Planning & Leading Restructuring: A Guide to Change Leadership

A full-day practical leadership course on strategically managing and delivering change in education settings.

Restructuring is one of the most complex and high-stakes challenges faced by school and trust leaders. This full-day course is designed to equip education professionals with the knowledge, confidence, and tools needed to lead successful organisational change. Blending strategy with empathy, and planning with leadership, this session supports participants to navigate the practical, emotional, and cultural aspects of restructuring in an educational context.

Learning Objectives

• Articulate the rationale for change effectively to different stakeholders
• Create and implement a clear, structured plan for organisational change
• Understand and support leaders and staff through the emotional and cultural challenges of restructuring

Course Outline

• Analysing the issues and building a compelling case for change
• Communicating the rationale using financial and contextual data
• Defining what successful change looks like
• Identifying opportunities and threats that may affect the process
• Developing and delivering a structured change plan
• Supporting staff through the emotional journey of change

Course Programme

• 9:00 – 9:15 – Welcome and overview of objectives
• 9:15 – 10:15 – Analysing issues and developing a rationale for change
• 10:15 – 10:35 – Morning break
• 10:35 – 11:15 – Using data and communication tools to engage stakeholders
• 11:15 – 12:00 – Defining successful change and identifying key risks
• 12:00 – 12:30 – Group activity: Assessing opportunities and threats
• 12:30 – 1:15 – Lunch break
• 1:15 – 2:00 – Planning and implementing structured change
• 2:00 – 2:20 – Afternoon break
• 2:20 – 2:45 – Leading through the emotional journey: supporting staff and leaders
• 2:45 – 3:00 – Q&A and reflective close

Meet Your Trainer!

Dom Harrex has over 20 years of experience in education, with a career spanning senior leadership, academy conversion, and trust-level financial and strategic roles. As former Associate Principal (Resources) at Longley Park Sixth Form in Sheffield, Dom led major restructuring and improvement programmes, achieving over £2m in cost savings and successive Good Ofsted outcomes. He has worked independently with a wide range of education and training providers, delivering strategic reviews, financial planning, and leadership mentoring. An accredited School Resource Management Adviser (SRMA) with over 20 successful deployments, Dom also mentors new SRMAs and recently served as Interim CFO for a multi-academy trust. His approach combines robust strategic thinking with practical insight into the human aspects of change.

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