Developing headteachers for schools and communities across the West Country.

A place-based leadership programme for aspiring headteachers committed to leading in rural, coastal and dispersed communities across the West Country.

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What is the West100?

The West100 is a selective leadership development programme for aspiring and early headteachers working across the West Country.

It brings together leaders from small rural primaries, coastal secondaries, federations, special and alternative provision, and urban schools to prepare them for headship in a region where leadership is shaped as much by geography as by policy.

The programme exists to grow leadership capacity in places where schools are often isolated, but deeply rooted in their communities.

Why the West100 exists

Leading a school in the West Country means leading at the edge.

This is a region defined by distance, seasonality and dispersion. Schools are separated by miles, services are stretched thin, and access to support diminishes the further west you travel. High living costs collide with low wages, making recruitment and retention a daily challenge.

At the same time, deprivation is often hidden—masked by coastal beauty, rural settings and tourist economies. Schools carry the weight of unmet need while operating in places that appear prosperous from the outside.

The West100 exists because leadership in this context requires a distinct set of judgements: how to sustain small schools, how to recruit when housing is unaffordable, and how to keep ambition alive when opportunity feels distant.

These are not theoretical challenges. They are lived realities, and they demand leadership developed in context.

Partnership at the heart

The West100 is shaped through close partnership with schools, trusts and system leaders across the region.

It is built on the belief that no single organisation can solve the region’s challenges alone. Leadership capacity here is grown through collaboration, mutual support and a shared commitment to children and communities across the region.

The programme reflects the way the region already works: relational, practical and rooted in place.

  • Blackdown Education Partnership

    Formed through the merger of two founding trusts in Devon and Somerset, this partnership aims to nurture the ambition and talents of every child. The trust focuses on breaking down barriers for disadvantaged pupils and creating a family of schools that are deeply and purposefully connected to their local communities.

  • Cabot Learning Federation

    A family of over 30 academies across Bristol, Gloucestershire, and Somerset dedicated to "Equity Through Education." The trust works collaboratively to deliver excellent educational experiences for pupils aged 3-19, with a strong focus on raising standards for disadvantaged learners and serving the heart of its diverse communities.

  • Lighthouse Schools Partnership

    A mature partnership serving schools across the region with a vision of "Flourishing in Partnership." The trust focuses on delivering a rich, exciting curriculum and fostering a generous professional culture where both pupils and colleagues can thrive through collaboration and high expectations.

  • The Priory Learning Trust

    Driven by the motto "Students First, Cherishing Staff, Serving Communities," The Priory Learning Trust is committed to ensuring every child receives a great education. It aims to provide a rich and inspiring learning environment that raises aspirations and equips young people with the skills and moral character needed to flourish in the world.

  • Trust in Learning Academies (TiLA)

    A Bristol-based education charity dedicated to building inclusive learning communities. Its mission is to overcome social disadvantage and improve life chances by fostering effective leadership and classroom practice, ensuring that every child has the opportunity to become a successful, responsible citizen.

How it works

The West100 combines personal leadership development with collective learning.

Participants are supported through a carefully sequenced programme that prepares them for first headship while strengthening the wider leadership ecosystem of the West Country.

The emphasis throughout is on developing leaders who can sustain schools, not just improve them.

  • We believe that leadership is shaped by geography as much as policy.

    This means that West100 learning is grounded in the realities of the South West—rural isolation, coastal peripherality, seasonality, and hidden deprivation—so leaders develop judgement that works at the edge, not just at the centre.

  • We believe that leadership grows through difference, not sameness.

    This means that West100 intentionally brings together leaders from small rural primaries, coastal secondaries, federations, special and AP settings, and urban schools—building shared understanding across the region’s fragmented landscape.

  • We believe that ambition expands when leaders see what is possible.

    This means that participants visit outstanding schools beyond the region, learning how excellence is built in diverse contexts and translating those insights back into places facing scarcity and isolation.

  • We believe that leadership starts with self-knowledge.

    This means that West100 creates deliberate space for leaders to clarify their self-concept, values and vision—strengthening their capacity to act as bold educational and civic leaders in complex environments.

  • We believe that growth requires space to think, not just to do.

    This means that the programme creates deliberate time for reflection—helping leaders clarify their values, strengthen their judgement, and connect daily decisions to long-term impact.

  • We believe that leadership development is personal as well as collective.

    This means that participants can access one-to-one coaching to test ideas, work through challenges, and deepen their confidence as leaders—alongside the shared learning of the cohort.

  • We believe that schools thrive when they are deeply embedded in their communities.

    This means that leaders develop a nuanced understanding of the assets, histories and challenges of their local context—enabling them to lead with empathy, credibility and moral purpose.

  • We believe that not all leadership actions are equally impactful.

    This means that the programme concentrates on the levers that matter most for fairer access, deeper belonging and equitable outcomes—particularly in contexts where resources are scarce, and need is high.

What it involves

The West100 runs over one academic year. The structure is demanding at times, reflective at others, and designed to be sustainable alongside a senior leadership role in school.

Together, our touchpoints are designed to shift how leaders see their role, how they work with others, and how they lead over time.

Further information about what happens when, can be found here.

  • To build trust, shared purpose and a common language for the year ahead, grounding participants in place, relationships and the realities of headship before focusing on technique or performance.

  • To deepen leaders’ thinking, introduce new perspectives, and create structured opportunities to reflect on practice alongside peers facing similar challenges.

  • To broaden leaders’ mental models of what is possible by seeing excellent practice in context, and to support thoughtful adaptation rather than replication.

  • To provide a shared, ongoing learning space where participants engage with curated content, reflect on practice, and stay connected between live touchpoints, reinforcing insight, relationships and momentum over time.

  • To connect learning directly to lived leadership by supporting participants to practise real decision-making, judgement and prioritisation in their own settings.

  • To consolidate learning, reflect on growth, and support participants to translate insight into sustained leadership action beyond the programme year.

Who the West100 is for

The West100 is for leaders who:

  • Aspire to headship in the next few years

  • Are committed to leading in the West Country

  • Work in small, federated, rural, coastal or isolated settings

  • Value collaboration over competition

  • Want to lead schools that act as anchors for their communities

Participants span phases and sectors, united by a shared commitment to children, families and place.

What the West100 asks of you

The West100 asks for seriousness of intent.

Participants are expected to:

  • Commit time and attention across the year

  • Engage fully with cohort learning and reflection

  • Be open about the challenges of their context

  • Test new approaches to leadership and organisation

  • Contribute generously to a shared regional network

This is a programme for leaders prepared to carry responsibility thoughtfully and collectively.

What changes as a result?

When the West100 works well, we see change at three interconnected levels. Together, these changes improve the conditions in which all children in the West Country learn and thrive.

Transformative change

Leaders gain confidence, clarity and readiness for headship, particularly in complex and isolated contexts.

Relational change

Isolation reduces as strong professional relationships form across the region, creating support where none previously existed.

Structural change

And the West100 does not ‘end’ with the closing residential.

Our Alumni remain part of a growing regional and national network, with opportunities to:

  • Stay connected to peers across cohorts

  • Contribute to future programmes

  • Access ongoing learning and events

  • Play a role in strengthening leadership capacity across the region

For many participants, the programme marks the beginning—not the end—of their involvement in the West100 community.

Schools and trusts become more resilient, leadership pipelines stabilise, and communities benefit from sustained leadership over time.

  • If you want to be challenged, if you want to grow, and if you want to think deeply about what education must deliver for our children, this is the course for you. Under expert guidance, it is the perfect environment to develop a clear philosophy for headship. It was, quite simply, the best leadership course I have ever been part of.

    —Alum

  • This experience fundamentally changed my leadership, my thinking, and my practise. My colleagues at the time noted my growth in all aspects of my role. Years later, I remain in close contact with the team and the peers I met; they have become not just colleagues, but true professional friends.

    —Alum

  • I was drawn to the West100 as it aligned with my own professional mission: to be part of transforming the communities of the West Country through amazing schools.

    —Participant

  • The selection process was a revelation. The interview day was brilliant—intense, high-pressure, and genuinely thought-provoking. Between public speaking, lesson observations, and discussions with CEOs, it really tested my mettle. Every task was anchored in a clear purpose: supporting our most vulnerable families. Hearing about Reach’s mission and their national vision was inspiring; it made me realise that I didn’t just want to be on the course—I had to be.

    —Alum

  • Once selected, the invaluable sessions began. The first residential was a vital opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals, building strong bonds and rehearsing skills before taking them back to my own setting. I returned to school literally buzzing.

    —Alum

  • The regular virtual meets between our physical sessions were purposeful and practical. We engaged with real leadership tasks that could be applied directly to our own contexts. It wasn’t merely theoretical; it was grounded in real-world knowledge and led by highly skilled professionals. Visiting different schools across the country was equally powerful. Seeing how others had accomplished what often feels impossible—while keeping the children at the centre of their thinking—was amazing.

    —Alum

  • The West100 has been a career defining leadership experience that has provided coaching, access to world class educational visits and an incredible professional network that allows us to see how we can enact real change.

    —Participant

  • The opportunity to study the schooling system was fascinating. However, some of the deepest professional conversations I have ever had took place on the coach journey back. We spent that time pulling apart the "why" and the "how," reflecting on our roles as leaders.

    —Alum

  • The West100 has been professionally life-changing, giving me the opportunity to see beyond my own school community and broaden my perspective on leadership and education.

    —Participant

  • The experience has felt less about having the “right” answers and more about learning how to think through the “so what?” Being part of the West100 has helped me slow down, question assumptions, and connect ideas in ways I hadn’t before. It has shaped how I approach challenges—with greater curiosity, humility, and confidence in reaching out to networks and professional connections to help find solutions.

    —Participant

  • From residentials to study tours, from conferences to headteacher tasks, I have loved every single minute. No professional development is as insightful, as challenging or as fun than the West100. If you want to lead a transformational school in the region than it is absolutely essential experience.

    —Participant

Meet the West100 team

  • Mohamed Abdallah

    Programme Lead

    Mohamed leads the West100 with a passionate belief that every child and family should have an equitable experience of education that offers genuine opportunity, belonging, and hope. Drawing on his professional background in inclusion and safeguarding, as well as his personal experience growing up in an underserved community, he is dedicated to building networks that foster collaboration and act as catalysts for innovation.

  • Shelley Gonsalves

    Programme Director

    Shelley leads leadership development at The Reach Foundation, shaping the x100s and LeadingTrusts programmes and overseeing coaching and personal development. She brings a deep belief in education’s transformative power and a commitment to helping leaders grow with confidence, connection and purpose.

Stewardship

The West100 belongs to a wider family of “x100s” leadership development programmes.

If you are considering headship—or supporting future headteachers within your school or trust—it may be the right place to start.