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Ben March

Chief Finance and Operations Officer, STEP Academy Trust
Ben has worked at senior positions with the public sector for many years and was part of a pilot programme for aspiring business managers run by the National College, achieving an Advanced Diploma in 2013. Ben joined STEP in 2014, and since that time has embedded a business strategy which has facilitated STEP’s growth from four schools in Croydon to 20 across London and the Southeast, as well as ensuring consistently strong outcomes for pupils. Currently, Ben’s remit includes oversight of the STEP Ahead Teaching School Hub, as well as all functions that support the education offer of the trust. 
 
As part of Ben’s commitment to the education sector, he has been involved in shaping various pilots organised by the department, including the SRMA and mentoring CFO programmes. This is in addition to supporting the department on bespoke projects and undertaking trust reviews on behalf of regional directors as well as at the request of trust boards. Keen to support the sector in other ways, Ben also speaks at national conferences and has been commissioned by Ambition Institute and Fig Tree International to present on their executive programmes. 
 
Ben is a qualified accountant and recently completed his NPQH. Ben is a Fellow of the Institute of School Business Leaders and past Trustee of the Institute. 

1 Workshop series three

The business of education: Using KPIs to achieve excellent outcomes for pupils

How can all parts of a school trust contribute meaningfully to excellent educational outcomes? And how can trust leaders and boards align around strategic priorities and be assured that all endeavours of the trust are focusing on delivering the best education for pupils? Ben March, Chief Finance and Operations Officer at STEP Academy Trust will be talking to Samira Sadeghi, Director of Trust Governance at CST about how STEP uses KPIs to facilitate educational outcomes. This session will cover how operations within STEP enable excellent educational outcomes for pupils, and how trustees engage with and support this practice. Ben will share how STEP developed a framework that balances consistency of expectation whilst appreciating the context of each school, how KPIs are using as part of this process, the importance of establishing the right interplay between KPIs to avoid unintended outcomes, and the impact that this is having across the trust.