Senior Leader Apprenticeship plus MA in Educational Leadership

Study level: Postgraduate
Professionally Accredited Programmes
Apprenticeships
A group of professionals with notebooks and papers on the table in front of them, smiling at the camera.

This Senior Leader Apprenticeship plus MA in Educational Leadership provides you with a comprehensive understanding of the principles underpinning excellent leadership, and the skills and confidence to implement them.

Start date

January
May
September

Location

In schools

Course code

See how to apply

Study mode

Work-based learning with online study

Duration

2 years part-time

Cost

Apprenticeship levy funded

Age phases

Primary
Secondary


Course overview

If you are a middle or senior school leader, or aspire to be one, then this course could be for you. Designed by experienced head teachers, it incorporates a deep set of leadership theories to encourage you to reflect on how your learning can improve your professional practice.

Our SLA and MA in Educational Leadership is a taught master’s degree delivered via an online or blended (online and in-person) model. The blended version includes two mandatory 3-day residentials near Milton Keynes2.

Our course maintains that:

  • The skills of effective leadership can be learnt and improved.
  • There is no single and exclusive inherited leadership characteristic.
  • By developing an understanding of the core principles of effective leadership and applying these principles in an authentic manner, responding appropriately to the context, the abilities of a leader can be improved.

Accreditation and professional recognition

Chartered Management Institute

Chartered Management Institute

This course is aligned to the Level 7 Senior Leader Apprenticeship Standard in affiliation with the Chartered Management Institute(CMI). Candidates who successfully complete the End Point Assessment (EPA) will also gain CMI Chartered Manager Status (CMgr)1. You will have membership of the Chartered Management Institute for the duration of the course.



Course details

In the first year, you will be presented with a clear set of values, behaviours, and approaches through the teaching of theory, key skills, central themes and fundamental principles of effective leadership. The online materials offer a rich and compelling narrative. They aim to explore theoretical and research-based evidence of effective leadership approaches, the importance of institutional culture and the needs of leaders and followers.

You will be presented with a variety of case study exercises that draw out the central themes. Critical evaluation and the development of effective, individual approaches are encouraged with the support of your university-assigned mentor.

Modules

In the second and final year, there will be a strong emphasis on the leadership of teaching and learning. You will have the opportunity to study best practice research in teaching and learning, the professionalisation of teaching, the science of learning, and the practical implications of theory for classroom practice.

The course concludes with an opportunity for you to apply the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the course to undertake an extended piece of individual Action Research which will show theory turning to practice through your dissertation. This dissertation is a project involving the leadership of change, drawing on the opportunities for educational leadership in your own context.

Modules

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.


Entry requirements

In order to gain entry to the course you must:

  • Hold an honours degree awarded by a higher education institution at a minimum of a second class (2:2) or equivalent professional experience.
  • Be employed in a school or college for the duration of study and hold a leadership position such as Headteacher, Principal, Deputy Head, Assistant Head, or a middle management position such as Head of Department, Head of Year, or Head of House.
  • Hold a Grade C or above GCSE (or equivalent) in English and Mathematics.

For more information about this course, entry requirements or your educational setting suitability, speak to our team.

Contact us


Fees and funding

Student Full-time Part-time
UK Not available Apprenticeship levy funded
EU Not available Not available

The SLA course, including residentials, comes at no cost to the student as it is fully funded by the employer’s Apprenticeship Levy. A university bursary of 100% of the course fee is available to those wishing to include the MA Educational Leadership.

Additional costs not included in the levy are:

  • Travel to and from the two 3-day residentials in Milton Keynes.

How to apply


Frequently asked questions

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