Leading Together FAQs
This section provides answers to frequently asked questions about our Leading Together programme.
Please navigate below to find the information you need.
Application and admin
What you need to know before applying to our Leading Together programme.
Application
- When do applications close?
Applications for the programme starting in Spring 2026 will close at the end of December 2025. Places are limited so we encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible.
- Where can I find more information to apply?
Before applying, please check the Leading Together webpages on our website to help you with any questions you may have about the programme.
- How do I apply for the programme?
If you already work with a member of our School Partnerships team, please make them aware that you are interested in applying for the programme.
Please register your interest and we'll be in touch.
- Using the Teach First portal?
Eligibility
- Is my school eligible?
Leading Together is about making a lasting difference to the lives of disadvantaged children. This is why we work with primary and secondary schools in areas of greatest need.
To take part, your school needs to be either a Teach First partner school or eligible to be one. That means your school must be in England and teach a high number of pupils from low-income backgrounds. For the Leading Together programme, we prioritise places for schools in Ofsted Category 3 or 4, or at risk of moving to these categories at their next inspection. We accept Category 2 schools in certain cases.
We calculate which schools are eligible using the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) and Achieving Excellence Areas (AEA), a measure which identifies parts of the country where children often underperform.
Based on these scoring systems, eligible schools must fall under one of these categories:
- An IDACI of 40 or greater (this means 40% of pupils are living in low-income homes).
- An IDACI of 35 to 40 and an AEA score of 4 to 6.
- An IDACI of 30 to 35 and an AEA of 5 or 6.
- An IDACI of 25 to 30 and an AEA score of 6.
If you are unsure if your school is eligible, please get in touch and we can help you.
- Can I express interest in the programme for my school if I am not the headteacher?
We will work with headteachers to see if joining the Leading Together programme would be appropriate for their school. However, a member of the senior leadership team can register the school’s interest for the programme based on them having spoken to the headteacher in the first instance.
- If my school has completed Leading Together in the past, can I apply again?
Unfortunately not, as the way we prioritise places is designed to support schools in greatest need. Places are limited and we work with schools based on the eligibility and target areas above.
However, Teach First does offer other leadership programmes you could use to develop your staff such as our NPQs and the Careers Leader Programme.
Costs
- What's the cost of the Leading Together programme?
There isn’t one - the programme is free to schools. It’s fully funded by voluntary income from a range of generous supporters. Our funders are committed to ending educational inequality and believe supporting excellence in school leadership can help achieve this.
About the programme
What to expect on our Leading Together programme.
The essentials
- What is Leading Together in a nutshell?
Leading Together is a free, two-year programme that builds and supports strong leadership in the schools facing the biggest challenges. It offers bespoke support by an experienced school leader for your entire senior leadership team to help speed up your school's improvement journey.
- How long does the programme last?
The programme lasts 2 years, starting in March 2025 and ending in March 2027.
- What is the structure of the Leading Together programme?
Leading Together is delivered in four phases over two years, with close support throughout from your Achievement Partner:
Diagnose
With the Achievement Partner’s support, the senior leadership team analyses the school’s priorities and strengths. This helps identify the strategic school improvement goals the team wants to focus on.
Build
The team begins to identify, test and use new approaches to address its goals. Each member develops their understanding of key areas through a series of learning modules.
Embed and drive
The Achievement Partner supports the leadership team as it builds and secures the improvements made so far, through further learning modules and coaching.
Sustain
Through reflection activities and work with the Achievement Partner, the leadership team focuses on using its new approaches into an improving permanent culture of ongoing development.
- What does a 'learning module' look like?
Example core modules (which all programme members complete) are:
- Culture
- Strategy and implementation
- Using research
- The Science of Learning
- Curriculum
- Professional development
- Assessment
- What is the time commitment?
There is a set amount of time that individuals need to give up for their training.
Each module (or module level) has pre-work which is found on My Teach First (our online portal).
The time commitment is approximately:
- Pre-session learning – 45-60 minutes
- Facilitated sessions – 1.5- 2 hours (including a break!)
Some of these will be delivered at a national conference (1 day events in the summer term in both your 1st and 2nd year on the programme) giving you the chance to engage with these important topics whilst networking with other schools
Across your two years on the programme we will have 14 learning modules on offer, some core (for everyone in your SLT) and some non-core (for representatives from your SLT)
With regards to coaching, we will offer individual and team coaching to your school. In the last year, on average schools chose to have approximately 30 coaching sessions to support them to discuss learning modules and how they would use their new knowledge to make progress to their school goals. Some schools had more, or fewer than 30 – our bespoke programme is built to adapt to your needs.
- How does Leading Together work alongside other initiatives?
The best thing about Leading Together is that it works alongside what is already happening in the school. We encourage the Achievement Partner to be allowed to engage with the school’s other providers so that they are clear on any potential overlaps and can manage these effectively to ensure the greatest impact from all support being provided.
Achievement Partners are well-placed to support schools in determining what would suit their current needs best, narrowing down options and even giving additional support.
- As the programme runs over two years, what happens if a new SLT member joins the school?
New members of leadership teams, who join the programme significantly later than the majority, will be offered a bespoke catch-up/induction programme by their Achievement Partner, possibly alongside new programme members from other schools.
Module content remains available through the online portal after delivery so would be there for new programme members to ‘catch-up’.
Support on the programme
- What is an Achievement Partner and how do they support my school?
Your school is matched with an Achievement Partner – an experienced school leadership expert, trained coach and facilitator. They’ll guide and support you throughout the two-year programme by tailoring the programme to address your school’s specific goals and build plans for long-term success.
Your Achievement Partner delivers the programme for your team in several ways:
- Team and individual coaching.
- Delivering learning modules.
- Supporting access to bespoke support.
- Providing networking and collaboration opportunities.
Evaluation data from past and existing programme members shows that support from the Achievement Partner is the most valued part of the programme
“I've found the support of the Achievement Partner to be most beneficial overall. Having a dedicated partner through the process has ensured a personal touch that is leading to greater impact.” - Leading Together programme member
- How is coaching used to support my school?
The Achievement Partner coaches your senior leadership team throughout the two-year programme, based on your school context. This includes helping your team understand your school's needs and supporting heavy planning and implementation of your school's chosen strategies.
The Achievement Partner acts as an objective pair of eyes for the leadership team – they’ll support your vision for the school while also picking the right moments to constructively challenge you.
- How does the Achievement Partner work alongside School Improvement Advisors?
Most Leading Together schools have School Improvement Advisors/ School Improvement Partners (SIAs/SIPs).
Where useful, the Achievement Partner may be involved in these conversations alongside the schools and engage directly with the SIA/SIP around their ongoing school support. This connection would be at the discretion of the headteacher.
It is useful for the Achievement Partner to know what support is being provided across the school so that they are best able to coach the SLT alongside this.
The Achievement Partner can work with the headteacher (and potentially the SIA/SIP) to set their key strategic goals for school improvement.
Alternatively, the Achievement Partner can work with the headteacher, following their conversations with the SIA/SIP, to identify which area of school improvement will be set as a specific goal for the programme.
The Achievement Partner (and Leading Together) do not make judgements, or write reports, about schools (which may be part of the SIA/SIP role) but rather coaches the SLT through the process of addressing goals in a sustainable and strategic way.