The School For Change Agents
We believe that everybody is a change agent, so that’s why for over a decade Horizons has provided FREE course to anyone looking to gain new skills, knowledge and confidence to make change happen.
What is The School For Change Agents?
Written, curated and created by our team of experts, with guest speakers, world leaders and ground breaking improvement methodologies, the School is for anyone looking to make a difference and is packed with everything you need to know to gain a deeper understanding of how change works in complex systems and what each of us can do about it.
What you’ll learn
On this course, you will build the skills, confidence, and supportive community needed to create change in an evolving environment.
You will learn how to become a change agent by generating new ideas, pushing the boundaries, and leading others to do the same in your organisation. You will understand what drives you to create change, how to take action, and how to improve your approaches.
By completing this course, you will discover your potential to make a difference with a community of like-minded individuals.
![IMG_7355[2].JPG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/d83ca5_f4bdfa94bc1e4e03adb2641e94ad1821~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_980,h_667,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/IMG_7355%5B2%5D_JPG.jpg)
Modules
Split into 5 modules, each week you’ll cover a range of topics from leading experts including:
1. An introduction to the School for Change Agents
Old Power and New Power
How to roll with resistance
Developing a growth mindset
2. Energy for change
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A look at the five energies for change
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How to measure your energy
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How to create energy for change
3. Finding your own power for change
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How to define power
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Seek your own
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Dive into the power of networks
4. Building collective leadership for change
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Learn how stories create change
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Create your public narrative
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Learn from social movements
5. Change agent of the future
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7 Simple rules creating tomorrow today
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How to spread and scale
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Looking after yourself as a change agent
How to Take Part
School is free to join, and to take part in. All you need is an internet connection. The sessions are arranged into ‘bite-sized’ chunks so that you can complete them in your own time, and in your own way. You can take part on a computer, tablet or mobile device.
UPDATE:
The School for Change Agents is moving to a new platform in 2026, which will mean we will be pausing the course briefly. Here's what it means for Change Agents:
1) If you are in the middle of the course on FutureLearn, you will have 12-months to complete it there as long as you have upgraded (details below).
2) If you would like to start the course whilst it is on FutureLearn, please make sure you upgrade (details below), which gives you 12-months to complete it on FutureLearn.
3) For anyone wanting to wait and take the course on the new platform, please bear with us as we pack our boxes and buy new uniforms!
How to upgrade?
We are delighted to offer NHS or social care workers a free upgrade thanks to our partnership with NHS England and Futurelearn!
This means that you get unlimited access to complete the School and will receive a digital CPD certificate on your course completion.
Everyone taking part in the School has five weeks from when they start to complete the sessions. If you’d like to extend your access, you can upgrade for a small fee.
Once again, if you work for the NHS or in social care, you can get an upgrade at no cost to you thanks to a partnership we have with FutureLearn.
How to upgrade?
We are delighted to offer NHS or social care workers a free upgrade thanks to our partnership with NHS England and Futurelearn!
This means that you get unlimited access to complete the School and will receive a digital CPD certificate on your course completion.
Everyone taking part in the School has five weeks from when they start to complete the sessions. If you’d like to extend your access, you can upgrade for a small fee.
Once again, if you work for the NHS or in social care, you can get an upgrade at no cost to you thanks to a partnership we have with FutureLearn.
To upgrade you need to:
Check you meet the eligibility criteria
Visit: verify.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/
to verify your account and receive the upgrade.
We strongly recommend that you do this before or as you start School on FutureLearn. You must do this before your access to School expires (which is five weeks after you first access the School).
This offer is available on a select number of courses offered by the NHS on FutureLearn. It does not entitle you to free upgrades on any other course.
We are no longer able to offer upgrade for people who took part in the previous School runs from 2022 and those who missed their upgrade deadline from November 2023. If you have an issue with a failed upgrade please contact: support@futurelearn.com
The School is free for everyone to participate. If you are not eligible for an upgrade but want to take part free of charge, when registering for the course ensure you select the limited access option.
This will give you 5 weeks to complete the course from the time you registered:
Testimonials
The proof is in the pudding. The School for Change Agents makes a difference:
Superb course! A must for anyone who wants to bring about positive change with others. The course is beautifully put together by the world’s leading experts on change making. Fantastic videos, supporting materials and you get the chance to connect with other change makers undertaking the course.
Mark S.
Engaging and dynamic online learning. I undertook this future learn course primarily because we had recommended it to our AHP Students who were with us in the AHP Faculty on Leadership placements. They really enjoyed it and rated it highly - so myself and a colleague decided to find out for ourselves what it was all about.
Ursula M.
Fabulous Stuff - so good I did it twice! The NHS School for Change Agents is an amazing and worth while learning experience. I highly recommend it.
Barry V.
Everyone will learn something!I am a change & transformation professional of too many years standing, but this easy to digest course still provided me with a number of useful approaches and some very good strategies for dealing with change in complex environments.
Chris P.
Resources
We want as many people as possible to benefit from the teachings in the School for Change Agents. The School is a community and we believe that the more people who learn and use the tools provided in this free course, together we can make a huge impact in the world of health and care and beyond.
Content you can use to help spread the word
Get connected with like minded change agents
Listen to the School For Change Agents Podcast