Leading for change : CPPE

Leading for change

Who is the course for?

This fully-funded leadership programme has been developed for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in all sectors of practice.

It is suitable for participants who have:

identified a leadership role as the 'next step' in personal development or career progression
responsibility for leading staff and/or services
the support of their line manager and have agreed an appropriate workplace mentor.

Any pharmacy professional who has responsibility for leading people or services within their organisation can apply for Leading for change. The only exception is those who are undertaking or have completed one of the NHS education pathways (CPGPE, MOCH or PCPEP). This is because leadership learning is included in those pathways.

We ideally expect you to have a foundation in leadership through completion of other leadership programmes or through a number of years’ experience in a leadership role.

The Life skills: Developing your potential e-course or other equivalent in-house training are recommended for those who that have not undertaken a leadership course before.

Course aims

The overall aim of this programme is to support you to develop your leadership skills from foundation level to advanced leadership practice, by equipping you with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to take on challenges effectively and lead on continuous quality improvement.

You will be supported by your work-based mentor, line manager or clinical supervisor, having regular meetings to reflect on your learning and discuss your quality improvement leadership project (QILP). You will also be expected to complete the mandatory elements of the programme (details below).

Course format

The Leading for change programme is a blend of online learning, workshops and peer group networking sessions.

The programme comprises five online units completed over nine months:

Unit 1: Introduction to leadership
Additional unit: Quality Improvement
Unit 2: Self-effective leadership
Unit 3: Inspiring and achieving the best from your team
Unit 4: Pharmacy within the wider healthcare system

Additionally, there are two full-day online workshops, three engagement sessions and a QILP presentation session. These are all a mandatory part of the programme. They provide opportunities to build on the online learning you complete and to network with fellow course participants.

During the programme you are required to undertake a workplace-based QILP to enable you to put your learning into practice. At the end of the programme you will present an overview of your QILP to a small group of your peers in an online session, demonstrating how you have used your leadership skills to lead the project.

Typically, the course will be completed within nine months.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the programme you should be able to:

reflect on your own leadership style and evaluate yourself against leadership frameworks to identify strengths and areas for development
describe and understand the processes involved in creating a successful team and managing its performance
describe national priorities and drivers for change in the NHS, pharmacy services and medicines optimisation and their implications at local level
develop an understanding of the wider NHS through unique experiences
lead on a quality improvement leadership project that delivers on the priorities of your pharmacy, department or organisation
identify opportunities for further leadership development according to identified learning needs.

Course dates

Cohort 10

Deadline for applications – Monday 31^st August 2026
Online course begins – Tuesday 1^stSeptember 2026
Online course ends – Monday 31^stMay 2027
End of course submissions deadline – Monday 31^stMay 2027

Workshop dates

You will need to attend two full-day online workshops. There is a choice of dates so that you can choose a workshop around your other commitments:

Online workshop A: Introduction to leadership and quality improvement take place between 1^stand 28^thOctober.
Online workshop B: Leading others takes place in March 2027.

Engagement sessions

There are three engagement sessions that you are required to attend:

Engagement session 1 (Month 1) – Tuesday 8^thSeptember, 12:00-1:00pm. The focus of this session is to introduce you to the course structure and requirements.
Engagement session 2 (Month 5) – Tuesday 12^thJanuary, 12:00-1:00pm. The focus of this session is to support you to prepare for your QILP presentation in the upcoming group session.
Engagement session 3 (Month 8) – Tuesday 13^thApril, 12:00-1:00pm. The focus of this session is to reflect on your learning from the programme and to support your preparation to complete the programme.

Quality Improvement Leadership Project (QILP) online group sessions

You will present an overview of your QILP to a small group of your peers in an online session. These sessions will typically run in the morning or afternoon and will be around three-and-a-half hours. These will take place in March and April 2027.

Networking and local learning

A key part of the programme will be to build your networks in pharmacy and across the wider NHS. To enable this you will work with pharmacy professionals from all sectors of pharmacy including learners on the Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway. This will be achieved by attending the online workshops, joining the engagement sessions and presenting your QILP in an online group session.

Those who are geographically close to each other may also choose to set up local learning sets to allow further networking and sharing of best practice in a region.

Mentoring

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians participating in the programme will be required to find a workplace mentor. This should be a trusted colleague who is more senior than you in your organisation, but not necessarily your line manager, who can act as a sounding board and provide support and guidance to further develop your career and networks.

A mentor can be in one of the following roles:

Direct line manager
Chief pharmacist, medicines management lead or equivalent
Another senior member of the pharmacy team with mentoring experience
Trained mentor within the organisation
Leader of a service where the learner is undertaking their project

We advise that your mentor provides a minimum of two hours of support per month. This can be a whole two-hour session or divided over weekly or fortnightly.

We advise that you meet with your workplace mentor to agree your QILP soon after attending Workshop A to enable you to commence the project and have appropriate time to lead it to a conclusion before presenting the outcome in an online group session.

Role and responsibilities of mentor:

Facilitate your development and reflection on your practice.
Meet with you regularly (at least monthly) to follow your progress and review your portfolio learning journal at regular intervals. In the meeting discuss your reflections about the learning you have completed and your application of this in your practice in the workplace.
Support you to identify a work-based quality improvement leadership project and agree to support the delivery of this project. This project should aim to develop your leadership skills.
Supervise practice activities associated with the programme.
Facilitate and support with internal experiences (for example, attend senior meetings).
Encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone.
Provide feedback in a constructive manner.
Complete the end of programme sign-off form.

Apply now

Apply for the next cohort of Leading for Change

Please be aware that applications may take up to two weeks to be approved.

NHS priorities

Clinical pharmacy

Public health

Enhancing your leadership, business skills and personal development