The Leadership & Development programme has been designed to bring together a cohort of professionals from across student support services in the further education and training sector for monthly training and development sessions. These sessions will primarily happen virtually, although we expect to bring the cohort together in person 2-3 times throughout the 12-month programme, with the final session taking place at our Annual Conference in 2027.

Counterculture are bringing together a range of trainers to lead sessions in various areas of management, leadership, governance and engagement. Sessions are expected to take 2-3 hours once a month, with reading and reflection material as part of this development programme.

The programme has been designed to give all participants an in-depth understanding of key areas of leadership which will support their professional development as Student Services Managers or aspiring leaders. The programme is aimed at staff who are early in their career, keen to develop their knowledge, networks and competencies, and who want to upskill in their career path.

The programme has been specifically designed as a cohort to bring together NAMSS members from across the country. The sessions will be a mixture of taught material, interactive workshops and activities, and in-person engagement. We want the cohort to be able to share and learn from each other’s experiences and institutional approach, as well as learners conducting their own individual research projects and presentations as part of the programme structure.

Coaching, development and mentoring support has been built into the programme design through dedicated 1:1 slots, which will take place with each learner at least twice across the programme length. These sessions will be with Counterculture trainers and/or NAMSS Executive Board members, and are designed to support learners to reflect on the goals they will set for themselves at the cohort launch, and check in on progress for their personal research projects.

This 12-month programme aims to upskill current and aspiring Student Services Managers, with taught content, interactive workshops and activities, 1:1 mentoring support, and the delivery of an individual research project as part of the programme.

Sessions planned for the cohort include:

• History of further education;
• Strategic thinking and influencing;
• People management and difficult conversations;
• Governance and reporting;
• Reviewing financial processes and financial literacy;
• Quality assurance and measuring impact;
• Personal and professional leadership reflection and development.

Each participant will receive:

• Sector leading delivery and input from highly experienced leaders
• A leadership and development book
• A reflective journal for use during and following the programme
• 1:1 coaching sessions
• A free place on one of our 1-day NAMSS conferences
• Subsidised place at our 2-day annual national conference
• Refreshments and lunch at each face-to-face session

Your institution must be a member of NAMSS, but you do not need to be a named member of NAMSS to apply for the programme. If you are unsure whether your organisation is a member of NAMSS, please contact info@namss.ac.uk.

This programme is suitable for anyone who is one of the following:

• An aspiring leader within student services or student support services
• In a coordination or lead role within the post-16 further education or training sector
• A manager within a larger organisational student services or support directorate
• A student services or support manager who is new into their role or wanting to strengthen their leadership skills and knowledge

Applications for our first cohort are now closed however, we do hope to repeat the programme in 26/27.

The deadline to apply for the programme is Wednesday 25 March 2026 at 18:00. Applications received after this may not be considered.

All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application from Monday 6 April 2026.

NAMSS are committed to furthering the development and support of student services professionals within the post-16 further education or training sector and have made the decision to subsidise the overall cost of delivering this programme.

Each place on the programme is subsidised by up to 50% by NAMSS.

The cost to each participant for the whole programme (after subsidy) is £1250.

Subsistence, including travel to face-to-face events or any accommodation requirements, including conferences, is not covered by the cost of the programme.

Full payment is required before commencement of the programme.

Counterculture Partnership LLP is one of the UK’s leading professional service providers for the education and creative and cultural sectors. We work with a wide range of clients from independent creatives and SMEs to local authorities, cultural partnerships, education providers and organisations at a local, regional and national level. Our team of partners, associates and staff are drawn from across the cultural and creative, higher and further education, health, government and private sectors. Our trainers selected for this programme have a range of experiences in further and higher education, and have delivered cultural and social leadership programmes, along with supporting the governance, finance and strategy of educational institutions. Counterculture are excited to be designing and leading the Leadership & Development programme which supports the future of the further education sector.