Open Cohort Leadership Programme

Developing confident, reflective leaders across children's services

In October 2025, we launched another open cohort of the ATHE Level 5 Leadership and Management Certificate – Working with Children, Individuals and Families. The programme brought together emerging and established leaders from a wide range of organisations and geographical areas, creating a rich learning environment where participants could share experiences, explore challenges and learn from one another.

The open cohort enabled practitioners and managers from different services to discuss leadership from multiple perspectives. Learners consistently commented on the value of hearing how colleagues across the country approached supervision, performance management, partnership working, organisational change and service improvement.

Over the ten-month programme, participants developed their knowledge and confidence across three core areas:

• Leadership, Management and Supervision – developing leadership capability, managing performance, supporting staff wellbeing, leading change and building resilient teams.
• Building Effective Relationships – strengthening communication, reflective practice, stakeholder engagement and multi-agency working.
• Evidencing Outcomes and Embedding Improvement – using quality assurance, data, service improvement and workplace projects to improve outcomes for children and families.

A key strength of the programme is its emphasis on applying learning immediately within the workplace. Throughout the qualification, learners completed workplace activities, reflective logs, assignments and a work-based improvement project, enabling them to tackle real challenges within their own organisations while building evidence for their qualification. The programme concluded with a professional discussion, allowing learners to reflect on their development and demonstrate how their leadership practice had evolved.

Learner feedback

"The Level 5 qualification has genuinely changed the way I lead. It has helped me become more reflective, communicate more effectively and approach leadership situations with greater confidence and emotional awareness."

“This has really made me think about my leadership style and approach to those I manage. It has also supported me to think more service and system wide.”

Another significant theme emerging from the final professional discussions was the growth in learners' confidence and self-awareness. Participants described becoming more reflective leaders, adapting their communication styles more effectively, approaching difficult conversations with greater confidence and using coaching and reflective supervision to support staff development rather than simply directing performance.

The impact

The open cohort demonstrated that bringing together leaders from different organisations creates a powerful learning experience. Alongside achieving a nationally recognised Level 5 qualification, participants developed stronger leadership capability, increased confidence, valuable professional networks and practical solutions that could be applied immediately within their own services to improve outcomes for children, young people and families.