A leadership programme for aspiring headteachers in Greater Manchester

Headteachers for the schools and communities of Greater Manchester.

A year of preparation for headship across Greater Manchester’s ten boroughs, alongside peers who will stay with you long after it ends.

Apply now Register your interest

100 leaders per region, a new cohort every year.

Applications are open for the September 2027 cohort.

Apply now

Devolved ambition, deep inequality.

Greater Manchester has devolved powers, a growing economy and boroughs used to working together. It also has some of the highest child poverty in England, and gaps that open early.

  • 35%

    More than one in three children in poverty

    The North West has one of the highest child poverty rates of any English region.

  • 5.6 months

    Behind before school starts

    The North West had one of the widest gaps at age 5 in 2025. In Stockport it reached 7 months, the third widest in England.

  • +1.5 grades

    Post-16 is slipping

    Since 2019 the North West’s post-16 gap has widened more than any other region’s. Oldham saw one of the five sharpest rises in England.

Bright spots

Salford made the biggest reduction in its GCSE gap of any local authority in England between 2019 and 2025, and Stockport one of the biggest improvements after 16.

Sources: Education Policy Institute, Annual Report 2026 (2025 data); IPPR (2025), child poverty 2021/22 to 2023/24.

How it works

Personal leadership development and collective learning, designed to sit alongside a senior role in school.

Leadership here is civic leadership.

Learning grounded in Greater Manchester’s boroughs, its devolved institutions and its ambition for good lives for all.

Leadership grows through difference.

Primary, secondary, special and alternative provision leaders from across the ten boroughs learn together, testing what they know against schools and neighbourhoods unlike their own.

Ambition grows when you see what is possible.

Study tours to excellent schools beyond the region, with time to adapt what you see rather than copy it.

Leadership starts with self-knowledge.

Coaching and structured reflection to clarify your values, your judgement and the head you want to be.

Schools thrive when they are rooted in place.

Deep inquiry into your community's assets and history, and a focus on the levers that matter most for fairness.

The year

Demanding at times, reflective at others. Full dates and details

  1. September

    Opening residential

    Trust, shared purpose and a common language for the year.

  2. Through the year

    Workshops and webinars

    New perspectives and structured reflection with peers.

  3. Autumn and spring

    Study tours

    Excellent schools, within and beyond the region.

  4. Ongoing

    Online community

    Curated content and connection between live sessions.

  5. Termly

    Headteacher tasks

    Real decisions, practised in your own setting.

  6. June

    Closing residential

    From insight to sustained leadership action.

Who it's for

  • Leaders aspiring to headship in the next few years
  • Committed to leading in Greater Manchester
  • Working in any of the ten boroughs, across phases and sectors
  • Who value collaboration over competition
  • Who want their school to be an anchor for its community

What it asks of you

  • Time and attention across the whole year
  • Full engagement with cohort learning and reflection
  • Honesty about the challenges of your context
  • Willingness to test new approaches
  • Generosity to a shared regional network
Apply nowNot ready yet? Register your interest

What changes

When it works, we see change at three connected levels.

In leaders

Confidence, clarity and readiness for headship, particularly in complex and isolated contexts.

Between people

Isolation reduces as lasting professional relationships form across the region, creating support where there was none.

In schools and trusts

Leadership pipelines steady, schools become more resilient, and communities benefit from leaders who stay.

Voices from the x100 family

GM100 is part of a national family of programmes built on the same design. While we gather words from our own leaders, these come from participants on our sister programmes in Yorkshire, the East of England and the West Country.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever worked so hard and had more fun at the same time. The opportunity to see outstanding practice, and to have the time to reflect on what it means for my own leadership and values, is invaluable.”

Participant, Yorks100

“What makes this programme so magical is the network of support it provides.”

Alum, East100

“Some of the deepest professional conversations I have ever had took place on the coach journey back.”

Alum, West100

Built in partnership

Trusts, local authorities and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority invest together in the next generation of headteachers. GM100 is built with the system, not imposed on it.

Our partner board

  • Focus Trust
  • Greater Manchester Combined Authority
  • Greater Manchester Education Trust
  • Manchester City Council
  • Rochdale Council
  • Salford City Council
  • Stockport Council
  • Star Academies
  • Wise Owl Trust

The team

Leonie Ratty

Leonie Ratty

Programme Lead

The Reach Foundation’s Regional Director for the North West, working with school, trust and local leaders to build insight, action and strong networks.

Shelley Gonsalves

Shelley Gonsalves

Programme Director

Leads leadership development at The Reach Foundation, shaping the x100 programmes and overseeing coaching.