About the Cultural Education Leadership Programme 2024-25

• Further information about the programme

  Participants will be inducted into the Centre for Educational Leadership methodology of ‘Leadership for Change’ projects, and will be supported to collect the necessary baseline and impact evidence, while having an opportunity at the end of the programme to present their projects and the outcomes of this work. This approach will strengthen capacity in individual schools, as well as across and beyond the network of participating schools.

  Participants will also work in Action Learning Sets to provide ongoing reflective spaces. These sessions will provide an opportunity to consider learning, and develop a peer support structure that we hope will facilitate shared learning.

  Participants are not expected to be in a senior leadership position in their setting – the programme aims to support participants to act as leaders in cultural education irrespective of their level of seniority in their school. You must have an interest in and commitment to cultural education, creative learning and creative leadership.

• Key Dates

  The 24/25 Cultural Education Leadership Programme includes the following teaching days and visits, all of which are mandatory.

  Warm-up information and celebration with visit to Matilda

  Thursday 17 September, 5pm - 6.45pm Covent Garden, visit to Matilda the Musical, 7pm - 9pm

  The foundations of successful schools and effective cultural education

  Teaching Day - Thursday 10 October 2024 in Central London

  Hallmarks of a successful cultural education curriculum

  School Visit * - Wednesday 13 November 2024, venue TBC

  Understanding self and planning for impact

  Teaching day * - Tuesday 3 December 2024, UCL

  Leading change and improvement in cultural education

  Teaching day * - Wednesday 5 February 2025, Central London

  Hallmarks of successful engagement with schools

  Organisation visit * - Tuesday 11 March 2025, venue TBC

  Leading the cultural education team and enhancing enrichment

  Teaching day * - Wednesday 30 April 2025, Central London

  Using evidence and leading through dialogue

  Teaching day * - Thursday 22 May 2025 - Central London

  Celebrating impact

  Teaching day (sharing & celebration) - Wednesday 9 July 2025, Central London

  Sessions marked with a * will include time to focus on Leadership for Change projects through Action Learning Sets and with the support delivery team.

• Course Content

  The course content will include:

  • Thematic content, with input from education, leadership, creativity, culture and arts specialists

  • Opportunities to share learning with peers

  • ‘Cultural education in practice’ sessions

  • ‘Leadership for change’ project content and support

  Teaching days will take place at UCL (either at UCL East in Stratford, or at UCL in Bloomsbury) or in cultural venues across central London, with the opportunity to explore these during the day.

  Our school and cultural organisation visits will enable participants to explore the principles of effective cultural education in action at two expert settings, with the opportunity to share learning, make connections and ask questions.

  Alongside this, participants will be expected to allocate four days to their ‘Leadership for Change’ project. This should be supported by their school, both in terms of time and collaboration.

  The programme is fully funded and, in addition, A New Direction will contribute up to £2,000 per participant towards cover costs.

  An additional access budget is available to support BSL interpretation or other access costs relating to the programme where needed.

  Participants will also be offered opportunities to take part in and experience a range of cultural and creative activities to develop their understanding of London’s cultural and creative offer throughout the programme.

  In addition, participants will receive:

  • An invitation to a welcome event in September, including tickets for them and a member of SLT to attend a theatre performance

  • A Teacher Art Pass to support their personal arts enjoyment, learning and development

  • A copy of Catalyst (evidence-informed resources to support and promote collaborative professional learning and development of teacher leaders in and across schools)

  • A copy of Creative Thinking in Schools: A leadership playbook (a practical guide drawing together a deep understanding about school and system change with experience of cultivating creative thinking and promoting creative learning habits in schools)

  • Reading lists and other related resources.
• Benefits

  This fully-funded programme is free to participating schools, and requires a total time commitment of 12 days between January and July 2024, eight teaching days and four days of independent learning and project work.

  A New Direction will make a contribution to staff cover costs of up to £2,000 per school.

• Eligibility

  In order to be eligible to take part in the Cultural Education Leadership Programme, you must:

  • be working as a teacher in a state primary school (including primary SEND schools) in any London borough

  • have completed your ECT (if you qualified recently) or equivalent experience

  • be working at any level up to assistant headteacher

  • demonstrate an interest in and commitment to cultural education, creative learning and creative leadership

  • undertake to attend all programme sessions and complete project work.

  Please note: we can only accept one application per school in the 24/25 academic year. There are 20 places available on the programme. In 24/25 we are also not able to accept applications from schools that participated in the 2023/24 pilot programme.

• Selection Criteria

  Applications to the Cultural Education Leadership Programme will be scored according to the following criteria (listed in order of priority):

  Strength of application in terms of:

  • Understanding of benefit of participation to the applicant
  • Understanding of benefit of participation to the school
  • Commitment to programme expectations (attendance and project work)

  Strength of Headteacher’s supporting statement in terms of

  • Benefit to the school

  • Benefit to the applicant
  • Articulation of how the applicant will be supported both in terms of time for project work and of collaboration

  School percentages of:

  • Pupil Premium

  • SEND

  • EHCP

  • EAL

  If we receive a large number of applications we may also need to consider:

  • Geographical spread (i.e. balancing the number of participating schools per borough).

  • Balance between mainstream and SEND settings.

  Please note: we can only accept one application per school in the 24/25 academic year. There are 20 places available on the programme. In 24/25 we are also not able to accept applications from schools that participated in the 2023/24 pilot programme.

• How to Apply

  To apply to be part of the Cultural Education Leadership Programme, please complete the online application form no later than 5pm on Wednesday 19 June 2024. You will be notified of the outcome of your application by Friday 28 June 2024.

  Please note:

  • You must be able to attend all of the mandatory sessions for the programme and undertake an additional 4 days of project work – by applying for the programme you are agreeing to this time commitment if your application is successful.

  • You must answer all the questions on the form.

  • Your headteacher must write and sign a supporting statement that includes an articulation of how your participation in the programme will be supported at school. This must be uploaded as part of your application.

  You can download a list of the application questions here for information only to help you collate the information needed to complete your application. All applications must be submitted online through the online application form.

  Download the Headteacher's Supporting Statement for completion

  Apply for the Cultural Education Leadership Programme

  Any Questions?

  If you have any questions about the programme or the application process, please contact Laura Fuller, Senior Programme Manager at A New Direction at laura.fuller@anewdirection.org.uk.

• About the Team

  Download the Cultural Education Leadership Programme biographies