Critically explore leadership and change management in health and social care, including transformational, servant, authentic, adaptive, and distributed approaches.

Examine organisational change models such as Lewin, Kotter, ADKAR, and systems-based approaches, alongside quality improvement methodologies and the influence of power, hierarchy, and culture.

Analyse real-world case studies covering leadership during crises, service redesign, safeguarding reviews, and interprofessional conflict resolution, evaluating success and failure factors.

Develop personal leadership skills, including emotional intelligence, reflective practice, communication, negotiation, resilience, coaching, and mentoring.

Apply strategic thinking, project management, digital leadership, and innovation principles to service improvement and entrepreneurial initiatives.

Engage in collaborative activities, simulations, and peer feedback to apply theory to complex problems, set SMART improvement goals, and create personal leadership and service innovation plans.

Assessment 1

Project Management Pitch

Weighting: 50%

Assesses module learning outcomes 1 and 4.

You will undertake a 20-minute pitch as part of a group of students to a simulated management board to deliver a project-based change proposal. This pitch should include justification of your chosen theoretical approach.

Rationale: We want our graduates (you) to have leadership and management skills and expertise. Change happens frequently in health and social care, and we want you to be equipped with the skills to suggest and create change in your future careers and have the theoretical and practical knowledge to be able to achieve it.

Assessment 2

Simulated Job Interview - face to face or on Teams.

Weighting: 50%

Assesses module learning outcomes 2 and 3.

You will take part in a 20-minute simulated panel job interview, choosing from a range of leadership roles in health and social care. Two weeks before the interview, you’ll be able to select a job description, giving you time to prepare and practise your responses tailored to that role. This experience will help you build confidence, develop your professional communication skills, and get a realistic feel for applying for leadership positions in the sector. You can choose to do this face to face or via Teams.

Rationale: We want our graduates (you) to be career ready and be able to excel in their future job interviews. This assessment will give you the opportunity to shine and showcase the skills and competencies that you have developed during your studies.

This Level 6 module adopts an active, student-centred approach to learning, promoting critical thinking, autonomy, and professional accountability. Teaching strategies are designed to support the integration of theory, research, and complex health and social care practice.

Learning will be facilitated through a combination of:

Interactive lectures and seminars to introduce and critically examine key theoretical frameworks, policy contexts, and contemporary debates.

Case-based learning using authentic health and social care scenarios to develop analytical and evaluative skills.

Simulated learning experiences, including structured role-play, leadership simulations, and complex decision-making scenarios, enabling students to apply leadership and change management theory within realistic practice environments.

Problem-based learning (PBL) activities that encourage collaborative exploration of complex service challenges and systems-level issues.

Group workshops to support peer learning, interprofessional perspectives, and collaborative problem-solving.

Guided reflective practice, including critical incident analysis and structured self-evaluation to promote leadership self-awareness and continuous professional development.

Digital learning activities, such as online discussion forums, formative quizzes, and independent research tasks to encourage self-directed learning.

Formative feedback opportunities, including peer feedback and tutor-led discussions, to support progressive development towards summative assessment.

Simulated experiences will provide a safe environment for you to practice leadership behaviours, test decision-making strategies, and evaluate the impact of their actions without risk to service users. These activities are designed to mirror the complexity, ambiguity, and ethical considerations characteristic of contemporary health and social care practice.

You are expected to engage in independent study, including critical reading of academic literature, policy analysis, and preparation for collaborative learning activities, in line with Level 6 expectations of increasing academic and professional independence.

1. Critically assess leadership and change management theory in health and social care practice.

Leadership and Management
Knowledge & Understanding

2. Take responsibility for continuous professional development to support leadership growth, entrepreneurial opportunities, and transferable skills in your practice.

Personal development and Entrepreneurship
Digital Literacy

3. Evaluate your leadership and decision-making behaviours to inform continuous improvement in professional health and social care practice.

Reflection

4. Collaboratively apply leadership and change management theory to solve complex problems in health and social care practice.

Application and problem-solving
Critical Reasoning and Collaboration

Verti software
Resources for leadership tasks e.g. equipment for team building challenges
Service User and Carer Group

Rosser, E. A. and Wood, C. (2023) Leading and Managing in Contemporary Health and Social Care. Elsevier, London.

This book addresses pertinent topics including: integration and enhancement of health and social care services; interprofessional working; the importance of a strong organizational culture; developing individual resilience; leading innovation; and practicing successful project and financial management within global and culturally sensitive contexts.

Barr, J. and Dowding, L. (2025) Leadership in Health Care. SAGE Publications Ltd, London

An essential introduction to leadership in healthcare. With content on cultural diversity, leadership theories, and the role of AI, the book is written in clear, straightforward language and filled with practical examples, helping to develop the leadership skills you need for practice.

Dalton, J. and Proctor-Stevens, A. (eds.) (2024) Transforming Health and Social Care Leadership: Contemporary Issues and Practice. Routledge, Abingdon.

This book offers a comprehensive examination of modern leadership, focusing on navigating complex, changing environments to improve care quality.

How can you lead change and make a real impact in today’s health and social care services?

This Level 6 module puts you at the centre of leadership and change management in contemporary health and social care. You will critically explore key leadership theories and change models, learning how they apply in complex, multidisciplinary environments. The module focuses on building self-awareness, ethical decision-making, and reflective practice to support your growth as a confident, effective leader.

You will take ownership of your professional development, spotting opportunities for innovation, entrepreneurship, and the development of transferable skills. You will also participate in a simulated job interview, giving you the chance to practise applying leadership skills, communication, and decision-making in a realistic professional scenario. Through collaborative problem-solving and real-world case studies, you will apply leadership and change management theory to tackle complex challenges and drive continuous improvement in health and social care practice.