International Study Visit - The Netherlands

This study will take place from 4th - 9th October 2026.

Inspiring Leaders is pleased to invite senior education leaders to participate in our next international study visit, developed as part of our growing International Study Centre programme.

This visit has been shaped directly in response to feedback from our partner trusts and system leaders, who identified a shared need to better understand how education systems are addressing some of the most pressing challenges currently facing schools - particularly around mental health, wellbeing, inclusion, and long-term system sustainability.

This programme provides a professionally facilitated international learning experience, enabling leaders to engage deeply with another education system and reflect on implications for their own strategic leadership.

The visit is built around a central inquiry question:

How do high-performing education systems embed early, preventative and sustained approaches to mental health and wellbeing — supporting pupils, staff and communities before crisis occurs?

Through this lens, participants will explore:

• System-level strategies supporting pupil and staff wellbeing

• Preventative approaches versus reactive interventions

• Leadership practices that sustain workforce wellbeing

• Inclusion, belonging and early support structures

• Relationships between curriculum, culture and wellbeing

• Collaboration between education, health and wider services

The intention is not to identify practices to replicate, but to understand the underlying principles, structures and leadership decisions that shape successful systems.

Why the Netherlands?

The Netherlands has been selected as the location for this study visit because it combines strong educational outcomes with innovative approaches to wellbeing and inclusion, alongside a culture of professional autonomy supported by coherent national frameworks. The country also benefits from well-developed school–university and research partnerships and has gained international recognition for thoughtful system design and educational innovation. In addition, existing partnerships between Inspiring Leaders and colleagues in Rotterdam create opportunities for meaningful, long-term reciprocal collaboration. This visit will help establish a sustained professional relationship between our systems, with Dutch colleagues expected to visit the East Midlands in future years.

Partnerships and Planned Engagement

This study visit is being developed in collaboration with a range of Dutch education partners and organisations, helping to ensure access to both school-level practice and system-level thinking. A few of the organisations we will be collaborating with are RVKO (Rotterdam Catholic School Board), Thomas More Hogeschool, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS), The Inspectorate of Education and The Ministry of Education, The Trimbos Institute.

What Participants Will Gain

Participants can expect to develop strategic insight, strengthen their leadership capabilities, deepen their reflective practice, and gain practical approaches that can be applied in their own contexts. The experience will also support the development of valuable professional networks, enabling ongoing collaboration and shared learning beyond the visit.

Key Information

Location: Rotterdam and surrounding areas, Netherlands

Dates: Week commencing 4th October 2026

Expected Cost and Payment Terms: £1,700 per person (This will finalised in the summer term). Invoices will be issued to participating Schools or Multi-Academy Trusts by 30 June 2026. Payment must be settled in full within 30 days of the invoice date in order to confirm participation in the study visit. Early payment is required because Inspiring Leaders must secure international travel, accommodation and programme arrangements in advance with third-party providers. Confirmation of bookings allows us to finalise these arrangements and ensure the visit can proceed as planned.

This study visit represents an opportunity to step outside the immediate pressures of leadership and engage with international perspectives that challenge, inspire and strengthen system thinking - enabling leaders to return with renewed insight and strategic clarity.

• Please read our full study tour brochure attached below.