Level 5 Diploma for School Business Leaders – a professional qualification for experienced school business managers

Delivered nationally, this online programme is designed for experienced school business professionals who want to develop their leadership and management skills.  The programme will offer participants an opportunity to develop their professional learning and become proactive members of their senior leadership team.

The Level 5 Diploma will support you to develop your strategic knowledge to better understand and evaluate business operations within your school and present evidence-based information to your leadership and governance colleagues.

The Level 5 Diploma for School Business Leaders features:

• 21 months study
• Accreditation by ILM
• Up-to-the-minute content
• Aligns with latest Professional Standards (ISBL)
• Aimed at experienced, senior school business professionals
• Fully online
• Prices include ILM accreditation (excludes Individual Unit option)

The Level 5 Diploma is open to experienced school business professionals (or those in similar roles) who are members of the senior leadership team or work closely with their SLT members, and who already possess a Level 4 or Level 5 qualification – although relevant experience can also be taken into account.

The Level 5 Diploma is not an apprenticeship, so it is not eligible for apprenticeship funding.  Schools are directly invoiced for the programme costs (see Price List link on the right).

Further information about the SBL can be found under Key Documents (right), including FAQs and price list.

You will need the support of a school in order to carry out work-based study. It is important that the SLT are willing to share information with you in order to help your studies. Please contact us if you need to discuss your eligibility for the SBP programmes.

We recommend that you complete the Level 4 Diploma in School Business Management programme prior to undertaking the Level 5 programme, although we do welcome applications from those who would like to proceed directly to the Level 5. For those who have not completed the Level 4 Diploma, you will be asked to provide further information about your professional and academic background as part of the application process.

Need more information? Please see the links under Key Documents panel (on the right) to print or download helpful documents.

The Level 5 Diploma full programme is accredited by the Institute for Leadership and Management (ILM) – for more information please click here 

How to apply

Application form

The next intakes of the Level 5 Diploma for School Business Leaders is shown in the table below.

Level 5 Diploma for School Business Leaders costs from £1760 (+ VAT) and includes ILM accreditation. See Price List (Key Documents) for further price information.

Ready to apply?

Scroll down to view the table below and click on the relevant ‘Apply Now’ button. The course application form is located on the Serco Learning Centre website and so you will be automatically transferred to the site when you click on one of the ‘Apply Now’ buttons below.

If this is your first application, you will need to create a user account on the learning centre site, which only takes a few minutes. You will be asked for your name and email address, and to create a username, password, and security question. You will then be able to complete the application form.

Prices: Fully online format:  Single advance payment of £1760 (+ VAT) or two-staged payment (60:40 split) of £1930 (+ VAT). Payments are due shortly before the start of the programme.