About this course
Join this Senior Leader Apprenticeship as part of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme to develop and enhance your existing leadership practice
- Develop and enhance your existing leadership practice through up-to-date theory and evidence.
- Apply learning to bring positive and productive changes to your organisations.
- Strengthen your personal leadership impact to support professional and organisational development.
- Graduate with a highly sought after leadership development qualification, improving your career and promotion prospects
The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (EGA) Programme is an award-winning leadership development programme designed for middle to senior level leaders responsible for other leaders and aspiring to lead large and complex programmes, departments, services, or systems of care.
The Level 7 Apprenticeship programme is fully funded by the Apprenticeship Levy and leads to a Masters (MSc) in Healthcare Leadership from Liverpool John Moores University, an NHS Leadership Academy Award in Senior Healthcare Leadership, and Chartered Manager Status with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
Delivery is designed to support participants to develop together via flexible online learning alongside residentials and tutor support, with a focus on applying your current experience to the study of leadership.
Deadline for applications: 30th June 2025
Course modules
Discover the building blocks of your programme
Further guidance on modules
Modules are designated core or optional in accordance with professional body requirements, as applicable, and LJMU’s Academic Framework Regulations. Whilst you are required to study core modules, optional modules provide you with an element of choice. Their availability may vary and will be subject to meeting minimum student numbers.
Where changes to modules are necessary these will be communicated as appropriate.
Core modules
Understanding and Developing Leadership Practice
10 credits
10 credits
This module, part of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme, introduces you to a range of leadership theories and models that can be applied to improve the quality of care and the patient experience. You’ll explore current thinking and best practice at the level of the individual leader and, with support, you’ll critically evaluate your current leadership practice and examine how this may (or may not) make a difference to the quality of care for a diverse range of patients. You’ll focus on understanding your current levels of self-awareness, the ways in which you use reflection ‘in’ and ‘on’ action, how you manage yourself in your leadership role and the identification of areas for learning and development.
Building foundations for team effectiveness
20 credits
20 credits
This module, part of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme, focuses on teams. You’ll have a critical introduction to the literature and research evidence relating to effective team working and other relevant models relating to team effectiveness. Through the application of relevant theories, models and reflection on practice, you will develop a clear understanding of the team you lead; its purpose, membership and team community. This will help you to develop the foundations for effective team working, such as creating a safe team climate, discuss concerns, make suggestions and provide constructive debate.
Making sense of organisational values, engagement and service delivery
30 credits
30 credits
In this module, part of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme, you’ll be asked to explore and understand the context within which your services are situated, before looking more generally to apply these concepts beyond the immediate services and organisation. This sets the scene for a multi-faceted examination of the structures, processes, behaviours, culture and patient experiences of services. This includes examining the wider system, evaluating and using a diverse range of information and viewpoints, and understanding the regional, national, international and multi-cultural contexts and drivers for change. This organisational analysis will help you understand and focus on what needs to change to improve service delivery, care quality and patient experience.
Delivering system wide coordinated care
30 credits
30 credits
Building on learning from 7303LBSEGA module, this module on the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme, focuses more strategically on quality, efficiency and effectiveness. You’ll examine the use of resources with a view to the future, consider where duplication and waste can be reduced, and increase the use of shared resources across system boundaries. This requires working across multiple services and care pathways, understanding models of governance, analysing inequalities in services and building strategic relationships and networks to support this work.
Creating engaging and learning cultures
20 credits
20 credits
In this module, part of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme, you will make use of the evidence, theories and models focused both on creating engaging and learning cultures, and optimising your potential as a leader in order that teams are led effectively and dynamically. Learning will be demonstrated through measurable work-based learning activities that further develop innovative team leadership and team working in order to improve patient experience, safety and care.
Evaluating my leadership behaviours and impact
10 credits
10 credits
This module, part of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme, will involve a more intense focus on your leadership behaviours and how you respond to patients, staff and organisational needs, as well as how able you are to challenge behaviours and performance in others which have a negative impact on patient experience and outcomes.
Your Learning Experience
An insight into teaching on your course
We adopt an active blended learning approach, meaning you will experience a combination of face-to-face and online learning during your time at LJMU. This enables you to experience a rich and diverse learning experience and engage fully with your studies. Our approach ensures that you can easily access support from your personal tutor, either by meeting them on-campus or via a video call to suit your needs.
Support for students
There is a high level of support for students on this course and the needs of part-time students and degree apprentices are thought through. You will be appointed a Personal Tutor when you are inducted onto the course. They will be responsible for assisting you and providing guidance and care on academic and pastoral matters and also on the development of your Personal Development Plans (PDPs) which form an integral part of your programme and development.
In addition each member of staff has surgery hours which allow you to 'drop in' to discuss academic issues on a one to one basis.
Study hours
Teaching will be a hybrid model, offering self-directed online module delivery alongside residential and face-to-face workshops and tutor support to provide peer learning and the exploration of best practice through comparing experiences and contexts in relation to theory.
Teaching methods
At the centre of our philosophy is the notion that we learn best from experience and applying our learning, so action learning and coaching are a key part of our programmes. This approach also encourages strong peer learning groups where you can learn from your peers, in recognition of the fact that management and leadership development is a social and collaborative process.
The workplace is at the heart of apprenticeship learning. Consequently, everybody brings their experience from their area of expertise with them and you will be encouraged to share how your learning has been applied and improved practice in your workplace. The programme is personalised to individuals so that you can apply your learning to your own workplace projects and tasks.
Learning approaches include:
The workplace as the centre of learning
Apprentices will apply ideas in the workplace, improving their skills through a range of workplace activities and then reflecting and reviewing this practice with peers on the programme. All the assessments are applied and related to the individuals ' own workplace.
Self-development planning
Organisational processes can be applied to ensure that individuals plan to develop in line with apprenticeship standards, with the guidance of your mentors.
A 'flipped learning ' approach
This reverses the conventional process of teaching by providing the content prior to the sessions using a virtual learning environment, so that the focus of the workshop becomes about active learning and application of theory to practice.
We work closely with participants to support their work on real-world projects and gathering evidence for the portfolio. This includes using assignments, work-based project examples and witness testimony to demonstrate the participants healthcare leadership journey. A strong emphasis is placed on the workplace as a place to learn; participants integrate key concepts and theories, assessing the impact of these on their own working environment.
The ability to analyse organisational issues and apply recommendations supported by a theoretical framework is fundamental and is assessed in all elements of the programme.
Action learning
This will be adopted as a supportive and collaborative approach to learning to manage. Action learning will be used to support personal development, where issues and challenges from the workplace can be discussed. This approach to management learning provides a forum to bring ideas, thoughts and issues and allow a collaborative learning process to develop ideas for action.
Work-based assignments
All assignments will relate to the workplace, giving you the opportunity to apply your learning to your organisational context and work towards the level 7 apprenticeship standards.
Masterclasses
Key note speakers address current issues, emerging practice and healthcare leadership. The intent is to foster the need to be continually updating and engaging with the ways in which management in organisation is changing.
How learning is monitored on your programme
To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.
Assessment methods on this programme include:
- the creation of a portfolio of evidence demonstrating apprenticeship standards throughout
- one piece of coursework
- undertake an End Point Assessment at the end of their 2nd year to gain the SLA award
Where you will study
Liverpool Business School is based in the Redmonds Building, in the heart of the bustling Mount Pleasant Campus and Liverpool's growing Knowledge Quarter. The building is home to high quality lecture theatres and seminar rooms, social spaces, and a cafe. It is only a short walk from LJMU's Aldham Robarts Library, which contains all the resources you will require for your studies, and is open seven days a week.
Course tutors
Lisa is currently Head of Centre at Liverpool Business School where she leads a partnership between Liverpool Business School and Liverpool University Hospital NHS Trust with a focus on knowledge exchange and research to inform new ways of working and improved joined up practice within the Liverpool City Region. Prior to this, Lisa was Programme Leader for the MBA and MSc Leadership programmes with extensive experience in the development and delivery of executive education programmes.
Lisa’s research interests include the mechanisms through which experiential learning environments can enhance leadership, including pedagogical frameworks which foster leadership development and the development and implementation of systems and place-based leadership within the public sector.
Career paths
Further your career prospects
LJMU has an excellent employability record with 94% (HESA 2022) of our postgraduates in work or further study fifteen months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.
Our applied learning techniques ensure our learners can apply knowledge to real world contexts.
It is expected that Senior Leader Apprentices will use the confidence and skills they have developed on the programme to achieve their aspirations and move more quickly up the career ladder within their organisations.
Another benefit of studying with Liverpool Business School is joining a network of senior professionals. This enables you to continue building meaningful, long-term relationships beyond the classroom, as part of the Liverpool Leadership Network.
Tuition fees and funding
Degree Apprenticeships are funded courses, with learning costs being paid to the university by the employer, through the Degree Apprenticeship levy, if a large company, or with the help of the government’s co-investment model, if a smaller company.
If you aren’t already employed by a company that is willing to sponsor you through an apprenticeship, you’ll need to find one. You can do this by regularly checking the Government’s Find an apprenticeship website.
You can also approach an employer yourself to find out whether they would be interested in offering Degree Apprenticeships and ask them to contact us. Our team will be able to explain to them how they can access the correct funding and the next steps.
Information for potential employers
If an employer has a wage bill of over £3 million, it would automatically pay the Government levy and would use this to fund learning via the company Apprenticeship Service Account.
Non- Levy companies can access funding via the Government co-investment model, whereby the Government will fund 95% of the learning costs and the company will fund the remaining 5%.
To access the Government funds, non-levy paying employers are required to set up an account on the Apprenticeship Service and reserve funding for apprentices, no earlier than three months before the course start date. Information regarding setting up an account can be found here. LJMU will still invoice non-levy paying companies for their contribution, but without this account LJMU will be unable to draw down the Government co-investment funding for the apprentices.
Fees
The fees quoted above cover registration, tuition, supervision, assessment and examinations as well as library membership and student IT support with access to printed, multimedia and digital resources including programme-appropriate software and on campus wifi.
Financial Support
There are many ways to fund postgraduate study for home and international students. From loans to International Scholarships and subject-specific funding, you’ll find all of the information you need on our specialist postgraduate funding pages. The University offers a range of financial support for students. You'll find all the information you need on our specialist financial support pages including details of the Student Support Fund and other activities to support with the cost of living.
Additional Costs
In addition to fees, students should also keep in mind the cost of:
- Accommodation
- Travel costs and field trips unless paid for by LJMU
- Stationery, IT equipment, professional body membership and graduation gown hire
Entry requirements
You will need:
Qualification requirements
Undergraduate degree
Given the general nature of assessment, candidates are required to have one of the following:
- A degree from a recognised University or equivalent awarding institution at second class honours level or above;
- A professional qualification recognised as equivalent to the above; or
- An award or professional experience which the University has agreed to accept as equivalent to the above.
GCSEs and equivalents
Maths and English Level 2
Additional requirements
-
Relevant work experience
Candidates need to have at least 3 years managerial experience.
Further information
-
Extra Requirements
Mature entry
The programme team has a strong commitment to widening participation and positively welcomes non-standard applicants. Candidates with some management experience or those who are about to enter a managerial role and have demonstrated an aptitude for study can be accepted without previous experience of higher education.
Apprenticeship programme
Only learners registered for 36911 can be registered for this programme as part of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme.
Please Note: All international qualifications are subject to a qualification equivalency check.
How to apply
Securing your place at LJMU
To apply for this programme, you are required to complete an LJMU Degree Apprenticeship form. You will need to provide details of previous qualifications and a personal statement outlining why you wish to study this programme.
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