Training & Masterclasses for Schools

Practical training for school business professionals — fundraising, bid writing and marketing masterclasses built by someone who has sat in your seat. Every session is designed around one idea: you should be able to use what you learn the same week, with templates and resources included.

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School business professionals are asked to be accountants, premises managers, HR leads, marketers and fundraisers — usually in the same week. Yet most CPD budgets flow everywhere except the business side of school leadership. The result is predictable: income generation and marketing stay "when we get time" jobs, and the school's financial resilience depends on skills nobody was ever taught.

Fundraising training changes that arithmetic. One trained person who can spot the right funders, write a competent bid and run a sensible sponsorship conversation changes what your school can realistically go after — and the skill keeps paying, year after year. That's the quiet difference between training and consultancy: consultancy solves this year's problem; training solves the next decade's.

It's also why the sessions are built by a practitioner. Justin Smith spent 20+ years leading business management in schools — including three large secondary schools — before training others. The content is ISBL-aligned, mapped to the realities of the school year, and ruthlessly practical: real funder examples, real bids, real school marketing that worked (and some that didn't, and why).

Who the training is for

• School business managers and SBLs — the natural owners of income generation, and the people these masterclasses were designed around.
• Headteachers and deputies — enough fluency to set strategy, support bids and back the SBM's work with governors.
• MAT central teams — building trust-wide capability rather than buying it in school by school.
• Office and admin teams — the people who actually run open days, communications and community relationships.
• PTAs and community fundraisers — turning goodwill and effort into structured, repeatable income.

No prior fundraising or marketing experience is assumed on any course — just a working knowledge of how your school runs.

The training-to-income loop

The pattern repeats across schools: a masterclass surfaces two or three realistic funding opportunities; the templates turn one into an application within weeks; the first success funds the next project — and pays for the training many times over. The skills compound, because every bid written makes the next one faster. That's also why training and consultancy work together: schools often start with a masterclass, then bring Justin in for a specific high-stakes bid or a full income strategy once the ambition grows.

Making the case for a place

If you need to justify the spend to a headteacher or governors, the argument is straightforward: name one project the school wants funded, note what a single successful application would be worth, and set the course fee against it. Add the retained skill, the reusable templates, and the fact that "we have a trained bid writer on staff" strengthens every future funding conversation — the return case usually makes itself.

When training beats consultancy — and when it doesn't

Training wins when the work is recurring: annual grant rounds, ongoing sponsorship conversations, every year's admissions marketing. Consultancy wins when the stakes are concentrated: a six-figure capital bid, a rebrand, a one-off project where a first attempt can't afford to fail. Most schools blend the two — build the everyday skill in-house, buy expertise for the exceptional moments. The masterclasses are deliberately honest about that line, because recommending the wrong route helps nobody.

The other honest note: timing. The best term to train is the one before you need the skill — autumn training feeds spring grant rounds; summer training feeds autumn open-day season. Book against the school year, not the panic.

No guarantees implied — outcomes vary by school, funder and project.

Who should attend a masterclass?

Anyone who owns — or is about to own — income generation or marketing in a school: business managers, SBLs, heads and deputies, MAT central staff, office teams and active PTA leads. No prior experience is assumed.

How long are the sessions?

Venue masterclasses run as full training days; live online sessions are typically half days; on-demand courses are self-paced in short modules. In-school INSET is shaped to your day.

What does training cost?

Public masterclass places are priced per delegate on each course page. In-school and trust-wide delivery is quoted to scope — often the best value per head for a team. Ask for a quote.

Can you deliver training at our school or trust?

Yes — in-school INSET and trust-wide programmes are a core part of the offer, tailored to your context and delivered by Justin personally. Solent Academies Trust used exactly this route to build in-house fundraising capability.

Do we get materials to keep?

Yes. Every course includes the templates, checklists and resources used on the day — built to be reused in your school, not just admired in a binder.

Is the training recognised CPD?

The content is ISBL-aligned and built around the school business professional standards; Justin is an ISBL Fellow. Delegates receive confirmation of attendance for their CPD records.

Which masterclass should we start with?

Start with the money problem in front of you: no plan at all → Income Generation; a project needing funding → Winning Bids or Effective Bid Writing; falling rolls or a tired story → Marketing Your School. Still unsure? A free conversation sorts it in ten minutes.

How many people can attend an in-school session?

INSET and in-school days scale comfortably from a leadership group to a full support-staff team — content flexes to the room. For trusts, sessions can run centrally or travel school-to-school.

Do you offer follow-up after the training?

Yes — many schools book a follow-up call a term later to review progress against the action plan, and some move into ongoing support. There's no obligation either way; the course stands on its own.

We're a small school with no budget — where do we start?

Start with the on-demand courses or a shared place: several local schools splitting an in-school day is common and keeps per-head costs low. And the first masterclass exercise — a funder shortlist for your own school — is designed to surface the money that pays for the next step.

Is this like other fundraising training courses?

The honest difference is context: generic fundraising training is written for charities and adapted for schools; this is built from inside school business leadership — national funding streams, governor dynamics, the school calendar and all. Delegates who've done both tend to say that's exactly the gap it fills.