What is the Exemplary Leadership Programme?

Developed by a team of expert school leaders and educationalists, our Exemplary Leadership Programme is a unique one. It is a programme designed to help school leaders of all settings to build their school leadership knowledge in very specific domains:
1. Establishing and embedding exemplary behaviour and an exemplary school culture.
2. Working with subject leaders to develop a knowledge-rich curriculum.
​3. Ensuring that curriculum is enacted brilliantly, grounded in what we know works and respecting subject disciplines.
Our ELP is developed by an experienced, knowledgeable and thoughtful team of expert school leaders and educationalists who understand schools exceptionally well. Our lead school is Christ The King Catholic Voluntary Academy – a fantastic primary school in inner-city Leicester, supported by St Martin’s Catholic Academy – a remarkable secondary school in rural Leicestershire. Our expert tutors have worked in inner-city schools, rural schools and coastal schools, in both primary and secondary settings, and our programme is open to school leaders in senior leadership positions in any area of England. 

St Martin’s is the home of the Midlands Knowledge Schools Hub and participants on the programme will be able to access the wealth of knowledge and expertise the Hub provides. The Direct Instruction Hub is also housed at St Martin's, headed up by one of the country's leading DI trainers, Chloe Sanders. Chloe works with Kurt Engelmann and the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) in the United States, and participants will access Chloe's expert training training as part of the programme offer. 
Our ELP team is further strengthened by the expert knowledge of our tutors, a mix of practising school leaders and educationalists. The team includes the following experts:
Colleagues at Advantage Schools
Ruth Ashbee, Assistant Head Teacher, The Telford Priory School, Telford
Tom Bennett, Behviour advisor to DfE and founder of researchED
Annie Carter, Head Teacher, Christ The King Catholic Voluntary Academy, Leicester
Christine Counsell, Independent Education Consultant 
David Didau, English teacher, writer and trainer
Daniel Martin, Assistant Head Teacher, St Matthew’s CE Primary and Research School, Birmingham 
Andrew Percival, Deputy Head Teacher, Stanley Road Primary School, Oldham
Colleagues at Reach Academy Feltham
Chloe Sanders, DI Hub Director and Assistant Head Teacher, St Martin's Catholic Academy, Stoke Golding​
​Clare Sealy, Head of Curriculum and Standards, States of Guernsey
Tom Sherrington, Author, speaker, trainer
Barry Smith, Regional Director, CST London 
Claire Stoneman, ELP Director, Christ The King & St Martin's, Leicestershire
The Teacher Development Trust
Sonia Thompson, Head Teacher, St Matthew’s CE Primary and Research School, Birmingham 
Colleagues at West London Free School ​
Clive Wright, Head Teacher, St Martin's Catholic Academy, Stoke Golding
Developed as a blend of online and face-to-face learning, the Exemplary Leadership Programme runs over one academic year and will provide school leaders with the knowledge they need to help develop and embed exceptional behaviour and an exceptional curriculum. Participants will have the opportunity to visit a range of schools to see this in practice. Participants will also be able to access a bank of resources to support their learning, as well as live webinars with members of the team, online small group meetings, and residentials (or virtual residentials, if needed) with the team throughout the year.

The programme is fully funded by the Department for Education for the 2020-2021 cohort.

What is the structure of the ELP?

The programme is structured over one academic year and has three distinct modules. In 2020 - 2021, the programme will begin in November. The modules will be taught by our expert team and are the following:
Module 1: Exemplary behaviour and culture
Module 2: Working with subject leaders to develop a knowledge-rich curriculum
Module 3: The enacted curriculum

Who is eligible for the ELP?

Y​ou are eligible if you are:
  • A head teacher or a head of school
  • A deputy head teacher leading curriculum
  • An assistant head teacher leading curriculum 
We accept applications from all settings. ​We will consider applications from school leaders in senior leadership positions other than those listed above. Please contact us to enquire.

The ELP sounds great! How much does it cost?

Nothing! The training programme is fully funded by the Department for Education and places for 2020-2021 are completely free.

Can two or three school leaders from the same school apply to join the programme?

Yes - we think this would be most beneficial to participants' schools, but we understand that not every school will be able to do this. You are still eligible to apply if there is only one applicant from your school.
​We will consider multiple applications from MATs on a case by case basis. Please contact us to enquire. ​

What's the time commitment?

As part of the ELP, you will spend 3 days visiting our partner schools over the course of the year. There will also be 4 residentials; they begin at 3pm on a Friday and run until a Saturday afternoon. Residentials may run online instead of face-to-face due to Covid restrictions, and we'll review regularly. There will also be live webinars with our expert tutors, online meetings and other online activities, as well as a bank of resources you can access at any time. Webinars will take place in the late afternoon/early evening.

Sign me up! Where do I apply and what's the deadline for application?

Please complete the form below and we’ll send you details for application! Applications open on Friday 25th September 2020 and the deadline for applications is Friday 23rd October 2020 - 6pm. ​

How do I find out more?

Please contact us if you have any further questions. We will also be running a series of webinars with members of the ELP team where you can find out more. We will advertise these from our Twitter feed - @ELProgramme