What’s special about this course?
There are some golden rules of deputy headship, but no SLT is quite the same. You'll find peers from settings just like yours and explore the intricacies of this new role together. Why not make a contact for life and leave the class with a trusted 'phone a friend' for any issue you face along the way?
Thursday 7 November
4pm to 5.30pm, on Zoom
With Nikki Sullivan
Deputy headship: finding your feet
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What sets apart deputy headship from life on the SLT, and exactly what’s expected of you
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How to be your headteacher’s best ally and work seamlessly together
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What to do if you suddenly have to act as the headteacher – we’ll plug any gaps together, so you can step up with confidence
Your expert course trainer
Nikki Sullivan
Nikki is a Bradford-based deputy headteacher who has been working in schools for 17 years, including primary outreach.
With experience in pastoral and academic senior leadership in the UK and Malaysia, she regularly speaks at national and international education conferences. Nikki has led on CPD, instructional coaching and building a team of research leads, and is an accredited WalkThrus trainer. She’s currently working on a book titled ‘Unlocking Oracy’.
You can find her on X (formerly Twitter) or her blog, Love to Talk Teaching and Learning.
Who can attend
This course is for you if you’re:
- Feeling new to your deputy headteacher role
- Preparing for a new deputy headteacher role
- Aspiring to deputy headship any time soon
Relevant to all phases and settings.
If you’re an assistant headteacher or aspiring to be, we have a similar course tailored just for you.Take a look and book on to that one instead.
This course is exclusively available to The Key's Whole School members. If you're not yet a Whole School member,
find out more here.
More reasons to love this course
Active learning, not passive instruction
Your live classes won't just be lectures. Nikki will engage the class, invite discussion, prompt breakout activities and leave plenty of room for Q&A. You'll learn by doing, with practical tasks and regular feedback from Nikki and your class colleagues
Learn with a cohort
of peers
Learning virtually doesn't mean learning solo. This course is designed to be rich in energising interaction between you and your colleagues - it's your safe space to ask questions and seek peer feedback, and make connections for life.
Develop your own menu of practical strategies that work
Apply what you learn straight away, with new clarity around your remit and practical strategies drawn from expert advice and excellent practice. Adopt the best of what works, for immediate impact on your confidence in navigating the demands of deputy headship
Earn a certificate of achievement
Complete your classes and get a certificate of achievement from The Key for your learning record.
What other participants have said about our courses
“I now know what steps
to take to be an
effective leader"
“This course gave me confidence, opportunities to share good practice, and up-to-date research”
"The tasks were very practical and a brilliant way to
secure that knowledge"
Frequently asked questions
Live classes are held on Zoom, and you’ll collaborate on practical tasks with small groups of colleagues in breakout rooms.
Ideally, yes! Working together with your colleagues is where much of the magic happens, and you’ll have opportunities to ask Nikki questions directly. But we know that some school days run away, so you’ll be able to catch up on-demand if you have to miss a class. We’ll let you know when the class recording is available.
Deeply practical tasks. They’ll help you put learning into practice immediately and get ahead on work you need to complete in your day-to-day role. You might work with colleagues on a task, and get supportive feedback.
Yes! This course was built for full-time school leaders. You'll attend a 90-minute after class, after school at 4pm. Outside of that, expect practical tasks to complete at any point ahead of the next class. All your practical tasks will directly relate to your day job - they’ll never take you more than an hour.
Yes! You’ll get a certificate on completion of the course.
Just email any questions to cpd@thekeysupport.com. We’ll get back to you within 2 working days.
These courses are included as part of The Key's Whole School membership and places are exclusively available to those members.
If you're not yet a Whole School member, find out more here.