Our termly professional community meetings, held online, bring together colleagues from across the country to discuss the vital issues for their role.
They feature guest experts and lively discussions, focusing on topical or strategic issues for school trusts.
This term Join us for a dynamic and practical session exploring how trusts can drive efficiencies and uncover meaningful savings, guided by the insights of an experienced DfE School Resource Management Adviser (SMRA). This session will highlight actionable strategies, proven methodologies, and real-world examples of how trusts may apply SMRA principles to optimise resources, streamline operations, and deliver greater value for money. We will be joined by Sukwinder Bassi, School Resource Management Adviser (DfE) and senior executive.
Key topics will include:
- Identifying and implementing cost-saving opportunities
- Enhancing financial governance and resource allocation
- Using benchmarking and data-driven decision-making effectively
- Aligning SMRA recommendations with trust-wide strategic objectives
- In addition, the community will benefit from an intelligent overview of the current funding landscape for the 2026/27 academic year to support strategic planning. CST funding expert Susan Fielden will share her reflections on the latest DfE publications and offer her initial thoughts on the Chancellor’s Budget.
This session is ideal for community members looking to strengthen their trust’s financial resilience while continuing to uphold educational excellence.
Members who have signed up to our community platform can use the Book Now link to register in advance for free and accessing joining details.
10:00 am
Free and exclusive for CST member trusts
