Online Course FOR Educational Leaders
Welcome to the Lean Monitoring Program.
A focused 12-week program for leaders and leadership teams who want to know whether their improvement work is on track to deliver the impact they’re hoping for.
Format
3 × 2-hour live workshops
Start date
16 February 2027
Duration
12 weeks · 6 hours total
Investment
$990 AUD + GST
Simple. Practical. Sustainable.
Right now, your team is investing enormous energy in improvement – leadership time, professional learning, and the goodwill of staff you’ve asked to change their practice. But there’s a question every school leadership team has to be able to answer: is it working?
For most teams, the honest answer is “we hope so.” The results that matter take twelve months or more to show up in the data, and in between sits the messy middle – where months pass without knowing whether the work is on track, and “how’s it going?” gets answered with impressions rather than evidence.
The Lean Monitoring Program teaches your team to track the early, visible signals that your strategies are taking root or quietly drifting – months before the outcome data arrives – and to adjust while you can still do something about it. You’ll work on a real improvement priority from your own school, using field-tested, practical tools. No new data systems. No statistician required.
Just simple routines that normal people can actually do, and that tell you where your improvement work is really up to.
Simple. Practical. Sustainable.
Right now, your team is investing enormous energy in improvement – leadership time, professional learning, and the goodwill of staff you’ve asked to change their practice. But there’s a question every school leadership team has to be able to answer: is it working?
For most teams, the honest answer is “we hope so.” The results that matter take twelve months or more to show up in the data, and in between sits the messy middle – where months pass without knowing whether the work is on track, and “how’s it going?” gets answered with impressions rather than evidence.
The Lean Monitoring Program teaches your team to track the early, visible signals that your strategies are taking root or quietly drifting – months before the outcome data arrives – and to adjust while you can still do something about it. You’ll work on a real improvement priority from your own school, using field-tested, practical tools. No new data systems. No statistician required.
Just simple routines that normal people can actually do, and that tell you where your improvement work is really up to.
WHAT YOU WILL DEVELOP
Leadership capabilities that stick
Lean Monitoring is the essential practice for knowing whether your improvement work is on track. Across three workshops, you will develop:
🧭 A clear read on where the work is up to
Track lead indicators – the early signals of progress and the early warnings of drift – instead of waiting for results that arrive too late to act on.
🔄 A monitoring routine your team can sustain
A simple, repeatable loop – predict, collect, analyse – that runs inside the meetings you already have.
🪶 A low-burden approach to data collection
Gather the smallest amount of data that tells you the most, without new systems and without exhausting your staff.
✅ Reviews that end in decisions
Honest team conversations that name what’s working and what isn’t, and always finish with a clear next step.
🧭 A clear read on where the work is up to
Track lead indicators – the early signals of progress and the early warnings of drift – instead of waiting for results that arrive too late to act on.
🔄 A monitoring routine your team can sustain
A simple, repeatable loop – predict, collect, analyse – that runs inside the meetings you already have.
🪶 A low-burden approach to data collection
Gather the smallest amount of data that tells you the most, without new systems and without exhausting your staff.
✅ Reviews that end in decisions
Honest team conversations that name what’s working and what isn’t, and always finish with a clear next step.
Workshop Schedule
Our program includes three 2-hour online workshop sessions with Dr Simon Breakspear (for a total of 6 hours of live workshop time over the course).
Between sessions, your team applies the tools to a current improvement priority, with guidance and support from us to keep your monitoring loop turning.
Always recorded and made available for on-demand watching.
Cost
$990 plus GST for the first person.
20% discount for each additional team member from the same school.
The program is designed for educational leadership teams working on shared improvement priorities – but individual leaders are welcome, and everything you learn and do is designed to be taken back and run with your team.
WORKSHOP 1: Predict
Define the early signals that your strategies are working
Tuesday, 16 February 2027
10 AM – 12 PM (AEDT)
WORKSHOP 2: Collect
Gather the evidence you need
Tuesday, 23 March 2027
10 AM – 12 PM (AEDT)
WORKSHOP 3: Analyse
Turn your evidence into insights and next steps
The 12-Week Journey
Workshop 1 – Predict
Map your Impact Pathway, choose your lead indicators, and commit to what you expect to see, by when.
Between sessions: clarify your indicators and early signals with your team back at school.
Workshop 2 – Collect
Build a realistic evidence plan your team will actually run.
Between sessions: collect your evidence.
Workshop 3 – Analyse
Run your first Retrospective on your own evidence.
After the program: keep analysing, take your next steps, and open your next loop – with email nudges and supports along the way.
What your team will leave with
By the final workshop, your team won’t have studied the loop – you’ll have run one. You will leave with:
- A completed Impact Canvas for one current improvement priority
- A small set of agreed lead indicators, with clear expectations for the term
- A realistic evidence collection plan, with named people and dates attached
- Your first Retrospective, run on evidence from your own school
- A monitoring calendar for the year ahead
Register Now
Is it working? Learn to answer the most important question in school improvement.
Join a cohort of forward-thinking educational leaders committed to making a tangible impact. Register below to secure your place in the Lean Monitoring Program. For any questions, contact us at team@simonbreakspear.com.
20% off for each additional team member.
For bulk registrations (above 10) reach out to us directly.
What Participants Say About Simon’s Programs
“Excellent presentations, content, and so well structured”
“Excellent, clear, concise and targeted. This is exactly how I like to work. Thank you”
“This course has provided me with a new perspective to share with my school. Thank you 🤩”
“Helped to clarify thinking and offered tools to use with handy cheat sheets to make it a quicker and efficient process”
“Loved, loved, loved it! The simplicity of the tools and the process is really making a difference to the efficacy of our work. Thanks Simon – love your work.”
About Simon Breakspear
Program Instructor
Simon is a researcher, advisor and speaker on educational leadership, policy and change. Simon develops frameworks and tools that make evidence-based ideas actionable and easy to understand. Over the last decade his capability building work has given him the opportunity to work with over 100,000 educators across more than 10 countries.
Simon is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at UNSW. He serves as an advisor to the NSW Department of Education and sits on an expert steering committee for the Australia Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). Simon received his BPsych (Hons) from UNSW, his MSc in Comparative and International Education from the University of Oxford and his PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge. Simon began his work in education as a high school teacher.
Co-Facilitators
Meet the team committed to making your program experience purposeful, practical, and impactful.
Courtney Howard
IMPROVEMENT COACH
Michael Rosenbrock
IMPROVEMENT COACH
F.A.Q
Can I do this program on my own?
Yes of course! Every cohort has at least 20-30% of participants who join on their own. Whilst we strongly advocate for the benefit of team learning, you can still experience a rich learning program engaging on your own.
How much time will this take?
The minimum engagement required to understand our core practices and tools is about 6 hours over nine weeks. This involves 3 x 2-hour live zoom workshop sessions (or watching recordings). We will never pressure you during the program. Do what you can, with the time that you have, and we will be there every step of the way to help you gain as much benefit as possible.
What happens if I miss a session?
We totally understand how busy and unpredictable school life can be. All of our faculty have worked in schools, and spend time with educators every week. All of our live sessions and tutorials are recorded and made available within 24 hours of delivery. So never feel pressured or stressed about missing a session or needing to rush out to do with an unexpected incident. We are with you every step of the way with flexible approaches for you to engage with the content when you have the time and cognitive bandwidth. Remember you will have access to our full online digital curriculum and can dip in and out of the content and recorded sessions for 12 months.
What time zone do the live sessions run in, and are they recorded?
Our workshops are streamed from Sydney, Australia, and are in the AEST or AEDT time zone (depending on Daylight Savings). You may not be able to make both of the workshops, so we record each session so that you can engage in your own time with the content that is most relevant to you.
What do I need to complete in order to receive a certificate?
You will need to attend or catch up on the live recordings for each of the live sessions and demonstrate your understanding and application of the simple tools. We will build your capability to understand these tools in the workshops.
How long will I have access to the course materials?
You will have access to all course materials for one year. The workbooks, tools and slides are all downloadable. So you’ll have access to these materials for as long as you like. If we make updates or upgrades to our tools or frameworks, we will send them out to you as part of our Alumni community.
What happens once I complete the 9 week course?
You will be invited to join our global Alumni community and have access to our LinkedIn Group.
Still wondering if this course is right for you?
Please reach out to our team, and we can help explore whether our work is likely to be a good fit for you and your team. Email us at team@simonbreakspear.com
Share Your Experience
This is a NEW program, so we’d love to hear your feedback and list it here for others to see.
Email us at team@simonbreakspear.com and share a comment that other leaders would find helpful if considering this program.