The Programme

The programme runs across two terms. It combines regular in-person seminar days and masterclasses alongside online sessions and digital content. The Programme Director is an accomplished former principal & CEO of an outstanding college and brings a wealth of knowledge, insight and coaching expertise. Sessions are delivered by a range of industry experts and recent CEOs, chairs and regulators with significant combined experience of FE. The progamme covers the critical areas facing leaders of FE organisations:

• • finance & banking
  • legal
  • audit, funding & MI
  • curriculum, qualifications & quality
  • strategy development & implementation
  • board effectiveness & governance
  • capital development & facilities
  • stakeholders, relationships & positioning
  • organisational culture
  • structural development & cultivation of teams & talent

Delegates have access to mentoring opportunities and one to one conversations with our Programme Director and other key contributors and, during the year, will also work on an implementation and reflection piece to be submitted at the end of the programme.  Successful completion  of the programme enables candidates to apply directly for professional recognition and post nominal designation from the Chartered Institution for Further Education.

Why this is different

There are many excellent leadership and management programmes for the FE sector which help individuals to develop personally for the next stages of their career progression into the highest tiers of management. Many of them are very effective in supporting professionals to secure senior roles. This programme is different. It is deliberately designed to focus on how to do the job and meet the significant responsibilities involved. It delves into the technicalities of running a significant organisation, a college or training provider, and offers insight into how you discharge your obligations, maintain sound governance and hold the accountability which comes with board appointed roles at the highest level from the day you step into position.

In simple terms, it is a series of lessons in how to drive; understand the rules of the road; know what the controls are and how to operate them; undertake checks and monitor critical indicators; work out how to navigate and read the environment; discern when to use specialist expertise to provide assurance, to  advise on direction or to improve performance.

Our Partners

This programme is supported by a number of expert organisations which support institutions in the FE sector across core technical disciplines of audit, finance, legal, governance and qualifications. Each partner contributes a series of sessions through the year on a range of themes under their specialist area of expertise.

• • Audit & Funding (RSM)
  • Finance (Barclays)
  • Legal (Eversheds-Sutherland)
  • Qualifications & Assessment (NCFE)

Sessions from these organisations are also complemented by a wide range of individual experts and contributors from across the sector and government agencies.