Grow your career
Talent drives performance
At Lift Schools, we believe that delivering an excellent education for every child, every day, starts with our people. That’s why we are deeply committed to attracting, developing, and retaining the very best colleagues in the education sector.
Our investment in you is purpose-led. Whether in the classroom, school leadership, or our central team, we prioritise your professional growth. We know that student outcomes depend on the strength of our team. That’s why our robust progression pathways and leadership programmes ensure all Lift Schools colleagues thrive - guaranteeing an excellent education for every child, across all our classrooms, every day.
We empower our school leaders from day one. Every new Principal receives access to a £100,000 Individual Development Account, accessible over a five-year period. This exclusive executive fund is designed to support growth across two key pillars:
- Self-development: Personal and professional growth tailored to your executive career goals
- Succession and system leadership development: building leadership capacity through succession planning and system leadership development
From executive coaching and advanced postgraduate courses to professional institute memberships, the fund is yours to own.
We are a high-challenge, high-support network. Because school leadership is as demanding as it is rewarding, we ensure you never lead in isolation. Our universal development package includes:
- A comprehensive induction to our network, including face-to-face induction days and specialist briefings covering topics from governance to oracy
- Personalised one-to-one executive coaching to support your leadership development
- Dedicated support from your Regional Education Director or Regional Executive Principal
- A one-term professional sabbatical available to all principals after five years of service
Alongside structured professional development courses for school leaders and teachers, you will collaborate and network with colleagues during dedicated training days, including our bi-annual Principals' Conference, Lift490 days and our curriculum advancement days.
Delivered in partnership with Ambition Institute, the Lift Up Leaders programme is an elite pathway designed for ambitious senior educators who want to step up into executive-level leadership roles. If you are an aspiring CEO, Regional Executive Director (RED), or Executive Principal, this course provides the strategic framework required to accelerate your executive transition.
Specifically designed for early-career leaders and those new to Lift Schools, this induction programme ensures seamless integration into our multi-academy trust. Participants are fully supported to master our network structures and build the foundational skills required for long-term school leadership success.
When you join Lift Schools, you are joining a community that actively invests in your ambition. We don't just offer jobs; we build sustainable, high-impact careers in education.
Designed to strengthen leadership capacity across our schools, the Middle Leadership Development Programme (MLDP) accelerates career progression for current and aspiring curriculum and pastoral leads.
The programmes include:
- Experiential learning: direct insights through innovative school visits.
- Collaborative and supportive growth: peer-led collaboration workshops and expert webinars.
- Evidence-informed face-to-face learning and guidance: rooted in the latest educational research and leadership best practices.
Our primary and secondary teachers access sector-leading, subject-specific training to enhance classroom expertise.
As a subject leader, you will collaborate with colleagues and proven subject experts across all of our schools to solve educational challenges, share best practice, and shape and implement our national curriculum strategy. Beyond role-specific training, all school colleagues participate in our annual Curriculum Advancement Day - a trust-wide INSET day dedicated to advancing network priorities, sharing expertise, and driving educational excellence.
We also offer NPQs for school leaders and those aspiring to leadership roles. Find out more below.
Our commitment to teaching quality is underpinned by our Instructional Excellence Programme, delivered through a pioneering partnership with One World. This framework refines classroom technique and delivers measurable improvements in student engagement.
Gain the skills, confidence, and credentials needed to take the next step in your education career. Lift Schools fully funds and delivers specialist and leadership NPQs. Delivered in-house by trust experts in partnership with the Ambition Institute, these programmes are tailored specifically to the context of our multi-academy trust. This ensures your professional development is directly relevant to the opportunities and challenges faced by our schools.
Launch your teaching career with a comprehensive, two-year ECT induction programme. Designed by Ambition Institute and delivered in-house, it balances professional growth with structured support:
- Three conferences and six clinics over two years, fully timetabled
- Regular coaching, feedback, and observations from an internal mentor
- Connect with colleagues and leaders across our trust from day one
Kickstart your education career with our fully supported Teaching Assistant Level 3 and Specialist Teaching Assistant Level 5 apprenticeships. We provide high-quality, hands-on training and expert mentorship to ensure you gain the practical classroom experience and recognised qualifications needed to excel in your role from day one.
We don't just invest in the classroom; we support professional growth across all our school operational and support teams. We fully fund and support a wide range of industry-recognised qualifications across:
- central team, estates and IT
- schools business and admin teams
- digital and IT colleagues
- finance and accounting
- safeguarding
- purchasing and procurement
- HR and talent acquisition
- edtech and innovation
View the full list of Lift Schools fully-funded apprenticeships
Central team professional growth and training
Our employee development and learning benefits include:
Weekly expert-led ‘Lunch and Learn’ seminars
Opportunity to access one-to-one coaching
On-demand online training
Fully-funded apprenticeships programmes
We also champion development and collaborative growth through dedicated Central Team Days shaped by staff feedback, alongside bespoke line manager training co-developed with Bain & Company.
From a thorough onboarding induction to structured, regular personal professional growth (PPG) conversations, we actively invest in the professional journeys of our central colleagues.
