Shape the future of London's SEND Leadership Capability

The unique and exciting London SEND Leadership Programme

The London Innovation and Improvement Alliance (LIIA), the Association for London Directors of Children’s Services (ALDCS), NHS England and the Department for Education are proud to present a unique opportunity for current and future leaders in the special educational needs and disability (SEND) sector.

The London SEND Leadership Programme is designed to empower leaders to lead change and innovation across a complex and dynamic system.

Whether a current or an aspiring leader, this programme will help you develop the skills, knowledge, and networks needed to make a positive difference for children and young people with SEND. You will learn from leading experts, collaborate with peers from different backgrounds and perspectives, and apply your learning to real-world challenges. This will be a great chance to join a cohort of passionate and committed leaders who are ready to take London's SEND workforce to the next level.

The programme is fully funded and free for participants and will be delivered by Newton and nasen. They possess a strong and detailed understanding of the national and London contexts and the key issues shaping SEND leadership. They will be joined by current leaders and experts from across the SEND system.

Who can join the programme?

We’re running three cohorts of the Leadership Programme, with the first starting in June 2024. The second cohort will start in October 2024, and the final cohort in Jan 2025.

We are targeting current and aspiring leaders from:

• Local Authorities (60-70 places)
• Health (15-25 places)
• Parent/Carer Reps through the NNPCF (6-10 places)

The number of places above is split across three cohorts. Put yourself forward to Senior Leaders from these organisations (Directors+) who will then nominate 2-3 people from the organisation for the programme.

What’s in it for me?

• Access to a network of peers and leaders across the SEND London workforce
• The latest relevant knowledge, skills and abilities to lead through complex change that can be directly and immediately applied to your day-to-day role
• Access to coaching from experts and influential professionals in the SEND space during and post-programme
• Exposure to specialists in improvement and leadership in local government
• Upskilling on how to apply Systems Leadership to your role in a time where system-wide collaboration is more crucial than ever.

We are taking applications for the first cohort from today!

There are 4 modules in the first cohort, with each module consisting of:

• At least one in-person day in central London
• Preparation workshops and wrap up workshops via teams
• Some out-of-classroom work in between modules

Therefore, we are expecting this to be 2-3 days per month of commitment for 4 months.

Who is eligible to join the programme?

• You should be an active decision maker and influencer across your local SEND system
• You should already be actively working across the LA SEND, health, education, and parent landscape
• We expect you to have already demonstrated a willingness to challenge your own practice and would want you to bring this and your local transformation programme for reflective engagement
• We want you to demonstrate an ambition and willingness to develop personally/professionally
• You may be strategically responsible for either: local SEND strategy, local DSG Management Plan, SEND commissioning, SEND spend/budgets or lead the delivery of key SEND services
• You may either be a current or new leader within SEND, but also could be someone with the potential to be a future leader

Who might we expect to be nominated?

• Dedicated Clinical Officer, Designated Medical Officers, Therapy Leads
• Associate Director for Therapies, Head of CAMHS
• ICB CYP commissioners/ transformation leads. ICB SEND SROs
• Director of Education, Head of SEND/Inclusion, Head of Commissioning,
• Delegated financial responsibility of DSG (e.g. deputy S151 or SEND finance Lead)
• SEND Transformation Leads, deputy SEND leads

If you are interested in being a part of the Programme, then please express interest to your senior leader who will then put nominations forward to be part of the Programme.

If you are a senior leader, please click the button below to put your nominations forward (2-3 nominations per organisation).

Deadlines for nominations are the 29th April 2024. Please send your nominations in as we will be selecting placements based on a first come basis (but ensuring we have a balance of partners in each cohort).