Leading Change in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP)

Two day orientation residential (in person), 8-9 October 2025

• > Gloriously Ordinary Lives
• > The importance of lived experience
• > Your personal leadership
• > Resourceful and resilient leadership
• > Action learning
• > Personal leadership challenges

Mid programme workshop (in person), 11 November 2025

• > Working corporately and politically
• > SEND and why its history matters
• > Brave leadership
• > Strategic triangles and authorising environments

Action learning set (online), 3 December 2025

> Details to be provided.

Two day end of programme residential (in person), 14-15 January 2026

• > Working across systems
• > A focus on health
• > Constellations
• > Leaders and research (What Works in SEND)
• > Presenting leadership challenges
• > Inclusive leadership
• > Storytelling

Location

All in-person sessions will take place at University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7SH.

This programme suits those with strategic SEND/AP responsibility within their local area, including:

• • > Local authority strategic leads for SEND
  • > Social care leads for SEND across children’s and adults services
  • > Strategic health leads as appropriate depending on role/focus of responsibility - ICB leaders, commissioners, DMO/DCOs
  • > Parent Carer Forum leads with responsibility for strategic development
  • > Young People Forum leads with responsibility for strategic development
  • > Leaders in schools, early years, MATs and further education

We are looking to pilot the inclusion of MAT or school cluster SEND leads to further support partnership working across the system. And, we would be happy to accept participants on the course where funding is available to support them.

Requirements

Applicants should demonstrate their commitment to:

• > Continued professional development and the ongoing review of their professional skills and competencies.
• > Deepening their understanding and practice of leadership and making behavioural changes that impact positively on those around them.
• > Actively share learning from the programme with colleagues.

The cost of a place on the programme is £2495 + VAT.

In addition to the learning of the programme, this includes:

• > Day delegate rates at each in-person event including refreshments.
• > Overnight accommodation, breakfast and dinner at the orientation residential.
• > Access to 360-degree feedback tool.
• > Access to online learning platform.

We plan to recruit up to 30 participants to this cohort.

Applicants will need to demonstrate how they meet the eligibility criteria by filling in an application form. Applications close at 9pm on Friday 5 September 2025.

The application and assessment process comprises:

• > Completion and submission of the application process and sponsor nomination.
• > Sifting and benchmarking of application forms.
• > Feedback to candidates on request.

Sponsors

Potential participants will be expected to have their application supported by a line manager (ideally at assistant director or director level).

By sponsoring an application managers will commit to supporting their colleague actively throughout the duration of the programme.

The Staff College

The Staff College was established to support the development of leadership and management capacity in local authorities and their Children’s Trust partner organisations and, through this, contribute to the improvement of locality services for children, young people and families. The Staff College seeks to:

• > Develop current and future leaders, providing timely and appropriate CPD opportunities for all leaders within children’s services and partner organisations.
• > Horizon scan and anticipate emerging challenges for local authorities and their partners.
• > Support and lead on new developments to meet these challenges.
• > Be instrumental in developing the “collective intelligence” of the children’s services community.
• > Respond to systemic and organisational changes in children’s services.

Read more about the Staff College.

NDTi

We have over 30 years' experience of recognising quality and good practice and challenging things when they're not working. We have an established reputation for the delivery of high quality leadership programmes. Through our work, we are connected into a wide range of leadership examples including small and large organisations, different sectors, local, national and international delivery with providers, strategists and policy makers.

Read more about our leadership development work.