Systems don’t change children’s lives.
People do.
We develop the leaders and the wider workforce this work needs—people who can think and act across institutions, not only within them.
OUR CONVICTION:
Less heroic, more civic.
For decades, the answer to hard problems in education has been heroism—the exceptional head who beats the system so their children can beat the odds. It's remarkable, and it isn't a plan.
The leadership this work needs is civic, not heroic: leaders who change the odds for every child, not only the ones lucky enough to find a hero. That's a different craft, and it can be learned.
And it’s not just about senior leaders, either.
A childhood is held by a whole workforce—teachers, early years practitioners, youth workers, family support workers, the people who see children every day. Coherence is built by everyone around a child, not just the person at the top.
We develop
aspiring headteachers
Our flagship leadership programme, run region by region—from the South West, through the West Country, to Yorkshire, the East of England, and in Greater Manchester. Each cohort brings around 100 aspiring and serving heads together to build the skills and the relationships to lead beyond their own school gates. They learn from each other, from schools doing this well, and from places already organising differently around children.
We develop
aspiring CEOs
A national programme for leaders preparing to run a school trust. LeadingTrusts offers what the job rarely allows: time away from daily pressure to think clearly about the organisation you want to build. Through structured inquiry and honest peer challenge, participants develop the judgement to lead a trust that shapes the places its schools sit in—not only the schools themselves.
We develop
the children’s workforce
A national initiative working to build the workforce children deserve. Too often, the people who hold a childhood—teaching, early years, social care, youth work, SEND—are trained and organised as separate disciplines rather than one connected profession. The Centre is creating shared professional pathways, starting with a Foundation Degree that lets school staff earn a degree while they keep working, with the workplace as the classroom.
We develop
pastoral staff
A year-long programme for the non-teaching staff closest to our most vulnerable children: learning mentors, attendance officers, safeguarding leads, family support workers. Affordable, practical development in relationship-centred practice—plus something this workforce rarely gets: a professional community beyond their own school.
Explore the other ways we help schools build cradle-to-career support in their neighbourhoods.
We develop places
We help schools build partnerships in their neighbourhoods. Bringing services, families and communities together around children, cradle to career.
We innovate
We pursue breakthroughs on the hardest problems. Testing new ways to join up support where children need it most.
We make the case
We are making the argument for joined-up support around children and building the coalition to see it through.