We are looking for the next generation of school leaders to eradicate the disadvantage gap and ensure that every child in Lift Schools experiences an excellent education.

Calling all

leaders

revolutionary

ambitious

tenacious

driven

determined

restless

imaginative

Lift Schools exists to prove that it is possible to deliver an entitlement to excellence for every child, regardless of where they live, what school they go to, or their family circumstances.

We believe that leaders are made, not born. We want to transform what it means to support, develop and champion school principals. When we say we take talent development seriously, we mean it.

If you want to serve young people, and especially those who experience disadvantage and who aren’t yet getting what they deserve - we’d love to hear from you.

We will give you the space and agency to champion your own development. If successful, you will have access to:

An individual development account of up to £100,000 over five years
Experiential learning, including study tours
High support and high challenge from a Regional Education Director
One to one executive coaching
A commitment to evidence informed practice
A year long induction programme
The option of a professional sabbatical after 5 years

Whether you’re an existing or aspiring principal, bring your drive to serve young people, your determination to be the best leader, and your dedication to create lasting change for children and communities across the country.

OUR COMMITMENT TO OUR STUDENTS

We will provide an excellent education to every child, in every classroom, every day.

Lift Schools is a national network of 57 primary, secondary and special schools in almost every region across the country.

We have set ourselves the audacious challenge of ensuring that by 2028, 90% of our children:

Are secure readers for their age
Pass the phonics check
Achieve the expected standard in RWM at Key Stage 2
Achieve at least grade 4 in GCSE English and maths

We call this guiding mission, 490.

Every one of our school is unique and serves very different local communities across the country. We are incredibly proud of our diverse and inclusive network of schools and believe in the importance of localism.

But, while circumstances may differ, our national commitment remains consistent: 490.

Investing in people is at the centre of our transformation strategy. Since 2021, we have invested:

Over

£2.5million

in initial teacher training

Over

£150,000

on instructional excellence

Over

£650,000

on apprenticeships

Created a regional model with

10 phase regional education directors

across the country.

The transformation of our network of schools has not only played out objectively in academic results and external inspection outcomes, but also in our culture. At the heart of our culture are Lift Maxims and Project H.

We believe that academic excellence is just one dimension of an entitlement to excellence and our Lift Maxims underpin the culture and approach in all our schools.

Excellence is a habit
High expectations and high performance

Aim high
Results without excuses

Individuals matter
Equality and diversity

People first
Community and family

Worldwise
Citizens of tomorrow

Culture
Fun and fundamentals

We are also serious about making a wider contribution across the education system sharing our insights, successes and failures openly through Project H. We ask that all leaders embrace the five Project H mindsets:

Share ideas early, often and honestly

Being open to ideas to develop them

Embrace constructive disagreement

Seeking meaningful discussion

Values, ideas and not ego

Encouraging innovative thought

Be curious and open to new ideas

Valuing diverse perspectives

Focus on facts and reasons

Seeing the world as it is

Lift Schools at a glance

schools

regions

children

34,000

employees

4,500

WE HAVE BEEN THINKING HARD ABOUT SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

Too often, school leadership can feel isolating, lonely and difficult. We want to change that.

Research from the EPI indicates that effective school leadership can have a significant impact on pupil attainment by up to two GCSE grades across all subjects.

Data released last year showed that 1 in 3 secondary headteachers were leaving their posts within five years of being appointed.

Leadership vacancies have increased vastly post-pandemic, rising by 18 percent from 2020 compared to 2022.

But we believe education does not resource learning and development to the level of equivalent professions.

£99,000

Executive MBAs at leading UK business schools

Average cost for two year course at top 5 leading UK business schools

£3,000

UK MoD
Initial Training

Per person per year

£95,000

McKinsey Consultancy

Staff Training

Average spend over 5 years

£19,000

NHS senior

leaders training

12 month programme

£100,000

Lift Schools Individual

Development Account

For you to spend on you over the next five years.

A COMMITMENT TO OUR LEADERS

We will provide our leaders with the experiences, resources and coaching to ensure excellent teaching in every school.

We know that the best school leaders are looking for purpose, a sense of belonging and the opportunity to have a meaningful and tangible impact for their children and communities.

We have built a leadership development framework, in partnership with Ambition Institute, to allow you to seriously invest in your future.

£100,000 Individual Development Account

We have set up an individual development account with up to £100,000 for you to spend on your professional development over the next five years.

We want our leaders to have agency, confidence and choice. This starts by giving you permission to prioritise your own development. The individual development account puts you in the driving seat. Adopting the 70-20-10 model of learning and development we will work with you to plan your own career pathway and support you to deepen your knowledge, skills and experience. We are committed to achieving excellence together; stretching and empowering you to have the greatest impact in your local community and across our network.

Research and development

You will have access to our exclusive 490 Speakers Programme – a rolling programme of internationally renowned thinkers and leaders who will share their insights and expertise to give you that extra edge and a spark of innovative inspiration when it comes to leadership.

You will be expected to contribute to Project H, with the opportunity to benefit from and feed into this cutting-edge dialogue and research. You can read more about Project H here.

Professional development and our partnership with Ambition Institute

We have a long-standing partnership with Ambition Institute, a leading professional development charity in England. Ambition work with educators at every stage of their careers, helping them to keep getting better. Their training and professional development is based on the most rigorous research and evidence about what really works.

This partnership has built the professional development framework you will receive as part of a centralised CPD offer which provides networking opportunities for both teaching and leadership development, as well as offers tailored to individuals and schools. 

Ambition is the leading provider of Early Career Framework and National Professional Qualification programmes: we expertly facilitate these programmes and tailor them to our network and local contexts.

Ongoing support and development

We are a high support, high challenge network. As part of your core offer you will receive peer mentoring, executive coaching and two leadership residentials every year. And you will never feel alone, every principal can call on the support and expertise of their experienced Regional Education Director.

School leadership is rewarding, but demanding work. Staying refreshed and being able to balance work with the wider challenges and priorities of life is important. So, after five years, we also offer the opportunity to take a professional sabbatical for one term.

Instructional Excellence Programme

Our approach to educational excellence is underpinned by our Instructional Excellence Programme, delivered through an exciting and pioneering partnership with One World.

Our Leadership Partners

COLLABORATION

Ready for your next challenge?

We want leaders to join us who are seriously ambitious for children and communities; people who know that no work is more important or significant in terms of human impact than building excellent schools.

This work takes time and commitment; it takes at least five years to embed excellence across every dimension of school life.

So, we have designed a leadership development framework to significantly invest in our Principals: providing them with the support of a national network, a region of schools, and a dedicated package for learning and improvement.

We’re looking for candidates who are:

Self aware: Those who thrive in a high challenge and high support environment, who want the space and agency to develop their leadership skills.
Network minded: Those who believe that the job is not done unless all schools in our network and beyond are serving their communities well.
Intellectually curious: Those who have the confidence to work in an evidence informed approach, with an unrelenting drive to be the best leader they can be.

Based on the best international evidence and with the support of Ambition Institute, we have designed our leadership development framework for talented school leaders following a 70-20-10 model:

Live on the job experience

70%

A year long induction
Challenging stretch assignments leading on regional or network-wide strategy
Personal executive coaching

Exposure to other people

20%

Peer mentor
Access to the very best thought leaders in the education sector and beyond
Bi-annual international study tour
Inspirational speakers programme

Formal training and development

10%

A bespoke Lift Schools NPQEL in partnership with Ambition
The opportunity to train as an Executive coach
Two network leadership residentials

We are recruiting for potential. We want to identify and cultivate the next generation of exceptional school leaders.

If this sounds like you, and you are excited by the prospect of joining an exciting and dynamic national network of schools, we want you on our team. Register your interest today!