About us

• Initiatives
  • Careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG)
  • Chairs of governors
  • Leadership for Closing the Gap 2010-11
  • Leadership Strategy
  • Local Leaders of Education Programme
  • National Challenge
  • National Leaders of Education and National Support Schools Programme
  • National teaching schools
  • Parental engagement
  • Primary leadership
  • Research Associate Programme
  • School business management activity
  • Specialist leaders of education
  • Succession planning
  • Previous initiatives

About the National Leaders of Education and National Support Schools Programme

The National Leaders of Education (NLEs) and National Support Schools Programme (NSSs) draws upon the skills and experience of our very best school leaders, as well as their schools, to provide additional leadership capacity to, and raise standards within, schools facing challenging circumstances. The programme is underpinned by the powerful notion of schools leading schools.

The National College oversees the quality assurance of NLEs, provides ongoing support to NLEs and their schools and helps to broker the support of NLEs and their NSSs to maximise the impact of the programme.

Since the first group of NLEs and NSSs were designated in 2006, the programme has gathered momentum quickly and has been one of the most successful levers of sustainable school improvement. Crucially the schools and academies supported by NLEs are improving at a significantly faster rate than other schools nationally, and the results of the schools providing support continue to rise.

The programme also helps to utilise the powerful contributions that NLEs are able to make at a strategic level, to education policy and the future of the school system.

More information about the programme for:

• Headteachers considering becoming an NLE
• Governors