from establishing a safeguarding culture to managing child-on-child violence, safer recruitment and multi-agency working

☑️ Toolkit vs. Framework Comparison Document - Clear side-by-side analysis of what's changed from the old Education Inspection Framework and school inspection handbook to the new 2025 toolkit, highlighting shifts in emphasis, new expectations and updated requirements around safeguarding culture, leadership and statutory compliance

☑️ Understanding Ofsted's Toolkit Guide - Easy-to-digest breakdown of the new safeguarding evaluation criteria, with practical considerations for DSLs and school leaders responsible for child protection

☑️ Leader Action Checklist - Strategic planning tool to help you manage the safeguarding changes to the toolkit and what this means for your school community

☑️ Editable Grade Descriptor Grid - Customisable toolkit reference for your DSL team and senior leadership

Perfect for: DSLs, deputy DSLs, child protection leads, headteachers, SLT members and safeguarding governors preparing for Ofsted inspection under the 2025 School Inspection Toolkit, or wanting to ensure they understand how Ofsted inspections safeguarding in 2025-26.

Save hours of research time – we've analysed the new toolkit so you can focus on implementing the changes that matter most for keeping your pupils safe.

🔎 Want a closer look? Click here to preview the update pack🔗 

Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit Update Briefing - Free PowerPoint for School Leaders - Fully Aligned to 2025 Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit

Navigate the biggest changes to school inspections in years with this comprehensive briefing presentation. Perfect for headteachers, SLT members, and school leaders preparing their teams for the new Ofsted framework.

What's included in this free Ofsted update presentation for staff:

☑️ Complete timeline of when changes take effect

☑️ New 5-point grading system and report card system explained 

☑️ 8 evaluation areas broken down for staff

☑️ Inspection process changes, including no more deep dives and case sampling method

☑️ Practical preparation steps for school leaders and staff with discussion prompts and reflection activities

This ready-to-present PowerPoint saves you hours of preparation time whilst ensuring your team understands exactly what's changing and when. Designed specifically for whole-school INSET sessions, staff meeting, leadership briefings or departmental meetings.

Perfect for: Headteachers, Deputy Heads, SLT members, trust leaders and anyone responsible for Ofsted preparation, school improvement and staff development.