Certificate in Strategic Educational Leadership

Overview

A short, accessible level 7 module delivered by the University of Chester, for school business professionals who want to demonstrate their strategic educational leadership.

This module provides a valuable opportunity for participants, either individually or as a group, to reflect critically on an area of personal or professional practice by engaging with appropriate literature and research in the 'negotiated field'.

A ‘negotiated field’ is selected to be studied as an area or topic of interest. This is agreed with the tutor at the start of the module. Examples of the negotiated field could include, a specific project you have worked on as an SBP, an area of the ISBL Professional Standards you want to research and develop in, or an area of strategic school leadership.

Learning Outcomes

The course enables participants to:

  • Develop in-depth knowledge and understanding of the negotiated topic area

  • Engage critically in a systematic review of the literature pertinent to the negotiated topic area

  • Critically evaluate and apply key concepts and theories related to the negotiated topic area

  • Develop critical insights into the negotiated topic area.

About the qualification

  • This module is part of a post-graduate qualification worth 20 credits at level 7.

    The module is aimed at individuals who wish to continue their professional development at level 7 (masters level). You may want to:

    • Demonstrate the level at which you are working at or are capable to working at. This qualification can also allow you to claim strategic practitioner level accreditation. This process can be viewed by clicking here.

    • Apply for ISBL Fellowship – If you do not already have a SBP qualification at level 6 or above, then completing the Certificate in Strategic School Leadership will allow you to meet the qualification requirements when applying for ISBL Fellowship. For more information click here.

    • Ensure your knowledge and skills are current so that you can demonstrate not only your continued learning but also your strategic insight which could support you as you progress into executive and specialist roles.

    • Research a specific area of interest to you as professional or one that will benefit your school or trust.

    • Explore studying at this level without committing to a full PG Cert or Masters programme. Completing this module allows you to start to study at level 7 in a manageable and cost effective way, paving the way for further study and qualifications in the future.


  • The Certificate in Strategic School Leadership is delivered 100% online. You will not need to attend any sessions at the University of Chester. All delivery is carried out via webinars and virtual tutorials.

  • The module lasts one academic term. There are two cohorts per year, starting at the beginning of the Autumn and Spring terms.

  • The module content includes:

    • Introductory webinar

    • Leadership theories

    • Culture within education

    • Critical incident analysis

    • Leading change in education

    • Assessment writing

    This will be supplemented by a range of online resources including, but not limited to, a series of webinars, videos, powerPoints, eBooks and journal articles.

    Learners on this module will follow a high-level structure to their study but will be expected to work independently as they research and analyse their chosen negotiated topic area. This includes seeking support and advice from the module tutor as well as ensuring that all deadlines are met.

  • Whilst there are no specific entry requirements, you would be expected to work in a school / trust managerial or leadership role.

  • Individuals will complete one written assessment of 4500–5000 words, covering the four learning outcomes stated above and the agreed element of the strategic practitioner level of the ISBL Professional Standards.

    In order to pass the assessment, students will need to achieve a mark of at least 50%.

  • On completion of the module, you could continue your studies and complete two more modules to achieve a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) in Educational Leadership qualification.

    You do not have to do this immediately; you can take a break and then rejoin the University of Chester later on in the academic year to continue your studies.

    If you wish to continue your studies further, then you could complete a Masters in Educational Leadership.

    If you have completed the CIPFA Diploma in School Financial and Operational Leadership then this can be accepted as prior learning towards the PGCert or MA in Educational Leadership.

    As the qualification is not conferred by an HEI it is not an automatic progression and you would have to go through the accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) process. This would involve a short discussion with your tutor, lasting about 20 minutes, in order to ensure that the learning is at level 7 and that it is underpinned by the necessary theory. The Diploma would then count as 20 credits towards the educational leadership qualification.

    This means that once you have achieved the Certificate in Strategic Educational Leadership and the Diploma in School Financial and Operational Leadership, you only need to achieve one more module to gain the Postgraduate Certificate in Educational Leadership.

  • There is an ISBL member rate and a non-member rate for all our training programmes. All rates quoted below are inclusive of VAT and per person:

    Member rate: £1440

    Non-member rate: £1680

    One of the benefits of being an ISBL member is being able to access the member rates for training and conferences. If you are not a member, you can find out more about joining ISBL by clicking here.

    To be able to access the ISBL member rate, your membership needs to be active before you book your place on the programme.

    The full cost must be paid in full before you start the programme. Our Terms & Conditions can be found here.

  • An additional set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) can be downloaded for this module.

Testimonials

  • "I had enjoyed the Diploma in School Financial and Operational Leadership qualification as it helped bring together my knowledge and understanding about how a school organisation operates and strategically plans. I then wanted to focus on strategic educational leadership in a broader sense, not just the financial and compliance aspects, so I chose to study for the Certificate in Strategic Educational Leadership. You are able to choose the subject of your assignment within parameters, so you can really focus on an area that is important to you or your school and deep dive into it. That learning can then be applied to your school if you so wish. Studying online and working is challenging, but studying online in my case is a lot easier than having to travel to the other end of the country to study face to face. The other students studying alongside you are not all school business professionals, so you do get different perspectives brought to the discussion."

    Helen Burge

  • “Theories on management and leadership are developing constantly and evolving. Education is a changing landscape and it is important for me to have the skill sets to lead my teams towards positive outcomes for pupils in my school. No one ever gets it right 100% (certainly not me) but by learning and developing I strongly feel I can be the best I can be – that is what I always work towards with all training and qualifications such as this certificate.”

    Fiona Gill

Upcoming cohorts and bookings

Upcoming cohort dates are listed below, click on the specific cohort to be taken to details of how you can book onto the programme:

14th April 2026

For any enquiries, please contact: training@isbl.org.uk