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Overview
Step up into senior leadership and management within the education sector with this PgDip Senior Leader Apprenticeship (Educational Leadership and Management).
You'll learn everything you need to upgrade your current professional role in education, training or learning, thanks to this course's combination of academic study and experiential learning in your workplace. Choose to study on campus at the University or online by distance learning. What's more, the Government or your employer pay your tuition fees – so it doesn’t cost you anything.
You'll develop skills in strategic decision making at a senior level, as well as critical analysis of policy and human resource management.
When you graduate, you'll have an expert view of educational leadership and management, ready to make a positive impact in this ever-evolving field.
Course highlights
- Explore key themes in current educational management research and professional practice
- Apply what you learn in your current workplace straight away, maximising its impact and ensuring your learning is meaningful and relevant
- Learn from lecturers with wide ranging experience who are currently active in education research
- Access our Library resources, including electronic resources which you can access from anywhere with a web connection
- Work at your own pace, in your own time, with access to our study resources and interactive online learning materials for distance learners
- Receive and discuss feedback with lecturers and other students (accessible via web-based chat forums for distance learners)
- Network with other students on the course to share ideas, knowledge, experience and contacts
Number 4 in the UK for student support
Our education courses are ranked fourth in the UK for student support in the 2024 Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES)
Contact information
Contact Degree ApprenticeshipsEntry requirements
PgDip Senior Leader Apprenticeship (Educational Leadership and Management) entry requirements
Qualifications or experience
- A minimum of a second-class honours degree, and experience in an educational setting.
- All applicants will be required to complete a Skills Gap Analysis before completing an application form.
- All applicants will be invited to attend an interview.
- All applicants to the Degree Apprenticeship courses must have an acceptable Level 2 qualification in English and Mathematics. Acceptable qualifications include GCSE with grade C/4 or above and Functional Skills with Pass - please note that we are not able to accept all kinds of Level 2 qualifications, so if you are unsure whether you have a suitable qualification please get in touch. If you do not have an acceptable qualification you may be required to take an additional assessment during the application process.
Qualifications or experience
- A minimum of a second-class honours degree, and experience in an educational setting.
- All applicants will be required to complete a Skills Gap Analysis before completing an application form.
- All applicants will be invited to attend an interview.
- All applicants to the Degree Apprenticeship courses must have an acceptable Level 2 qualification in English and Mathematics. Acceptable qualifications include GCSE with grade C/4 or above and Functional Skills with Pass - please note that we are not able to accept all kinds of Level 2 qualifications, so if you are unsure whether you have a suitable qualification please get in touch. If you do not have an acceptable qualification you may be required to take an additional assessment during the application process.
I'm an employer interested in this degree apprenticeship for my staff
There's more information for you about degree apprenticeships in general on our information for employers page, or you can contact us directly.
If you have an employee, or employees, in mind, that's great; if you are creating a new opening, we can help you shape and promote the role.
You and your employer
When you begin studying for your degree apprenticeship:
- You need to be 18 or over
- You should be able to satisfy government requirements on residency:
- you must be a citizen or have the right to live in the UK/EEA
- you must have been a resident in the UK/EEA (not the Channel Islands or Isle of Man) for a minimum of 3 years
- you must not need a Student Route visa, and must not have been on a Student Route visa within the past 3 years
- You need to have the right to work in the UK, and to spend at least 50% of your working hours in England
- Your job should meet the requirements of the apprenticeship standard relevant to this degree – we can advise you and your employer on this
- Your employer needs to have registered an apprentice service account – we can help your employer with this if needed
If you aren't currently working in a relevant field, you can apply for a job and degree apprenticeship simultaneously. Read more about applying for this degree apprenticeship.
Course costs and funding
Tuition fees
The course fee is shared between the Government and some employers, meaning no cost to you as the degree apprentice. Total tuition fees are £14,000 paid over 2 years.
Please see our Degree Apprenticeships page, or contact us, for further information.
Tuition fees terms and conditions
Additional course costs
These course-related costs aren’t included in the tuition fees. So you’ll need to budget for them when you plan your spending.
Additional costs
Our accommodation section show your accommodation options and highlight how much it costs to live in Portsmouth.
We recommend that you budget £75 a year for photocopying, memory sticks, DVDs and CDs, printing charges, binding and specialist printing.
If your final year includes a major project, there could be cost for transport or accommodation related to your research activities. The amount will depend on the project you choose.
Modules
Part-time (on campus)
Core modules
You’ll explore key and contemporary human resource theory, focusing on employee motivation, capabilities development and organisational culture change.
You’ll consider educator identity, wellbeing, evaluation and support systems alongside leadership pipelines and approaches to talent optimisation.
Analyse real-world case studies investigating recruitment, professional learning, conflict resolution, team dynamics and resource constraints.
You’ll review the importance of analytical frameworks in evaluating the business landscape and their importance in informing marketing strategies, considering stakeholder needs alongside practical constraints.
You’ll also focus on a case study of an educational organisation to evaluate its financial and marketing effectiveness and make appropriate recommendations for improvement.
Core modules
You’ll design and write up an education research proposal for your dissertation.
You’ll start by thinking about any research skills you might need to improve on and develop ways to strengthen your skillset, through core training, chosen focus areas and applied learning.
Then, you’ll work on your own postgraduate research proposal planning out the specific research methods you’ll use and taking ethical issues into account. You’ll include clear objectives and document your literature and data sources.
With academic guidance, you'll choose your own literature or empirical topic within a field of education that fits the parameters of your intended Master’s exit award.
You'll bring together everything you’ve learned to design and evaluate ethical methodologies, conduct systematic research, and communicate your ideas professionally in your dissertation or report.
Part-time (distance learning)
Core modules
You’ll explore key and contemporary human resource theory, focusing on employee motivation, capabilities development and organisational culture change.
You’ll consider educator identity, wellbeing, evaluation and support systems alongside leadership pipelines and approaches to talent optimisation.
Analyse real-world case studies investigating recruitment, professional learning, conflict resolution, team dynamics and resource constraints.
You’ll review the importance of analytical frameworks in evaluating the business landscape and their importance in informing marketing strategies, considering stakeholder needs alongside practical constraints.
You’ll also focus on a case study of an educational organisation to evaluate its financial and marketing effectiveness and make appropriate recommendations for improvement.
Core modules
You’ll design and write up an education research proposal for your dissertation.
You’ll start by thinking about any research skills you might need to improve on and develop ways to strengthen your skillset, through core training, chosen focus areas and applied learning.
Then, you’ll work on your own postgraduate research proposal planning out the specific research methods you’ll use and taking ethical issues into account. You’ll include clear objectives and document your literature and data sources.
You’ll gain insider perspectives on the policy-making process, from agenda-setting to real-world implementation. Study change models, quality control approaches and evaluation methods driving systemic improvements.
You’ll explore motivating leadership styles that empower organisations and communities, and investigate education governance across institutional, local, national and global contexts.
Changes to course content
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, course content is revised and regularly reviewed. This may result in changes being made in order to reflect developments in research, learning from practice and changes in policy at both national and local levels.
How you'll spend your time
We recognise that you'll probably be juggling more demands when you do your postgraduate course, as you may be working or you may have family responsibilities.
We'll give you as much indication here as we can of how much time you'll need to spend in on-campus or in online lectures and seminars and how many hours you can expect to spend in self-directed study, but please note that these indications are always subject to change.
Teaching
Postgraduate study is deeper and more specialised than an undergraduate degree. This means you'll focus on something that really matters to you and your career as you work closely with academics committed to the subject.
You'll spend more time in independent study and research than you did for your undergraduate degree. If you choose campus based study, the majority of your teaching time will be in-person and face-to-face.
Course structure
This PgDip will take:
- 2 years (part-time study)
On this apprenticeship, you'll work four days and study one day during your working week. You'll also be expected to study out of work time.
If you study on campus, you can expect:
- most lectures to take place in the evening
- some networking events, taking place during normal working hours or in the evening
If you study by distance learning, you can expect:
- all core material available online at all times so you can create your own study schedule around work or other commitments
- most online lectures to take place in the evening
- some online networking events, taking place during normal working hours or in the evening
Assessment
You'll be assessed through:
- essays
- presentations (live or recorded)
- reports
- research proposal
You'll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
Career development
You can put the skills you’ll learn on this course to use wherever your educational leadership and management career takes you.
It's ideal preparation for a leadership career in education settings, such as schools, colleges, public and private sector training providers.
You could go on to senior educational management roles, including deputy head or headteacher. You'll also be equipped for many other career pathways in larger organisations, or for doctoral study.
You could also top up your PgDip with a dissertation module to achieve a full MSc Educational Leadership and Management.
Career planning
During your course you'll have expert career support from your tutors and from our Careers and Employability Centre, which you can access for 5 years after you graduate.
You'll benefit from:
- Networking events
- 1-to-1 appointments
- CV and cover letter advice
- Interview preparation and practice
- Workshops to enhance your employability skills
- Recruitment events including the Student and Graduate Opportunities Fair
- Support starting your own business
Supporting you
Master's study is more focused on independent learning than undergraduate study, but you'll get lots of support via video and phone from teaching and support staff to enhance your learning experience and help you succeed. If you choose to study on-campus, you'll also get face-to-face support. You can build your personalised network of support from the following people and services:
Types of support
Your personal tutor helps you make the transition to postgraduate study and gives you academic and personal support throughout your course.
As well as regular scheduled meetings with your personal tutor, they're also available at set times during the week if you want to chat with them about anything that can't wait until your next meeting.
You'll get a workplace mentor who's there to support you during your apprenticeship. They'll understand your workplace responsibilities and help you to balance your workload in your workplace and in your studies
You'll have help from a team of faculty learning support tutors. They can help you improve and develop your academic skills and support you in any area of your study in one-on-one and group sessions.
They can help you:
- master the mathematics skills you need to excel on your course
- understand engineering principles and how to apply them in any engineering discipline
- solve computing problems relevant to your course
- develop your knowledge of computer programming concepts and methods relevant to your course
- understand and use assignment feedback
During term time, Faculty Academic Skills Tutors (AST) are available for bookable 1-to-1 sessions, small group sessions and online sessions. These sessions are tailored to your needs.
Support is available for skills including:
- University study
- Getting into the right study mindset
- Note-taking and note-making skills
- Referencing
- Presentation skills
- Time management, planning, and goal setting
- Critical thinking
- Avoiding plagiarism
If you have a disability or need extra support, the Additional Support and Disability Centre (ASDAC) will give you help, support and advice.
Our online Learning Well mini-course will help you plan for managing the challenges of learning and student life, so you can fulfil your potential and have a great student experience.
You can get personal, emotional and mental health support from our Student Wellbeing Service, in person and online. This includes 1–2–1 support as well as courses and workshops that help you better manage stress, anxiety or depression.
If you require extra support because of a disability or additional learning need our specialist team can help you.
They'll help you to
- discuss and agree on reasonable adjustments
- liaise with other University services and facilities, such as the library
- access specialist study skills and strategies tutors, and assistive technology tutors, on a 1-to-1 basis or in groups
- liaise with external services
Library staff are available in person or by email, phone, or online chat to help you make the most of the University’s library resources. You can also request one-to-one appointments and get support from a librarian who specialises in your subject area.
The library is open 24 hours a day, every day, in term time.
If English isn't your first language, you can do one of our English language courses to improve your written and spoken English language skills before starting your degree. Once you're here, you can take part in our free In-Sessional English (ISE) programme to improve your English further.
How to apply
I'm applying with my current employer
If you're already in full-time work, and your employer is interested in you studying this course, get them to contact us and we'll work out how to work together.
If your employer isn't interested yet, you might find it useful to share our information for employers page with them.
Employer contact form Information for employers
I'm looking for a job with a Degree Apprenticeship role
If you're not in full-time employment, or your current employer is not interested in degree apprenticeships, you'll need to find a role that does offer a degree apprenticeship. You can search the gov.uk list of open degree apprenticeship vacancies, or contact us with your details and we'll let you know when degree apprenticeship vacancies come up.
When you apply for a role that includes one of our degree apprenticeships, you'll follow the company's standard recruitment process for the job, while we assess your academic suitability for the course.
Search degree apprenticeship roles (gov.uk) Contact us
Admissions terms and conditions
When you accept an offer to study at the University of Portsmouth, you also agree to abide by our Student Contract (which includes the University's relevant policies, rules and regulations). You should read and consider these before you apply.