Why us?

Benefits for you

Learn how to embed positive and lasting change
You’ll be exposed to the latest in behavioural insights so you can effectively and strategically drive school-wide improvement.

Learn from the best
The programme is designed by experts, includes the latest knowledge and skills needed to meet the new Ofsted framework and embraces findings from 10 years’ experience of delivering impact-driven middle leadership programmes.

Design an expert curriculum
You’ll develop your subject expertise and learn how to design and implement a curriculum that is valued by pupils, is memorable and enables deep learning using the latest cognitive science of learning research.

Further career development
Go from strength to strength as an expert middle leader. In a 2018 survey of the predecessor Teaching Leaders programme participants, 63% of respondents had been promoted since completing the course.

Get evidence-informed training
It’s fully funded, so you’ll get all the benefits mentioned here at no cost. It’s win-win for you, your school and your pupils.

Build a peer network
Becoming a leader of a school in a disadvantaged area can be challenging, isolating and hard work. You’ll join 10,000 committed, like-minded and optimistic school leaders from over 2,400 schools, forming a powerful peer group to help you tackle these challenges face on.

Benefits for your school

Transform the quality of teaching
Your middle leaders will learn how to embed a positive and lasting change. They’ll be exposed to the latest in behavioural insights so you can effectively and strategically drive school-wide improvement.

Unlock the potential of your most promising leaders
Now is the ideal time to think about who could be leading your school(s) in the future. This programme will help you develop high-potential staff. The course is fully-funded and training takes place out of school hours so your school will get all the benefits for no cost.

Design an expert curriculum
Your middle leaders will develop their subject expertise and learn how to design and implement a curriculum that is valued by pupils, is memorable and enables deep learning using the latest cognitive science of learning research

Retain your best staff
Investing in your staff makes them more likely to stay at your school – and in the teaching profession. In a 2018 survey of the predecessor Teaching Leaders programme participants, 63% of respondents had been promoted since completing the course

Learn from the best
Your middle leaders will benefit from a programme that is designed by experts, includes the latest knowledge and skills to meet the new Ofsted framework and embraces findings from 10 years’ experience of delivering impact driven middle leadership programmes.

For	Middle leaders - see Apply tab
Course Length	2 years
Cost	Fully-funded - see Cost tab

Curriculum

The Expert Middle Leaders programme will give you the skills you need to lead on curriculum, assessment and pedagogy (methods of teaching) in primary, middle or secondary schools.

Over two years, you’ll benefit from:

Intensive residential training over 7 days to learn from others, and gain expertise and knowledge to put into practice in your school. You’ll do 4 days in the 2021 summer holidays and 3 days in 2022.
An additional 7 days of face-to-face training outside school hours, plus 12 hours of virtual sessions with facilitators experienced in school leadership to enhance your skills
A transformative 9 hours of virtual coaching to achieve your goals
Academic tutoring with an experienced tutor for 5 hours to get to grips with key topics
Peer learning group sessions, totalling 10 hours, to learn from like-minded peers
Access to a network of thousands of leaders for personal and professional support
Access to the latest teaching research and evidence and a range of assessment and curriculum planning tools to work more effectively

NPQ

Expert Middle Leaders will offer the opportunity to complete the new National Professional Qualification for Leading Teaching. This is subject to Ambition Institute successfully renewing the license to deliver the new suite of NPQs.

More information on the new NPQs to be launched in September 2021 can be found here.

There may be a cost per participant to cover the assessment to complete the NPQLT.

Find our performance against nationally set NPQ metrics here.

For	Middle leaders - see Apply tab
Course Length	2 years
Cost	Fully-funded - see Cost tab

Team

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Brenna Dorrance, Dean of middle leadership programmes

Brenna is our Dean of middle leadership programmes. Brenna has over 20 years’ experience of programme management working in a range of organisations from those addressing human rights through to leadership development. Brenna holds a master’s degree in Human Rights and is also an EMCC accredited coach.

Chloe Wardle, Fellow Learning Design

Chloe is a Fellow in our Learning Design team and leads on the curriculum design of the Expert Middle Leaders programme. Chloe initially started out as a primary teacher and has since gone onto to be a class teacher, middle leader and senior leader. Chloe is now one of our lead teacher educators supporting the development of middle leaders.

Francesca Denley, Fellow Learning Design

Francesca is a Fellow in our Learning Design team for Expert Middle Leaders. Francesca is a former secondary modern foreign languages teacher and has worked in roles as a teacher and teacher educator. Francesca also has experience of supporting the professional development of early career teachers and middle leaders.

Jacynth Bennett, Associate Dean

Jacynth is an Associate Dean in our Learning Design team. Jacynth is a former teacher, middle leader, lead practitioner and head of secondary. She also spent a period time as a founding tutor of Ark teacher training which inspired her passion for teacher development and programme design for leadership at all levels.

Kevin O’Neill, Associate Dean

Kevin is our programme lead for Expert Middle Leaders. A former maths teacher, Kevin has over 18 years’ experience working in education with 5 years in a Birmingham secondary school leading departments and pastoral teams. Kevin is also a vice chair of governors at his local primary school.

Luke Ireson, Associate Dean

Luke is our Associate Dean and leads on our Expert Middle Leaders programme. Luke has over 7 years working in education and has experience of managing leadership programmes. Luke is passionate about making sure participants have a quality experience on the programme and go onto make a positive impact in their schools.

Testimonials

"It’s a real privilege to be able to network and share good practice with other driven, like-minded colleagues."
Laura, KS2 Maths Co-ordinator

“It’s great to see the scale of what’s happening here - the potential to make so much change happen with this crucial catalytic role.”
Sam Twiselton OBE, Director of Sheffield Institute of Education

“Brilliant to see Ambition Institute’s Expert Middle Leaders focusing on curriculum and subject specificity. Looks like an epic training programme. So happy that middle leaders are at last being given the professional development they deserve.”
Summer Turner, Head of Curriculum Development, Inspiration Trust

For	Middle leaders - see Apply tab
Course Length	2 years
Cost	Fully-funded - see Cost tab

Cost

The Expert Middle Leaders programme is fully-funded, so there’s no cost to schools or participants. It is funded by the Department for Education’s Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund (TLIF).