Developing Practice Leaders: Leading across boundaries
Individual places for practice leaders on a multi-organisational development programme designed to support learning at a systems level across adults, and children and families social care.
Explore, recognise and develop leadership skills on a dedicated multi-organisational Leadership Development Programme with opportunities for professional growth.
Individual places are available for Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) Leads, Principal Occupational Therapists (POTs), Principal Social Workers (PSWs), practice focused Assistant Directors and those in equivalent roles on a dedicated multi-organisational leadership programme supporting leaders across adults, and children and families social care.
The programme is aimed at those who have responsibility for leading practice and supports the development of leaders through interactive workshops, small group reflective sessions and individual mentoring. We are excited to be joined by guest speakers, such as Dez Holmes, to share their experiences of boundary spanning leadership.
This course provides a unique opportunity for learning at a whole systems level and is relevant for anyone working for an organisation that supports children and families, adults and communities. It provides a cost-effective option for individuals, smaller organisations and for organisations who need to extend their learning budget further and can pay per place.
Who is it for?
The programme is for anyone working for an organisation that supports children and families, or adults and communities across the social care sector. It is aimed at those who have responsibility for leading practice, such as:
- Approved Mental Health Professional Leads (AMHP)
- Practice focused Assistant Directors
- Principal Occupational Therapists (POT)
- Principal Social Workers (PSW)
This could be within a local authority, multi-agency trust, the third-sector, or an independent provider.
What does the programme offer?
Consider leadership models and systems approaches, explore and understand anti-racist leadership and allyship, and reflect on diversity, privilege and power in roles and organisations. This programme will enable you to recognise and develop your leadership skills with opportunities for professional growth.
Featuring guest speakers, the first Developing Practice Leaders: Leading across boundaries programme will begin in and offers:
- Five full-day online workshops that will include taught elements and activities designed to deepen and expand learning, alongside some short exercises between sessions. Activities will be whole group or small group, in breakout rooms, with opportunities to learn from and network with colleagues from across services working with adults and children
- Two small group reflective sessions per programme with colleagues from a range of local areas.
- Up to three one-to-one sessions with an experienced mentor
Learning will be supported by two experienced facilitators with a strong background in leadership development and knowledge of the sector. You will also hear from guest speakers; inspiring and renowned leaders sharing their leadership experience.
The programme is designed to provide a range of opportunities to embed learning in your area.
Reflections
Reflections from participants involved in leadership programmes.
‘I was not sure what to expect […] but it has been one of my most treasured learning experiences. The material was so important, but the structure of the course and the way it was presented is equally important – indeed my next training course will be dual facilitated, so that a person from the Global Majority is right there alongside me, [and] we are considering anti-racist practice in capacity assessments.
I can see how I can clearly uplift colleagues in a meaningful way without being tokenistic, always one of my worries. My learning has been profound, and I value everything you have generously given immensely.’
Booking
Individual places can be purchased at an introductory price of £1900 per participant for the first phase of the programme. We expect the programme to be very popular.
Bookings can be made by individuals with organisational approval, senior leaders and/or those who have the delegated authority to nominate and commit funding.
About the programme
Find out more about the programme in our frequently asked questions. You can also contact us to find out more about purchasing a place.
The programme will support participants to:
- Explore boundary spanning social care leadership, impacting services working with children, adults, families and carers.
- Develop their own evidence-informed leadership approach through taught workshop sessions, reflective discussions with colleagues and individual mentoring.
- Lead inclusive and equitable practice, with a focus on anti-racist systems leadership.
- Reflect on their professional identity and values, and how they take these into their leadership roles.
- Collaborate with other leaders across services working with children and adults.
A self-assessment questionnaire
A self-assessment questionnaire will help determine the learning areas you would like to focus on, and progress before and after the programme.
One-to-one mentoring sessions
An experienced mentor will offer one-to-one mentoring sessions at the beginning, end and midpoint of the programme. Research in Practice is aiming to match mentors to mentees.
Reflective group sessions
These sessions will be spaced throughout the programme to support embedding learning into practice.
Five online learning sessions
Scheduled in single days over a few months, the online learning sessions will combine specialist and mixed professional groups. Each will include:
- Online learning and presentations delivered by expert facilitators.
- Virtual group discussions and networking with other participants.
- Guided individual study and reflection on learning.
- A sector leader will join each session as a guest speaker to offer reflection and learning from their experience.
We will also ask you to complete tasks in preparation for each learning session.
The programme is spread over several months and will begin in May 2025 and complete in October 2025.
It is essential that participants are personally willing and supported by their employer to participate in all aspects of the programme. This means having time to focus on the learning activities and ideas introduced on the programme. Core teaching hours are 9.15 – 16.30 and we ask you to reserve the whole day for the online learning sessions with no other work-related activities.
The programme will be delivered online with participants across regions.
The logistics and facilitator team are experienced in online facilitation of a high-quality learning programme. The programme is designed to enable effective engagement online. Short sessions, with regular breaks, individual, paired and group exercises and discussion time are incorporated into the format.
Microsoft Teams. We recommend the app-based version (rather than the browser version) for best functionality.
We encourage all participants and their managers to ensure they have dedicated time away from business and other distractions to fully engage in all elements of the programme and the virtual learning sessions. To aid learning you will be sent electronic workbooks that can be printed or used interactively.
Between 15 and 25 participants per programme are expected.
We will support leadership development for professionals, and we aim to:
- Be sector facing, giving due respect to practice wisdom and making sure we engage with stakeholders at every opportunity.
- Be open, constructive, collegiate and inclusive.
- Be values driven, offering mutual respect and appropriate challenge where necessary.
- Be informed by evidence.
- Be professional, reflective and responsive.
The programme aims to provide consistent and coherent delivery that is a positive experience for participants and facilitators and with the best outcomes for all concerned. It provides an opportunity for joint whole systems leadership across both adults and children and families.
Each course has two experienced facilitators with experience of continuous professional development (CPD) delivery and/or will be experienced in developing this programme and/or related content. They will have a strong understanding of practice and will be aware of the core values and principles of the programme.
There are no pre-course study requirements.
We strongly recommend individuals/organisations have terms of engagement. These establish the requirement for participants to be fully engaged during learning sessions and for organisations to ensure time is made available for individuals to attend away from work priorities.
We ask that you engage with all programme elements, and you make time for any online study, where possible. This will enhance your experience and the shared learning for all participants. It also maximises the benefits and the investment made by your organisation. We will share a terms of engagement document with you once your place has been confirmed.
We understand that there can be exceptional and unforeseen circumstances that occur – we encourage you to let us know at the earliest opportunity, so we can consider how we can support you.
If you are unable to attend one or more modules, we may deem non-attendance to be withdrawal from the programme depending on the information you have provided and any specific circumstances.
There is no formal accreditation. A ‘Certificate of Participation’ can be issued on request.
Booking information and attendance
If you are interested in taking part in the programme, we recommend that you speak with your senior leader and budget holder and share this information. Bookings can be made by individuals with organisational approval, senior leaders and/or those who have the delegated authority to nominate and commit funding.
For further information, contact us.
The cost per place is £1900. Please contact us for further information.
When you request a place, we will review the information and issue a contract. When you sign and return the contract, you accept the terms and conditions with the given deadline. We will issue an invoice for payment within 30 days. The contract will be binding after a 14 day ‘cool off’ period.
Participant details will be requested prior to the start of the programme.
Places are allocated on a first come first served basis based on contracts being signed and returned by the deadline. When allocating cohorts, we will also consider roles and ensure a balance of numbers across areas.
If you can no longer attend and the programme has not started, you may nominate another participant from your organisation.
If the programme has already started, we will not be able to offer the place to another participant. We may be able to accommodate a participant who misses one day due to unforeseen circumstances and is able to attend the remaining days.
If you withdraw during the programme, you will no longer have access to materials or elements of the programme, other than open access resources. We are unable to offer refunds for unattended modules.
We are unable to offer a refund if you withdraw prior to the programme starting and no one from your organisation can take your place.
If you are unable to attend one or more modules, we may deem non-attendance to be withdrawal depending on the information you have provided and any specific circumstances.
Yes, we are planning further delivery dates for all our Leadership Development Programmes. We plan to gather feedback and evaluate these first cohorts to develop further programmes.
If you are interested in taking part in the programme, we recommend that you speak with your senior leader and share this information.
Data
The events team at Research in Practice will have access to basic data to administer the course/s and send out resources and information. Facilitators will have access to participant names, job titles and organisations to ensure effective and necessary engagement for smooth operation and delivery. They will be asked to delete this information once all cohort delivery is complete.
Aggregated evaluation data will be available so that programme information can be monitored and promoted.
Participants will be asked to complete feedback after each day. This is anonymised feedback, and an aggregate report will be sent at the end of the programme to each participating individual/organisation.
We will be particularly interested in feedback of the overall experience from both organisations and participants to help us refine and further develop the programme to maximise benefit to the sector. We may request contact details for those who are willing to be contacted for further discussion.
Leading across boundaries
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