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Certificate in Professional Practice – Headship
We offer a self-funding route for all courses. We can arrange payment plans for manageable monthly amounts to make training accessible and affordable. To find out more, please e-mail Liz McDonald at liz.mcdonald@bsagroup.org.uk
Certificate in Professional Practice – Headship
New 25/26 course dates added!
Dates for this Module are:
- Day 1: April 27, 2026
- Day 2: May 12, 2026
- Day 3: June 23, 2026
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:
- Investing in your boarding provision
- Market trends
- Government policy regulatory changes round up
- Independent Schools Council VAT challenge
Guest Speaker: Simon Nathan Deputy, Chief Executive & Head of Policy, Independent Schools Council - Visa & immigration sponsor licence compliance
- Building and leading your team
- Running your school as a business
Guest Speaker: Andrew Gordon-Brown, Headmaster and Principal, Kingswood School, Bath, UK - Safeguarding, and risk management
- Inclusion strategy for Heads
Guest Speaker: Naheed Bardai, Principal of UWC Atlantic College - Who does the Head turn to?
Guest Speaker: Mary Breen, Schools Adviser at Ferrer & Co - Heads together : reflections on headship
- Managing boarding numbers, including balancing full/part-time, UK/international students
- Effective marketing and recruitment strategies
- Working with guardians and agents
- Meeting inspection standards and much more
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
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.
David Walker FTIOB, Executive Director, Boarding and Director, BSA/TIOB
David Walker has over 20 years’ experience in boarding education, having worked in a variety of schools across the UK and Africa. His career includes leadership roles in both senior and prep school settings, complemented by service as a prep school governor and trustee of a multi-academy trust. Before joining the BSA, David was Deputy Head Pastoral at a large co-educational independent school in the South-East, where he oversaw student welfare and pastoral care. His extensive background in safeguarding, boarding leadership, and governance gives him a broad perspective on the sector, enabling him to support schools in delivering outstanding pastoral provision.
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, Executive Director, Scotland/Wales and Accredited/Compliance
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 27, 2026
- Day 2: May 12, 2026
- Day 3: June 23, 2026
All study days will be held online via Zoom
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
