CEO Programme 26/27
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CEO Programme
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114251
This programme is designed to strengthen the strategic capabilities of further education and skills leaders and support their role as system-wide change agents.
Who is this for?
This programme is open to Chief Executive Officers and Principals who are the designated Chief Accounting Officer for their organisation in the FE and skills sector.
Applications are welcome from both new and experienced leaders who are committed to their own development and to contributing to the future of the sector.
Programme structure
The programme includes two core phases:
- Phase 1: GatenbySanderson Development Centre
Before the residential, participants complete a tailored leadership development process delivered by GatenbySanderson.
- Phase 2: Residential at Saïd Business School
This in-person, week-long residential is delivered at Oxford Saïd Business School.
What will you gain?
The CEO Programme is designed to strengthen the strategic capabilities of further education and skills leaders and support their role as system-wide change agents.
CORE LEARNINGS
Understand the adaptive challenges facing your college and the wider FE sector, developing the ability to work with issues that have no straightforward or technical solutions.
Strengthen your ability to work confidently with conflict, ambiguity and uncertainty, building the judgement needed to lead through contested or high‑pressure situations.
Generate new insights and perspectives on organisational and sector challenges, including how Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies will shape the future of Further Education.
Deepen self‑awareness to better understand your leadership patterns, strengths and blind spots, and how these influence your impact as a CEO.
Enhance your financial acumen and confidence in leading strategic finance, strengthening your ability to make sound, long‑term decisions about sustainability and risk.
Develop the capability to build networks of action, enabling collaborative problem‑solving and shared leadership across organisations and the wider FE system.
Strengthen systems‑thinking and systems‑leadership, improving your ability to diagnose root causes, understand interdependencies and lead sustainable change.
Create structured space for reflection and embed habits of reflective practice, supporting continuous learning, clarity and resilience in a demanding leadership role.
For Department for Education (DfE)-funded courses, a limited number of fully funded places are available to participants.
These places are offered to support greater diversity in access to high-quality CPD. To qualify, participants must either:
• consider themselves to have a disability; or
• come from a Black or minority ethnic community.
If you qualify for a funded place, please email leadership@etfoundation.co.uk
A member of the team will be in touch to confirm your place and booking.
If you do not qualify for a fully funded place, full course fee per participant is £1,600.
Book places now
View all available cohorts, dates and booking deadlines below. Simply click the relevant date and follow the instructions to book a place for you and/or your team.
If you require an invoice for payment please contact enquiries@etfoundation.co.uk with your request.
CEO Cohort 4 - March 2027
HEAR ABOUT FUTURE DATES
Please complete our expression of interest form and we will get in touch as soon as new dates are released.
Need more support with your booking?
If you have any other questions regarding payment or booking, please contact:
T: 0800 0831 830
E: enquiries@etfoundation.co.uk
Or if you want to talk to us more about your organisation's needs or can't see a suitable date, please fill in our short form and a member of the team will be in touch.