New IMP Software and ISBL collaboration brings ASOT benchmarking directly into finance workflows
The first phase of a new partnership between IMP Software and ISBL, the central hub within the Centre for Education Operational Excellence, is set to give finance teams a single place to see how each school in their trust is performing against the industry-standard metrics used in ISBL’s Advanced Strategic Optimisation Tool (ASOT).
ASOT is an independent benchmarking framework developed by an ISBL panel of school finance and resourcing experts, including ISBL Fellows and DfE School Resource Management Advisers (SMRAs).
Having announced the collaboration last November (IMP Software partners with ISBL to support clearer Interpretation of ICFP performance), IMP now includes an ASOT benchmarking dashboard. The dashboard surfaces key metrics drawn directly from data already held in IMP, presented visually with RAG-rated performance indicators, trends over time, and national threshold ranges for context.
For the first time, trusts can view ASOT benchmarking metrics by individual school or as a MAT-wide view, with schools grouped by type for like-for-like comparison, all generated on demand directly from the data already held in IMP. The metrics are calculated automatically in line with ISBL’s ASOT definitions, and always reflect the latest budget position, so there is no manual extraction, manipulation or re-keying, and no risk of figures drifting out of date.
Will Jordan, Co-founder and CEO of IMP Software, said: “IMP partnered with ISBL to make it easier for trusts to engage with ASOT benchmarking and understand what ‘good’ really looks like. That vision has now taken a significant step forward. Trusts no longer need to extract figures or paste data into a spreadsheet. Instead, ASOT benchmarking is built directly into IMP’s reporting suite, with a dedicated dashboard that shows how their data compares against ASOT thresholds across a number of key metrics.”
Warren Porter, Head of Education Strategy at IMP Software, explained: “Schools and trusts using the ISBL’s ASOT framework have until now had to rely on a separate Excel-based tool to calculate and review their benchmarking metrics. This means manually extracting data from their systems, entering it into the ASOT spreadsheet, and managing the tool outside of their normal workflows – a time-consuming process that is prone to error and easy to deprioritise. For trust finance teams, this creates a gap between the data they already hold in IMP and the benchmarking insight they need to assess how efficiently their schools are using resources. Without a straightforward way to view ASOT metrics, trusts either invest significant time maintaining the standalone tool or go without the insight altogether. This release therefore takes the first significant step towards closing that gap.”
Trust – and school business professionals – can now get a clear, up-to-date view of how each school is performing against national thresholds, directly within IMP, as part of their existing workflow.
Bethan Cullen, Deputy CEO at ISBL, commented: “This integration marks an important step in making ASOT benchmarking a practical, embedded part of how trusts operate. By bringing robust, evidence-based metrics directly into financial workflows, leaders can better understand how resources are deployed and use data-assured actuals to inform forward-looking planning aligned to their strategic priorities. Crucially, these insights provide a shared foundation for informed dialogue across business, educational and governance leadership. In doing so, it strengthens the systems and data foundations required to deliver sustainable operational excellence, as set out through the Centre for Education Operational Excellence OpEx for Education framework.”
Andrew Hamilton, a former pedagogical leader, secondary headteacher and MAT CEO, who designed the ASOT framework, added: “The inclusion of ASOT within IMP marks the beginning of something genuinely transformative for schools. By automating complex analysis and drawing data directly from existing systems, we are removing the barriers of time and resource that often prevent schools from undertaking meaningful efficiency reviews. This is far more than a metrics tool – it helps schools to understand what they can realistically afford, quantify inefficiencies, and make informed choices based on their unique circumstances rather than relying solely on benchmarking. The partnership with IMP unlocks the full potential of ASOT, creating exciting opportunities to support smarter decision-making and operational excellence across the education sector.”
At-a-glance benefits:
- For the first time, trusts can view ASOT benchmarking metrics by individual school or as a MAT-wide view, generated on demand directly from data already held in IMP.
- Metrics are calculated automatically in line with ISBL’s ASOT definitions and always reflect the trust’s latest budget position, removing the manual extraction, reworking and re-keying involved in producing them and the errors that come with it.
- RAG-rated performance indicators and national threshold ranges give finance teams an immediate, clear picture of where each school stands, without needing to interpret raw numbers.
- Trend data lets teams track how performance is changing over time, supporting more informed conversations with school leaders and the Board.
- Filters by school, school type, hub and region let users focus on the view most relevant to them, from a single school to a like-for-like comparison across similar schools.
- For CFOs and CEOs, the dashboard provides a consistent, comparable basis for discussing resource efficiency across schools, grounded in the same nationally recognised ISBL framework.
Kate Davison, Chief Finance Officer at Yorkshire Causeway Trust, said: “ASOT and IMP’s ICFP solution are two tools I have relied on for years, so bringing them together in a single platform is a really exciting development. What ASOT has always given me is a clear diagnostic view of school performance and a valuable benchmark for what ‘normal’ looks like across staffing and spending. Combined with the depth of analysis already available in IMP’s planning tools, the new ASOT benchmarking dashboard has the potential to make that insight far more accessible and actionable.
“In the past, benchmarking has often been a point-in-time exercise that quickly becomes out of date across a growing trust. The real value of this new dashboard is having live, integrated data that can be incorporated into regular reporting and used to support more informed conversations with headteachers and business managers. For trusts like ours, that means less time spent updating spreadsheets and more time focusing on the decisions that will have the greatest impact on educational and financial sustainability.”
