At Mercia Learning Trust, we believe in growing leadership at every level.

This year, we welcomed a new cohort to our Leadership Development Programme for Associate Staff – a key part of our commitment to professional development for all colleagues.

The programme brought together staff from across our schools and from a wide range of associate roles, including IT, pastoral, SEND, safeguarding, estates, admin, after-school providers, and teaching assistants. Over several sessions, participants explored vital leadership skills and principles, tailored to their roles and the wider school context.

The programme covered:

• Self-assessment and goal setting
• Time management and delegation
• Building high-performing teams
• Effective communication and handling difficult conversations
• The use of AI in the workplace
• Leadership lessons from both internal and external speakers

Each colleague also had the opportunity to visit another school within our trust, deepening their understanding of shared roles and fostering collaboration. The final session featured powerful individual presentations, where participants reflected on their learning and how they plan to apply it.

Feedback from this year’s participants highlights the programme’s impact:

“It has made me pause and reflect on the kind of leader I want to be. I’m leaving with new tools and more confidence.”

“It’s great to work in a trust that puts such value in developing their support staff.”

“Every session was informative and interesting. I’ve taken away something from each that I can apply day-to-day.”

We look forward to running this course again in the new academic year.