Growing Faith Strategic Leaders' Programme

Growing Faith is a national commitment to achieve a culture change within the Church of England, so that every aspect of mission and ministry is considered by what it means for children, young people and families. It comes from the vision set by the House of Bishops and endorsed by General Synod in 2019. It concerns relationships between schools and churches, and how these are developed to resource and support households to grow in faith together. The Growing Faith Foundation has been created to support dioceses and parishes to do this even more effectively than they do at present.

The Growing Faith Strategic Leaders’ Programme will:

Provide a space for a collaborative learning community which models the intersections of Growing Faith

Professionally develop leaders, and aspiring leaders bringing sustained change in a range of contexts

Have a transformative impact on children and young people’s faith formation.

What's included?

✅ 50+ hours of flexible online learning

✅ 15 hours of group coaching to help sharpen your leadership

✅ 4 in-person gatherings, including a 24-hour residential

✅ A vibrant network of leaders passionate about transforming the lives of children and young people across church, home, and school

✅ Inspiring Speakers who speak from theological, leadership and Growing Faith lived-practice perspectives

Keen to learn more? We have two webinars coming up:

For GFF hub leaders: join zoom here
For other applicants: register here

The Programme

We are delighted that you are exploring the possibility of partaking in the Growing Strategic Leaders' Programme starting in January 2026.

If you are looking to take the next step in your leadership development and are keen to explore this within the context of the intersections of school, church and home, then this is for you!

We are looking for dedicated leaders and aspiring leaders from a range of diverse backgrounds to participate in the programme, bringing with them knowledge, skills and experiences from the church, school, parachurch or charity spheres.

The phrase 'strategic leaders' has been used intentionally. By this we mean leaders who are able to assess the landscape well, have the vision to see where their organisation needs to move towards and possess the skills in empowering others to bring change for the benefit of children and young people. This programme will seek to better equip you in these leadership capacities, guiding you to greater impact.

To ensure that this next step in your professional journey is right for you there are a number of resources that may be of interest to you:

ℹ️ More information

🎬 Promotional video

🎥 Watch the impact video here

👋 We are particularly welcoming participants from minoritised groups. If this applies to you, there is additional information here about how you can access a fully funded place.

The Application

Please complete and submit the form below by Friday 31st October 2025.

Places are limited and a discernment process will be undertaken to ensure that the programme is right for you.

If you need more information before taking the plunge, please do reach out to
For queries concerning the National Cohort: stephen.beamond@churchofengland.org
For queries concerning the South West cohort: cheryl.govier@bathwells.anglican.org

Key Dates National

The key dates for the programme are here in the below. Please do check that you are available for committing to all sessions before applying.

Key Dates for Cohort 5

Key Dates South West

Discerning criteria

Using the discernment criteria on page 3 of the participant handbook, please comment on your own suitability for the programme in relation to each of the criteria.

Posture

Passion for children and young people

Growing Faith

Love of God

Broadening representation

Making sure this is right for you

Why would you like to be on the programme and what do you hope to gain from it? You may wish to refer to the discerning criteria as outlined on page 3 of the participant handbook here.

Please tick to confirm you have:

read the handbook, acknowledged the time commitment and have given consideration as to how you will balance the programme alongside current commitments.

Payment

The programme costs £600 (+ VAT). The cost is inclusive of all learning materials and accommodation for face to face gatherings. Please choose from the most relevant options below.

I will be funding my participation myselfMy organisation will be funding my participation

Organisation name (the entity that will pay the invoice)

My phone number

My home address

Organisation address

Finance contact name

Finance contact email address

Finance contact phone number

Consent

The National Society (Church of England and Church in Wales) for Promoting Education (operating as the Growing Faith Foundation) is committed to processing personal information in accordance with UK data protection legislation and will ensure that the rights and interests of data subjects are protected. Your data is being collected on this form for the diocesan snapshot and will not be used for any other purpose. A detailed privacy notice about how the Growing Faith Foundation uses data can be found by clicking here.

By ticking this box, I confirm that:

I have read the attached privacy notice
I have understood it and
I consent to the processing of my information as detailed on this form and in the privacy notice.

Growing Faith Strategic Leaders' Programme - Cohort 5 Application 2026