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Church School Leadership Course

This course enables participants to:

  • Engage with current thinking and practice in relation to Leadership and Vision
  • Develop successful and reflective practice in your own setting including engagement with personality profiling, effective communication, influence and problem-solving
  • Explore leadership styles and how to develop effective teams within the current educational climate
  • Think deeply about integrating your personal and professional life.

Course content

This course will help you to integrate your personal philosophy and values with your professional practice.

  • You will explore becoming more reflective leaders engaging with the links between Christian distinctiveness and effectiveness in a Church school
  • Explore personal vision and ethos and its relationship to leadership, educational philosophy and individual school priorities
  • You will undertake a personal reflection on your leadership that may include action research to be presented at the end of the course.

Who is the course for?

It is designed for School Leaders, for those who are already leaders or aspire to be leaders – Recent or established Headteacher, Head of School, Middle Leader, Department, Subject or Year Group Leaders.

It will be beneficial when applying for posts in Church of England Schools.

Comments from previous students:- 

 

"This course provides space from a busy and stressful job enabling me to think about what makes me, me" - Delegate 2025- 26

"This course has enabled me to reflect, flourish and think about why we are doing what we are doing" - Delegate 2025- 26

"Growing Leaders in a spiritual / educational garden" - Delegate 2024-25

The learning environment

The heart of the course is two 24-hour residential gatherings with overnight accommodation included plus two whole day seminars.

Attendance at all sessions is a requirement of the course.

The residentials and seminars are held at The Chelmsford Diocesan House of Retreat, Pleshey. Further information is available below.

Coursework and assessment

  • Attendance and full participation in all residentials and seminars is mandatory
  • Presentation including questions on a topic of personal interest applying your knowledge of Vision and Leadership. The topic will be identified during the first part of the course and to be delivered at the second residential
  • Expectation to engage in essential professional reading to contribute to discussion
Course 2024-25

Dates - Academic Year 2026 - 2027

  • 8th July 2026 (Introduction, virtual) 
  • 17th and 18th September 2026 (residential)
  • 26th November 2026 10am - 4pm
  • 21st January  2027 10am - 4pm 
  • 18th and 19th March 2027 (residential)

Location

Both the residentials and seminars will be held at The Chelmsford Diocesan House of Retreat, The Street, Pleshey, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 1HA.

Visit the House of Retreat website

The Chelmsford Diocesan House of Retreat

Cost

  • The cost of the course is £900 plus VAT
  • For 2026-27, a Diocesan subsidy of £300 is being provided.
  • In addition, a grant to cover a third of the course fee is available through the Hockerill Foundation grant. Details are available on the The Hockerill Foundation
  • The fee includes full-board, overnight accommodation at the two residentials and catering at the day seminars.
  • In the event you are no longer to attend any of the sessions, or wish to withdraw from this course, regrettably course fees are non-refundable or transferrable

Applications 2026-27

Please download the application form and send it to education@chelmsford.anglican.org

Download Application Form