Accredited Training

Diploma in Boarding Practice – Leadership 2024-2025

‘As a Head of Boarding, I enrolled on the course with the aim of furthering my knowledge and experience in residential life; the course did not disappoint. The study days provided a great opportunity to meet fellow boarding colleagues and discuss areas of best practice and engage in discussions on contemporary topics. The assignments were varied and included assessed presentations and written work. Each assignment had a clear success criteria and a BSA tutor was on hand to provided support and guidance if required.  

If you are a practitioner with a number of years of experience and looking to further your qualifications and knowledge base in boarding, I can highly recommend this course.’

– A Diploma level course for senior boarding staff

This is a taught course with three study days and three assignments

This module is comprised of three tutor-led study days featuring guest speakers, interactive morning and afternoon sessions. Breakout groups allow for discussion and time with the course tutors.

BSA Diploma in Boarding Practice – Leadership

TO BEGIN YOU QUALIFICATION IN NOVEMBER CLICK HERE

BSA Autumn Diploma in Boarding Practice – Leadership

• Day 1: November 15, 2024
• Day 2: March 11, 2025
• Day 3: May 19, 2025

Our preferred platform for online training is Zoom

Timings for each study day – 10.00 to 15.45

Audience:

This course is aimed at senior boarding staff.  Candidates may have previously completed the BSA  Advanced Certificate Course and/or being suitably experienced to benefit from this leadership course.

BSA Diploma in Boarding Practice (Leadership)

The BSA Diploma course is designed as a strategic course for senior and experienced school staff looking to gain knowledge of key leadership and management skills required to lead the boarding in their school.

Course Outline

• Strategic aspects of boarding, including the Statutory Framework

• Leading the team – how to get the best out of the Boarding Team

• Managing quality – evaluation and preparing for inspection

• Managing conflict – a key facet of the senior staff role

• Staff development  – appraisal and performance management

• Facing the media – Guest Speaker Steve Dyson, Dyson Media Ltd

• Marketing – A whole team approach

How is the course organised?

The course is organised around a combination of three intensive study days which contain a variety of teaching methods and opportunities to learn in different ways, which include short lectures, presentations and discussions led by students, together with group problem solving exercises and case studies. Group discussion is a particularly important aspect of this course, enabling delegates to look at the theory in light of their own practical experience. Students will be encouraged to contribute ideas, opinions and questions, taking responsibility for their own learning, whilst contributing to the learning of the group as a whole. The course is run by senior members of the BSA staff and will feature a serving Head of a boarding school and each delegate will have an experienced BSA Tutor who attends the study days.

Course Assessment

All delegates undertake a SWOT analysis of the boarding provision in their school in which they evaluate, in detail, different aspects and contribute towards the development of the provision. From this they undertake three assignments. The first highlights an area for development and they follow this with a 4-minute presentation delivered to the BSA staff and tutors, as well as other delegates. The final assignment brings together all the work in a 3,000- 4,000 word active research project.

Applications:

BSA Diploma in Boarding Practice – Leadership

TO BEGIN YOU QUALIFICATION IN NOVEMBER CLICK HERE

BSA Autumn Diploma in Boarding Practice – Leadership

• Day 1: November 15, 2024
• Day 2: March 11, 2025
• Day 3: May 19, 2025

Our preferred platform for online training is Zoom

Numbers on 2024 Diploma courses will be limited. Please apply early.

NB: Please be aware that it is crucial to remain on your assigned course path and tutor group to gain the very best out of your training. Of course, we understand some things are unavoidable however we cannot guarantee alternative placement days, and this may incur an admin charge

Certificate in Professional Practice – Headship

New 24/25 course dates added!

Dates for this Module are:

• Day 1:   April 30^th, 2025
• Day 2:   June 17^th, 2025
• Day 3:   July 4^th, 2025

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Timings for each study day: 10:00am – 15:30pm BST

All study days will be held online via Zoom

The BSA Certificate in Boarding Headship is a new, BSA-accredited certificate course for School Heads new to boarding or who would like to extend their knowledge of the sector.

This three-day course covers a broad range of topics including:

• Structure
• VAT in boarding
• Boarding numbers
• The boarding balance : Planning your boarding to get the right balance between full and part time,  UK and International
• Historical and current data
• Marketing
• Recruitment
• Staffing
• Visas
• Guardians
• Boarding House management
• UK policies applicable to boarding
• Keeping boarders safe
• Managing risk
• Meeting inspection standards
• Managing Governor oversight

On completion delegates also get three complimentary video calls with a member of the BSA Group Leadership Team.

The BSA Certificate in Boarding Headship sits alongside BSA’s highly successful accredited certificate courses, which include the BSA Advanced Certificate in Pastoral Care and Boarding Management and the BSA Diploma in Boarding Practice for Leadership.

Speakers on this certificate course are:

Robin Fletcher, Chief Executive, BSA

Robin Fletcher, MBA, MPhil, MTIOB, joined BSA Group in 2014 after holding senior media and communications roles. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff Metropolitan University and a Corporate Board member of Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation. A former boarding school governor, Robin is also an examiner for the National Council for the Training of Journalists and a member of the Reader Panel at Royal United Hospital, Bath. In 2020, Robin authored A Culture of Care – the benefits of boarding and future risks, published by BSA Group.

Aileen Kane, Deputy CEO & COO, BSA

Aileen is Deputy CEO & COO of BSA Group. She leads operations at BSA Group and works closely with members to provide guidance and training. Aileen also works with government departments, local authorities and other agencies to support members and heads up the group’s work to find places for refugee children escaping from conflict countries.

Kate Hollyer, Legal and Public Affairs Director, BSA

Kate is Legal Director of BSA Group and Director of BSA Legal Services Ltd. As a qualified solicitor with more than 10 years’ experience advising clients on UK immigration law, Kate assists members with all immigration and safeguarding legal matters. Prior to joining BSA in 2022 Kate was Partner and Head of Department at a leading full-service UK law firm. Having resided in state, preparatory and senior school boarding houses since 2014 with her Housemaster husband, Kate has a unique perspective of boarding life.

Dale Wilkins, Senior Director, BSA and BSA Group

Dale joined the BSA during Summer 2017 with responsibility for safeguarding and standards. In July 2019 he also assumed responsibility for the BSA’s training programme, including both day seminars and accredited training courses. Dale leads on all safeguarding and inspection matters for the BSA, including managing the Commitment to Care Charter and has also developed a process of BSA Accreditation for our international members.

For 31 years Dale was a boarding practitioner. After boarding positions at Norwich School and Tettenhall College, Dale became a Housemaster at Old Swinford Hospital in 1992, and was promoted to Deputy Head in 2007, and subsequently also DSL. He has also been a multi-agency trainer for the Dudley Safeguarding Children’s Board and has been closely involved in inspection in state and independent boarding since 2002. Dale had previously been a BSA course tutor since 1998 and developed the BSA Self-Assessment Toolkit, which was updated in 2022.

Dates for this Module are:

• Day 1:   April 30^th, 2025
• Day 2:   June 17^th, 2025
• Day 3:   July 4^th, 2025

All study days will be held online via Zoom

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

NB: Please be aware that it is crucial to remain on your assigned course path and tutor group to gain the very best out of your training. Of course, we understand some things are unavoidable however we cannot guarantee alternative placement days, and this may incur an admin charge

NEW Certificate for 2024-2025

Career Coaching and Mentoring

Study Days for this module are:

• Study Day 1, January 14, 2025
• Study Day 2, February 06, 2025
• Study Day 3, March 25, 2025

All study days will be online via Zoom.

TO BEGIN THIS COURSE IN JANUARY CLICK HERE

Timings for each study day: 10:00am – 15:30pm GMT

Sessions Will Include:

• Skills audit and evaluation
• Imposter syndrome, Guest Speaker Angela Cox
• Destructive behaviour, patterns and habits, Guest Speaker Angela Cox
• Changing role, adapting and embracing change
• Responding to challenge – Guest Speaker
• Noticing and solving problems
• Coaching culture and listening
• Mentoring
• Groups tasks, case studies and discussion

Angela Cox

Angela Cox is on a mission to help professionals escape pretending, people pleasing and perfectionism and be brilliant by being themselves.

Angela is a multi-award-winning executive coach, 2 x best-selling author, podcast host and founder of Paseda360, a revolutionary coaching method and training academy.

After a career in senior and executive transformation and strategy roles in large corporations, she left the rat race and set up her own coaching practice in 2018.

Angela is an Association for Coaching Master Coach & Fellow with more than 5000 coaching hours under her belt. She holds an Executive Coaching Diploma from Cambridge University and PG Cert in the Psychology & Neuroscience of Mental Health.  She is an accredited psychotherapist, NLP Master, Clinical Hypnotherapist, and an accredited Havening Techniques Practitioner.

A proud empath, Angela blends backbone with a huge amount of heart.

Learning Outcomes

• Gain insight into strengths and areas for development.
• Self-awareness.
• Confidence.
• Empowerment.
• Career satisfaction.
• Career progression.

BSA Certificate in Professional Practice – Inclusion Lead Training

Study Days for the Summer Module are:

• May 13th 2025
• May 21st 2025
• June 9th 2025

Timings: 1000 – 1615

TO BEGIN YOUR QUALIFICATION IN MAY 2025 CLICK HERE

Why should you attend?

This bespoke, comprehensive three-day certificate course has been put together to support Inclusion Leads or staff with specific responsibility for equity, diversity and inclusion in boarding schools.

Participants will receive high-quality training and support from a range of experts to further develop the skills and confidence needed to establish, embed and sustain equity, diversity and inclusion work in their school. Throughout the three days there will be opportunities to meet, collaborate and discuss with other participants and to learn from case studies and good practice from other schools.

Content:

The course will bring together leaders from a wide range of backgrounds who will share knowledge and experiences to both support you with this important work and to challenge your thinking to enable professional growth.

Over the three days we will explore the ‘why’ of this work including areas such as identity, belonging, use of language, empowerment and intersectionality. Legal and inspection requirements will be unpacked, and auditing and action planning discussed. The importance and power of courageous and compassionate leadership in creating sustained change will be fully explored and through interactive sessions which will include an exploration of coaching as a tool, you will develop practical techniques to help support the important conversations needed for your work in this area.

COURSE OVERVIEW

Irfan Latif, BSA Group Inclusion Representative, Principal, DLD College London

Irfan is currently the Principal of DLD College London, part of the Alpha Plus Group of schools which was recently named ‘Boarding of the School of the Year 2020’. He was educated at Emanuel School and graduated with honours in Chemistry from King’s College, London. His first headship took him to Somerset where he was Headmaster of Sexey’s School (BSA) in Bruton. Prior to this he was Deputy Head at Bedford School (HMC), Director of Science at St Benedict’s School in Ealing (HMC), Senior Housemaster at Whitgift School (HMC) and Assistant Housemaster and Teacher of Chemistry at The Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Boys (HMC). He has been the Chairman of the State Boarding Schools’ Forum, the Vice Chair of the Boarding Schools’ Association and is currently it’s London Chair. He also sits on the Executive Committee of the BSA as the Inclusion and Diversity representative for the sector and is the co-founder of the ISC’s Inclusion and Diversity Group.  He regularly lectures at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and is also a Justice of the Peace. As well as being a school Governor, he is also the trustee of various charities and used to sit on the Board of Education at the Diocese of Bath & Wells. He is a keen cook, traveller and adventurer and recently led expeditions to Everest Base Camp, Venezuela and the Red Sea. Irfan enjoys family time with his wife Jocelyn, also a science teacher, their two young daughters and their Jack Russell, Rodney.

The Why, What, and How of Leading Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity in your school

Some key foundational considerations under the why, what and how of your role which will help to position you as an effective and impactful Inclusion lead.  This session will cover various themes such as:

• the importance of now
• establishing definitions
• the biggest misconceptions
• connecting the dots of your strategy, from audit to action plan

Speaker:  Temi Akindele Barker, Founder, Inclusion Labs

Temi began her career as a consultant in Legal Executive Search, both in the UK and internationally, eventually becoming Co-Head of the Senior Team covering US and UK law firms, and US financial institutions. A key part of her role involved supporting local and multinational clients to achieve their strategic  goals.  Prior to Inclusion Labs, she worked in Strategy and Research with a focus  on start-ups.  Temi is a mum of two daughters and committed to helping schools  ask the right questions and focus on the important things when it comes to  diversity, equity and inclusion.  Inclusion Labs offers a custom programme for schools, grounded in research and best practice, but most importantly on the lived experience of students and families, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

Understanding Equality and the Law

This session will cover the various elements of equality included within English legislation and the obligations they place on organisations. It will also consider whether the protections are adequate and whether they allow Schools to genuinely demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusivity.

Speaker:  Gemma Woodhouse, Partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP

Gemma is an employment partner at Penningtons Manches Cooper. She advises organisations on all elements of employment law including discrimination and equal opportunities. She also works with a number of independent schools and is joint Head of the Penningtons Manches Cooper Schools Sector.

Delivering equitable outcomes

Speaker: Yasmina Kone, Hemisphere Education

Yasmina is Deputy Lead of Hemisphere Education. She’s an award-winning start-up operator that’s worked with some of the UK’s top corporate and start-up companies. Her social impact work has seen her feature in the BBC, Black Tech Fest and Busy Being Black Podcast, and her clients have included FTSE500 companies where she’s helped to open access to minority groups and use business as force for good. She’s passionate about the impact that the education sector can have on creating a more inclusive society and is leading on Hemisphere Education’s adoption in UK schools.

Leadership Challenges and Opportunities

How can you lead as effectively as possible, building capacity and confidence so that others move forward and achieve all they can? This session will explore the challenges that leadership presents, alongside the opportunities it can offer, and how you can make the most of them.

Case studies, Discussion and Next Steps 

This session will provide an opportunity to hear first-hand from school leaders about EDI work in their schools. The case studies will cover a range of different areas from the importance of pupil voice to recruitment. Participants will then have the chance to meet and discuss EDI work in their schools with other Inclusion Lead colleagues (in small zoom break out groups). To end the day, we will briefly consider next steps and things to be researching or thinking about before the second day of this course.

Speaker:  Aiyaz Ahmed, Biology Teacher and Diversity Champion, Eastbourne College

Aiyaz has been teaching at Eastbourne College for five years and started up a pupil lead diversity forum named BE YOU four years ago, which he currently leads. Over the years this has become more popular and an integral part of the college. It has shaped the culture of the college community and has also empowered young people to be part of the changes that promote inclusivity and diversity. Aiyaz is passionately dedicated to his role and works collaboratively with the PSHE lead, HR, HoDs and SMT to drive the changes that they feel will make the college more diverse and inclusive. Prior to this, Aiyaz taught science at inner London secondary schools for ten years.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Safeguarding and Inspection

This session will look at safeguarding with an equity, diversity and inclusion lens and will consider key inspection requirements.

Speaker:  Dale Wilkins, Senior Director, BSA and BSA Group

Dale joined the BSA during Summer 2017 with responsibility for safeguarding and standards. In July 2019 he also assumed responsibility for the BSA’s training programme, including both day seminars and accredited training courses. Dale leads on all safeguarding and inspection matters for the BSA, including managing the Commitment to Care Charter and has also developed a process of BSA Accreditation for our international members.

For 31 years Dale was a boarding practitioner. After boarding positions at Norwich School and Tettenhall College, Dale became a Housemaster at Old Swinford Hospital in 1992, and was promoted to Deputy Head in 2007, and subsequently also DSL. He has also been a multi-agency trainer for the Dudley Safeguarding Children’s Board and has been closely involved in inspection in state and independent boarding since 2002. Dale had previously been a BSA course tutor since 1998 and developed the BSA Self-Assessment Toolkit, which was updated in 2022.

Identity, Belonging and Connectedness. 

This session will explore the notions of identity, belonging and connectedness. Ammy Davis Potter will share her own stories of identity and belonging as well as her experiences of working with young people in schools. How do our different and often intersecting identities shape our capacity to belong and connect and how can schools provide an environment where connectedness thrives?

Speaker: Ammy Davis Potter

Ammy is an educational consultant and inclusive education specialist. She worked in boarding schools for 30 years in a number of different roles including Head of Department, Houseparent, Head of Boarding and Deputy Head (Pastoral).  She then worked for the BSA Group as Director of Guardianship and Inclusion before setting up Ammy Davies Education in 2023 providing consultancy for schools, other businesses and private families.

Speaker: Mutisunge Edwards, Christ’s Hospital

Mutisunge Edwards is the first ever full-time equity, diversity and inclusion lead at Christ’s Hospital School. Mutisunge Edwards is now working closely with staff in all departments, as well as with pupils, to help ensure that all aspects of the school’s work are viewed through the EDI lens. Her background is predominantly in Early Years education. Throughout her career, she has tried to implement change and integrate inclusion from a young age.

Case Studies, Discussion and Closing Remarks

This session will be similar to the one at the end of day 1 in that it will provide an opportunity to hear first-hand from school leaders about EDI work in their schools. The case studies will cover a range of different areas to complement those discussed on day 1. Participants will then have the chance to meet and discuss EDI work in their schools with other Inclusion Lead colleagues (in small zoom break out groups). The day will close with an opportunity to reflect on the how, the why and the what of the Inclusion lead role and moving forward in an effective and impactful way.

Speaker : Sadia Hussain-Savuk, DEI Lead, Fettes College Edinburgh and Independent EDI educational consultant

Sadia is the DEI Lead at Fettes College, also working independently to provide DEI support to support to other independent schools in Scotland.  She started her teaching career in 2008 as a Biology teacher after having initially worked for the NHS as a scientist. Her interests and passions led her into pastoral support where she then recognised the need for more inclusive practices in education.

Speaker:  Irfan Latif, Principal, DLD College London

Irfan is currently the Principal of DLD College London, part of the Alpha Plus Group of schools which was recently named ‘Boarding of the School of the Year 2020’. He was educated at Emanuel School and graduated with honours in Chemistry from King’s College, London. His first headship took him to Somerset where he was Headmaster of Sexey’s School (BSA) in Bruton. Prior to this he was Deputy Head at Bedford School (HMC), Director of Science at St Benedict’s School in Ealing (HMC), Senior Housemaster at Whitgift School (HMC) and Assistant Housemaster and Teacher of Chemistry at The Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Boys (HMC). He has been the Chairman of the State Boarding Schools’ Forum, the Vice Chair of the Boarding Schools’ Association and is currently it’s London Chair. He also sits on the Executive Committee of the BSA as the Inclusion and Diversity representative for the sector and is the co-founder of the ISC’s Inclusion and Diversity Group.  He regularly lectures at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and is also a Justice of the Peace. As well as being a school Governor, he is also the trustee of various charities and used to sit on the Board of Education at the Diocese of Bath & Wells. He is a keen cook, traveller and adventurer and recently led expeditions to Everest Base Camp, Venezuela and the Red Sea. Irfan enjoys family time with his wife Jocelyn, also a science teacher, their two young daughters and their Jack Russell, Rodney.

Study Days for the Summer Module are:

• May 13th 2025
• May 21st 2025
• June 9th 2025

Timings: 1000 – 1615

TO BEGIN YOUR QUALIFICATION IN MAY 2025 CLICK HERE