EFMD Global Excellence in Practice Silver Award for ChangeSchool
- sofiajones1
- Sep 30
- 3 min read
Updated: 12 hours ago
ChangeSchool partnership wins global recognition for transforming Further Education leadership
ChangeSchool, in partnership with King's Business School and the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), has been awarded the EFMD Silver Award for Ecosystem Development for the T Level Professional Development (TLPD) Leadership programme. The recognition from EFMD Global, the world's leading accreditation body for business and management education, highlights how the programme created a movement for change across England's Further Education sector, reaching 658 participants and transforming how leaders approach system-wide educational reform.
When the UK government introduced T Levels in 2020, Further Education providers faced a complex transition. The new qualifications, designed to give 16-18 year olds an alternative to A Levels, required substantial industry placements, new teaching approaches, and sector-wide collaboration. Yet many leaders were sceptical, institutions operated in silos, and the sector was experiencing significant change fatigue.
The Department for Education allocated £1.75 billion to support T Level rollout and commissioned the Education and Training Foundation to prepare the workforce. The challenge was clear: how do you equip leaders not just with change management skills, but with the confidence and networks to drive transformation across an entire educational ecosystem?
Building coalitions, not just skills
ChangeSchool brought its expertise in change leadership and curriculum design to a unique three-way partnership. The Education and Training Foundation provided deep sector knowledge and workforce development insight. King's Business School contributed research-led expertise in strategy, leadership, and organisational change. Together, the partners co-designed a programme that went beyond traditional executive education.
The design was deliberately disruptive. Rather than separating leaders by seniority, the programme brought vice principals, curriculum leaders, and middle managers together in the same cohorts. This reduced power distance, encouraged idea exchange, and developed the empathy essential for leading complex change. Participants didn't just learn theories; they applied them immediately to real challenges within their institutions.
A programme that evolved with its participants
TLPD launched with a two-day residential workshop in Birmingham, chosen for accessibility and inclusivity. The programme used discovery-based learning, where faculty guided participants to uncover insights organically rather than presenting pre-packaged solutions. As professional educators themselves, participants valued this approach and recognised the pedagogy behind it, making them better equipped to cascade learning within their own teams.
The programme then shifted online with monthly buddy group sessions for peer support, drop-in office hours for informal guidance, and three masterclasses where 143 core participants could invite colleagues to join their Change Enactment Teams. This cascading approach ultimately engaged 515 additional participants, creating internal coalitions for change within each institution.
When the first four cohorts proved successful, with Net Promoter Scores climbing from +57 to +100 (world-class levels), the Department for Education commissioned four additional cohorts. The partnership responded with agility, creating an accelerated six-month version that maintained learning outcomes whilst enabling faster sector-wide impact.
Evidence of transformation
The numbers tell part of the story. 100% of participants expressed satisfaction with the learning experience, and 99% stated it would positively impact their professional practice. Confidence levels across all change management competencies increased significantly, with participants rating their abilities 1.5 to 2 points higher on a six-point scale by programme completion.
But the deeper impact lies in what happened next. Participants visited each other's institutions, shared practices, and maintained professional relationships beyond the programme. Regional breakfast meetings fostered ongoing collaboration. Alumni became role models for subsequent cohorts, demonstrating that systemic change was possible.
By 2024-25, over 200 Further Education providers were delivering T Levels, surpassing our initial estimates. Perhaps more significantly, the programme addressed the change fatigue that had plagued the sector, rebuilding leaders' confidence in their ability to navigate transformation and creating lasting networks of support.
The EFMD Silver Award recognises what the three partners set out to achieve: not just individual development, but ecosystem transformation. The programme demonstrated that with the right design, genuine partnership, and commitment to cascading impact, educational institutions can move from resistance to adoption, from isolation to collaboration, and from change fatigue to renewed purpose.
This approach aligns with ChangeSchool's belief in education's power to change the world, improve people's lives, and support economies across borders and cultures. By creating 1-to-1 relationships, grounding programmes in academic rigour, and building coalitions rather than simply delivering training, ChangeSchool continues to demonstrate how executive education can drive meaningful change at scale.
View the case study summary here:
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