Stansfield Hall Primary School’s school business manager shortlisted for national award

Mark Barnes-Moran

Stansfield Hall Primary School’s school business manager has been shortlisted for a national award.

Mark Barnes-Moran has been nominated for Business Manager of the Year in the 2023 Education Today School & Supplier Awards.

Mark has been at Stansfield Hall since July 2017 and has an extensive background in the education sector, having previously worked as a teaching assistant and a secondary science teacher.

He said: “Throughout all my years and in my many roles, my guiding principle has been that I will always do my best to ensure that the children and young people that I work with have the best possible life chances put before them at school and college to enable them to achieve and succeed.

“I dedicate every day in my job now to support the teams around me to achieve this too. I absolutely love my job and hope that my work makes a difference to the lives of my colleagues, the children in our school and our wider families.

“That for me is the ultimate reward.”

Headteacher Donna Taylor-Smith said she nominated Mark for the accolade as “if ever there was a member of staff to go above and beyond, every single day, it's Mark.”

Donna, who took up the position of headteacher at the Littleborough school in January, said Mark has been “a wonderful support.”

She said: “He cares deeply about our school and our community. The children and families love him. He is at the gate at the end of the day with a smile to say goodbye to the families.

“He is usually the first point of contact in school whenever anything goes wrong. Mark isn't just a school business manager - we jokingly call him the ‘Swiss Army knife’ of the school.

“Nothing is beneath him. He will always do whatever he can to help out colleagues and ensure the smooth running of the school. As well as being a wonderful colleague to work with, Mark (a musical theatre enthusiast) also runs our cross-country club and our school choir - a job which he absolutely loves.

“We are very proud that he is a finalist and this is a massive accomplishment for our little school.”

The School & Supplier Awards celebrate those who work “tirelessly for the greater good of the sector” and are held in London on 8 December.