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Lead Practitioner Accreditation

Empower your staff, improve student outcomes, achieve nationally recognised accreditation, with a programme that’s relevant to all staff across all phases of education.

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Start Date

Start date
Flexible (up to 2 years to complete)

Format

Format
Online

Cost

Cost
SSAT members: £499
Non-members: £699
Prices exclusive of VAT

Info

Need more information?
Get in touch or call 020 7802 2300

Lead Practitioner Accreditation is a nationally recognised status of excellent practice in education for teachers, support staff and leaders at an individual or cohort level, in any phase. This professional accreditation recognises, values, and celebrates all individuals who lead learning in their school or MAT.

Programme benefits

  • Participating in the programme improves professional expertise, helping to embed and extend teaching and learning in your school.
  • Provides a framework and set of standards for benchmarking as leaders of learning; inspiring others and positively impacting on learners.
  • Fosters confidence in developing and testing ideas.
  • Establishes an evidence-informed culture in schools, attracting and inspiring staff.

Case studies

Read more from accredited Lead Practitioners in various settings about their experience undertaking the programme and the continued impact on their professional development.

For primary schoolsFor secondary schoolsFor whole school cohortsFor support staff

Lead Practitioner in Primary

How I used Lead Practitioner Accreditation to embed a new English writing structure and RE curriculum
Sarah Scott, KS1 Phase Leader, Fawbert and Barnard’s Primary School

“An important personal outcome has been my newfound belief in myself as both a learner and a leader. The course empowered me to identify priorities, embrace experimentation with new strategies, and step confidently outside the comfort of my team.”

Read case study

Lead Practitioner in Primary

Professional development of ECTs through instructional coaching
Gabi Spears, Assistant Headteacher, Charles Dickens Primary School

“I decided to undertake the SSAT Lead Practitioner (LP) accreditation as a means of furthering my leadership skills within my own school and expanding my professional network beyond my school context.”

Read case study

Lead Practitioner in Secondary

Retrieval practice: A whole school focus
Janina Stromfield, Curriculum Leader of Science, Sackville School

“It’s hard to know when you have truly been successful with a single project in education as there are so many variables involved, but the LP accreditation process gave me confidence that what I was doing was worthy of recognition at a national level, and this made me even more enthusiastic about the work.”

Read case study

Lead Practitioner in Secondary

Making the most of SSAT Lead Practitioner Accreditation

“SSAT Lead Practitioner Accreditation has allowed Sunny to become more confident professionally, and have the ability to think ‘bigger’, developing an expansive vision which has gone further then he imagined.”

Read case study

Lead Practitioner as a cohort

Lead practitioner: making an impact where it counts
Benjamin Sharratt, Cohort Lead & LP Trainer, GEMS Wellington International School

“The impact and sustained change seen in some staff who otherwise may not be as forthcoming to share has been stark, reinforcing our belief and commitment to the self-improving school model of improvement.”

Read case study

Lead Practitioner for support staff

Lead Practitioner accreditation as a milestone of achievement
Adele Hawksworth, Librarian, King’s Academy Bay House

“LP was an inspiring programme to be involved in, helping me to consider how to involve the support staff team in developing learning and in driving impact across the school in teaching and learning”

Read case study

Lead Practitioner is available for individuals or as a whole-school cohort

Accredited status is awarded to individuals, but is most powerful when adopted on a whole-school basis or across a cluster of schools where LPs will drive impact across a broad spectrum of development priorities, with the option of tailored support and the opportunity to become a Lead Practitioner Learning Centre (LPLC).

For individualsFor whole school

Benefits for the individual

For the individual who wishes to be recognised for leadership of learning, the LP process provides a structure that enables you to develop and flourish. It supports your teacher career progression, to develop both yourself and colleagues you work with, across your school or MAT.

When you sign up you can join a national cohort which includes four online support seminars giving you the opportunity to network with other aspiring LPs from a range of settings.

Future National Cohort dates: NC O beginning on 28/01/2025

Apply as an individual

Benefits for the school

If you are a school leader who wants to motivate and retain staff, and deliver on school improvement priorities, whilst also enriching the pupil experience, then you can sign up a cohort of your staff with SSAT LP Team. Schools or MATs looking for tailored support for a cohort of LPs or who are contemplating becoming an LP Learning Centre (LPLC) may opt for dedicated support seminars.

An LPLC is a centre of excellence for LP accreditation with school staff developed as LP trainers and licensed to deliver LP support sessions to future cohorts of aspirant LPs, generating income for the school. LPLCs recruit, develop and support LPs from their own or surrounding schools towards accreditation. LPLC trainers receive dedicated guidance and resources from SSAT. Discuss your requirements with the LP programme leader.

Are you a MAT leader, looking to develop leaders of learning at all levels across your network of academies?

Consider the SSAT Lead Practitioner accreditation programme because:

  • It is a well-established and highly respected professional development programme, established in 2007 which has accredited over 9500 Lead Practitioners.
  • An LP cohort enables senior leaders in academies to meet their improvement priorities whilst simultaneously developing the individuals as leaders of learning.
  • There are no formalised and ongoing time commitments dictated by SSAT: schedules are set by the individuals guided by the cohort lead – tailored to meet the needs of the academy.
  • SSAT have done all of the ‘heavy lifting’ with marketing and recruitment documents for you to personalise to the trust.

The route to becoming an LPLC:

Lead Practitioner Learning Centres (LPLC) provide an opportunity to tailor the programme to the MAT vision and values, fully supported by SSAT to provide a consistent message across all academies, based on your principles.

Register your interest in an LP Cohort

Book a call with Andy Williams, Senior Education Lead

Schools wishing to establish their own cohorts and/or interested in becoming a centre of excellence for LP accreditation can book a call with the LP programme leader, Andy Williams.
Book a call

Any questions?

Contact us or call 020 7802 2300.
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