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Ready, Set, Lead! Aspiring to Senior Leadership Conference 2026
Course Code: C0009
£349.00
CONFERENCE AIMS
This brand-new dynamic conference is designed to support aspiring and newly appointed senior leaders in secondary schools as they navigate the transition into high-impact leadership roles. Grounded in the realities of modern school life, the conference explores the mindset, skills, and values that distinguish outstanding senior leaders.Through sessions led by experienced headteachers, leadership experts, and coaches, delegates will gain vital insights into strategic thinking, courageous decision-making, and the art of influencing beyond their immediate teams. The conference provides practical tools for managing complexity, leading with integrity, and sustaining personal wellbeing in high-pressure environments.
Whether you’re stepping into your first senior role or considering your next career move, this conference will prepare you to lead with clarity, purpose, and confidence. You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of who you are as a leader, what you stand for, and how to move forward with impact.
BENEFITS OF ATTENDING
- Gain a deep understanding of what senior leadership truly involves and reflect on the type of leader you want to become.
- Learn how to shift from middle leadership to a more strategic, visionary role, and avoid common early pitfalls.
- Develop practical skills to lead with integrity, navigate tough conversations, and make high-stakes decisions effectively.
- Explore sustainable strategies to manage workload, set boundaries, and support your own wellbeing in demanding roles.
- Identify your next steps, whether it’s assistant headship, deputy roles, or specialist leadership, and create a personal development roadmap.
- Be inspired by experienced senior leaders, gain insights from real-world scenarios, and share strategies with likeminded colleagues.
- Walk away with actionable strategies, renewed motivation, and a sharper sense of purpose as you take the next step in your leadership journey.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
- Aspiring Senior Leaders
- Newly Appointed Senior Leaders
- Experienced Middle Leaders
- Heads of Year
- Heads Key Stage
- Pastoral Leaders
- SENCOs
- Inclusion Leads
Programme
9.50am
Steve Smith Director of Professional Development, Keynote Educational
10.00am
- Adapting to the feeling of leadership – No one can prepare you for what it feels like
- Embracing the difficulty of leadership – It’s difficult because it is supposed to be
- Leading with humility, integrity and honesty – Even when the pressures you face try to knock you off course
- Maintaining positivity and optimism in the face of the challenges of leadership – The importance for you and those that you lead
- Being the best leadership version of yourself – You are your own super-power!
Patrick Cozier Headteacher, Highgate Wood Secondary School, Leadership Coach and Mentor
11.00am
11.20am
- Exploring the key differences between management and Leadership
- Shifting from operational to strategic thinking
- Learning how to influence beyond your immediate team or subject area
- Avoiding common pitfalls when transitioning to SLT roles
Marcus Sharrad Owner of The Crafted Concept, coaching consultant and previously Director of Coaching & Mentoring, Marlborough College
12.10pm
- Lead with clarity and confidence in complex or sensitive situations
- Manage performance and behavioural issues with practical, compassionate tools
- Navigate courageous conversations with staff, parents, and peers
- Hold others to account while preserving trust, morale, and team cohesion
- Understand your personal conflict style and how to adapt it under pressure
Marcus Sharrad Owner of The Crafted Concept, coaching consultant and previously Director of Coaching & Mentoring, Marlborough College
1pm
- Recognise the emotional toll of senior leadership and how to manage it
- Build strategies for maintaining personal wellbeing under pressure
- Learn how to set boundaries and manage workload sustainably
- Explore how to support others while staying grounded yourself
Helen Webb Accredited Executive Coach
2.50pm
2.55pm
- Reflect on your leadership journey and clarify your next steps
- Who are Headteachers looking for?
- Explore routes to assistant headship, deputy roles, or specialist leadership
- Build a personal development plan with short- and long-term goals
- Identify networks, mentors, and professional learning opportunities to support your growth
Patrick Cozier Headteacher, Highgate Wood Secondary School, Leadership Coach and Mentor
3.45pm
Conference - Code: C0009Ready, Set, Lead! Aspiring to Senior Leadership Conference 2026
London | Friday 19 June 2026
SPEAKERS
Patrick Cozier is a highly experienced Secondary School Headteacher of 18 and a half years. He leads Highgate Wood School in Haringey. In addition to his day job, he is a member of Headteacher’s Roundtable who consult and advise senior officials on national education policy. He serves as a trustee of the national charity Show Racism the Red Card (on which he is Co-Vice Chair). More locally, he takes a leading role in the work of the Haringey Racial Equity Group (part of the Haringey Education Partnership) on its focus to reduce racial inequality and improve the outcomes and experiences for children of colour. As a member of the black community, he is passionate about seeking equality, justice and fair outcomes for people of colour. He is currently working on what he refers to as the ‘Calm Leadership’ Approach.
Marcus Sharrad is the owner of The Crafted Concept, a performance coaching consultancy working across education and elite sport, with a focus on pedagogy, leadership, and individual and team performance. Through The Crafted Concept, Marcus supports schools nationwide to strengthen internal professional learning in line with Ofsted and ISI expectations, working with senior leaders, middle leaders, and subject departments. As a qualified executive coach, he also works one-to-one with senior leaders and Heads. Alongside his work in education, Marcus provides pedagogical and performance support within elite sport, including professional football and Olympic pathways, supporting players, coaches, and coaching staff. He
previously served as Director of Coaching & Mentoring at Marlborough College, leading staff induction, PGCE and ECT programmes, internal professional learning, and a data-led, whole-school academic intervention initiative.
Helen Webb is an accredited Executive Coach based in Leicester. She works in schools empowering staff to overcome their individual wellbeing, workload, leadership and career challenges so they can avoid burnout, drive successful school improvement, and get the best out of their team and themselves. She has over 20 years of experience in education working previously as a science teacher, Lead Practitioner, PGCE & ECT mentor, ECF Lead & ECT Induction Tutor. She is also currently a Lead Mentor for the Leicester & Leicestershire SCITT. She is a regular contributor to the online secondary education magazine, Sec Ed, where she writes and speaks on themes related to teaching, learning, and coaching.
Course Brochure
