Strategic Moves to Free Up Time and Brain-Space
Quick fix actions for smarter ways of working
When systems do not talk to each other, tasks get duplicated and planning happens in silos, it lands on school business teams first. This 30 minute quick fix session is about practical moves you can make straight away to reduce operational drag, tighten workflows, and create space for the strategic work only you can do. We will use Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats as a simple framework to pressure-test decisions, improve delegation, and make better use of the skills already in your team.
In this session we explore
• A fast way to spot duplicated effort, hand-off gaps, and bottlenecks across HR, finance, admin and operations
• Why the school business role is the glue, and how to use that position to simplify how work flows across the school
• Delegation that works in real life, using clear ownership, standards, and check-ins without micromanaging
• Planning techniques to shift from reactive firefighting to proactive leadership, even when capacity is tight
• A quick decision tool to reduce debate, speed up choices, and stop low-value tasks stealing your week
Take home points
• Practical ways to reduce duplication and chase-ups
• Simple delegation rules that prevent work bouncing back
• A structure for sharper decision-making
• Immediate actions to free up time, budget and brain-space
This session is for
School business leaders who want to improve efficiency, reduce pressure and embed sustainable operational change, whether you are in a maintained school, SAT or MAT.
Matthew Clements-Wheeler
About the speaker
Matthew Clements-Wheeler is a respected authority on the non-teaching side of running schools. For nearly 30 years he’s helped schools, trusts and charities turn chaos into strategy and panic into policy, working with leaders across the UK and internationally. A former Chair of the Institute of School Business Leadership, Matthew now spends much of his time persuading boards, governments and senior leaders to listen to the people who actually know how the place runs.