The Controlled Schools’ Support Council invites Principals, Governors, and Senior Leaders in controlled schools to explore the CSSC Ethos and Leadership Programme. Created by CSSC, this programme is built on the understanding that a robust ethos is essential for a thriving school and for ensuring the best possible educational experience for all pupils. The CSSC Ethos and Leadership programme aims to support your leadership in fostering this crucial element at every level.
The CSSC Ethos and Leadership Programme aligns with the Department of Education’s school improvement policy, Every School a Good School (2009) and Strategy for Teacher Professional Learning, Learning Leaders (2016) as well as supporting the implementation of TransformEd NI (2025).
The CSSC Ethos and Leadership Programme also reflects the Education and Training Inspectorate's (ETI) focus on effective practice and self-evaluation, as outlined in The Inspection and Self-Evaluation Framework (ISEF) (2017) and Empowering Improvement: New Framework for Inspection (2024), highlighting the five Core Questions, Contributory Areas, and Associated Indicators, reinforcing the central importance of ethos, vision, mission, and values.
The CSSC Ethos and Leadership Programme promotes an integrated approach, viewing ethos as a central lens through which to foster both personal development and whole-school growth therefore modules are inter-related and complement each other. As ethos development and the school improvement journey is unique to individual schools the CSSC Ethos and Leadership programme has been constructed to offer flexibility in module selection. You may choose any module as a stand-alone option, or progress through a number of modules. CSSC will work with you to accommodate bespoke approaches to ensure the support you receive is tailored to your school's needs and context.
CSSC is dedicated to developing long-term partnerships with controlled schools on their ethos journey, recognizing that sustained school improvement requires vision, strategic planning and perseverance. We believe a school's ethos is central to its long-term objectives and should be strategically integrated into the School Development Plan (SDP), with Teacher Professional Learning directly linked to the school's three-year priorities to ensure lasting impact.
All programme modules facilitated within your school or with a cluster of schools are provided at no cost. Please note that the centre-based Building Capacity Programme may require schools to arrange substitute cover.
We strongly encourage you to consider how the comprehensive modules offered by the CSSC Ethos and Leadership Programme can significantly benefit both your individual growth and ethos development within your school.
Click on links below for a description of each module.
Should you require further information please contact your CSSC Schools' Support Officer.
Andrew Brown SSO
andrew.brown@csscni.org.uk
Telephone: 07860 828 049
Jill Brown/Richard Reid
jill.brown/richard.reid@csscni.org.uk
Telephone: 07860 828 053 / 07938 485 903
Derek Harkness
derek.harkness@csscni.org.uk
Telephone: 07395 283 209
Heather McKenzie
heather.mckenzie@csscni.org.uk
Telephone: 07739 743 290
Tracey Woods
tracey.woods@csscni.org.uk
Telephone: 07860 528 004
