Education - Leadership and Management

PGCert

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Key facts

Start dates

September 2025 / September 2026

Course length

Part time: 12 months

Overview

Our PGCert Education - Leadership and Management course provides an overview of up-to-date research and educational theory to inform the process of leadership and management.

Our teaching staff are highly regarded academics who are at the forefront of their subjects. The course content draws on our cutting-edge, research-led teaching to help you advance your knowledge and develop your professional skills.

Our course is ideal for middle-management level leaders in schools, including:

  • heads of department
  • key stage coordinators
  • pastoral managers.

You will have the opportunity to:

  • practically apply theory in a school setting.
  • bring depth and insight into your professional thinking
  • meet students who are at various levels in their careers and learn from each other's experiences.

We work in close partnership with schools and colleges and other organisations involved in life long learning.

Group of Education - Leadership and Management, PGCert students leaving after a lecture on campus at Oxford Brookes University

How to apply

Entry requirements

Specific entry requirements

Students should normally have a first degree.

Please also see the University's general entry requirements.

English language requirements

Please see the University's standard English language requirements.

International qualifications and equivalences

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English requirements for visas

If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.

Pathways courses for international and EU students

We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK.

Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course.

If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.

Terms and Conditions of Enrolment

When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.

Application process

Tuition fees

Please see the fees note
Home (UK) part time
£980 per single module

Home (UK) distance learning
£980 per single module

International distance learning
£1,850 per single module

Home (UK) part time
£1,030 per single module

Home (UK) distance learning
£1,030 per single module

International distance learning
£1,860 per single module

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

Tuition fees

2024 / 25
Home (UK) part time
£980 per single module

Home (UK) distance learning
£980 per single module

International distance learning
£1,850 per single module

2025 / 26
Home (UK) part time
£1,030 per single module

Home (UK) distance learning
£1,030 per single module

International distance learning
£1,860 per single module

Questions about fees?

Contact Student Finance on:

+44 (0)1865 534400

financefees@brookes.ac.uk

Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year.

The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support.

How and when to pay

Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. Students are not liable for full fees for that semester if they leave before week 4. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.

  • For information on payment methods please see our Make a Payment page.
  • For information about refunds please visit our Refund policy page

Additional costs

Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course are detailed below.

Funding your studies

Financial support and scholarships

Featured funding opportunities available for this course.

All financial support and scholarships

View all funding opportunities for this course

Learning and assessment

You will study three modules part time over one year. You can study on-campus or through distance learning.

Female student in lecture

Study modules

Taught modules

Compulsory modules

  • Leading and Managing People in Education (20 credits)

    You’ll examine a range of themes and concerns in the leadership and management of staff in a range of educational contexts. You’ll cover theoretical perspectives and practical concerns about staff leadership, management and development. We’ll look at such topics as:

    • leadership and management in education 
    • leading teams
    • inspiring motivation and improving morale
    • staff development and performance management 
    • social justice and managing diversity 
    • managing conflict.
       
  • Leading Change in Education (20 credits)

    You’ll bring your own experience to this module, which examines the leadership of change in a range of educational contexts. You’ll engage with theoretical perspectives and practical concerns about organisational transformation in education. You’ll encounter topics like:

    • leading and managing change
    • effectiveness, improvement and accountability
    • organisational culture and structures in education
    • the influence of policy developments in transforming education
    • dealing with resistance: managing people in times of change
    • strategic planning and management of change.
       
  • Mentoring in Education (20 credits)

    You’ll explore mentoring roles in education. This includes initial teacher education as well as professional development in schools and FE and HE settings. You’ll look at models of mentoring in a professional context, and draw on work in related areas such as nursing. You’ll examine the experiences of both the mentee and mentor and how the relationship affects both parties. You’ll have the chance to share experiences with your peers, and to deepen your knowledge by focusing on the research evidence in this field.

Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from those shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.

Learning and teaching

Modules typically comprise:

  • seven evening sessions: 21 hours of contact time
  • two online discussions: three hours of contact time.

You will be supported with a full online Virtual Learning Environment. This includes:

  • readings
  • discussions
  • session materials
  • support for assignments.

Assessment

Assessment methods used on this course

We use a variety of assessment methods according to the subject of the module. These methods include:

  • review document
  • structured essay
  • critical analysis of a journal article
  • report
  • analysis of a critical incident in the mentoring process
  • formative plan.

Research

The School of Education, Humanities and Languages is a thriving centre for educational research and teacher professional development. Students on master's level programmes therefore join a large research community comprising researchers at all levels of higher education study.

We hold two major research conferences each year - the School of Education Research Conference and the EdD Colloquium. All students are invited to attend our annual Research

Seminar Series (which attracts both internal and external speakers). We also organise a number of conferences, lectures, seminars and debates, some of which have an international reach.

The School’s six research groups exist to encourage engagement in research, publication, conference presentations, seminars and workshops:

  • Inclusion and Wellbeing
  • Policy, Partnership and Leadership
  • STEAM pedagogy and learning
  • Humanistic Perspectives on Education
  • Early Years
  • Applied Linguistics

View all staff profiles for School of Education, Humanities and Languages

After you graduate

Career prospects

Your learning on the course may lead to better prospects for career advancement and students may change role / direction as a function of developing new understandings and skills from their work on the course.

Programme changes:
On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website. For more information, please visit our changes to programmes page.