Retiring and Thriving: Planning for retirement programme

Retirement is a huge life transition for us all. This series aims to create a peer network and a safe space to discuss fears, challenges and dreams for the next stage of our lives. We’ll discuss what retirement means to us and our families. We’ll discuss how you plan to leave and how you might let go. We’ll discuss our priorities, skills and values and how we might maximise our health and well-being.

Main aims:

To ease the transition to retirement, to allow a space to share emotions and concerns with a peer network who have also led schools and taken on significant responsibility during their working lives.
To maximise joy and thriving in early retirement.

Speaker

Patsy Kane OBE

Retired executive headteacher

Alan Brady

Retired headteacher

Learning Outcomes

Participants will have:

a clearer sense of how they will plan their departure from school leadership
a clearer plan about how they may focus their time and energy going forward
a supportive peer network

Programme

Session 1
Face to Face, 12 Feb 2026 10am-3pm at ASCL HQ
In this session, we will reflect on what retirement means to you and our families. You’ll have space to share your expectations and current plans. What are the challenges and opportunities for you and your family? We’ll consider how you might leave and let go and reflect on your legacy.

Session 2
19 March, 10-11am online
In this session, we will take stock of your skills, values, purpose, and aspirations. We’ll consider how letting go of responsibility and doing more of what brings you joy might change your life and the way you choose to spend your time.

Session 3
23 April, 10-11am online
In this session, we will share how we are managing our priorities and sustaining ourselves in key areas of our health: physically, emotionally and socially. What may be beneficial? How do we balance freedom from a schedule versus what may be healthy routines?

Session 4
21 May, 10-11am online
This will be a chance to connect in person to share the experiences of early retirement so far. Any new priorities? How are you managing expected vs unexpected feelings?

There will also be the chance to create ongoing and supportive personal networks to sustain the next stages of retirement.