About us

The Key is an information and support service for leaders of maintained schools in England. We provide practical, expertly researched and time-saving answers to questions about leadership and management in schools.

Members of The Key can access a growing online database of more than 1,800 articles. If you can’t find the answer to your question, you can ask The Key’s team of expert researchers to create an article for you within 3 working days.

With new articles being added daily to our online knowledge base, The Key shares knowledge and best practice among school leaders, so you don’t have to keep reinventing the wheel.

From pilot to nationwide subscription service

The pilot service for The Key was developed between 2005 and 2008 by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) and National College for School Leadership (NCSL).

In 2009, The Key became an independent service, available on a subscription basis.