Florence Nightingale Foundation’s Leadership Scholarships are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn and to grow: develop your nursing or midwifery career whilst improving clinical and health outcomes. They are open to nurses and midwives working at UK Health and Social Care Agenda for Change (or equivalent for independent sector or internationally) band 7 and above.
As a Scholar you will follow an 18-month in-depth personal leadership development plan with experiential learning, alongside a group of passionate and dynamic peers from a wide variety of roles, backgrounds and experiences. You will also have an experienced mentor and access to the FNF team for support.
The FNF Scholarship was a significant turning point in my career. It opened doors (and my mind!). I have worked with wonderful teams across the country, supported the validation of the new specialist practice qualification in adult social care nursing, and have just been appointed as the first Professor of adult social care nursing by the RCN Foundation and Salford University.
Prof Claire Pryor RN PhD, RCN Foundation Chair in Adult Social Care Nursing, University of Salford
The 2026-27 scholarship programme includes:
- Individual coaching including feedback on results of psychometric assessments.
- Experienced mentor allocated, with ongoing support.
- Welcome day.
- Leadership development programme (2 days residential in small groups) delivered by Hart Ridge Consulting Ltd.
- Personal Presence and Impact (3 days residential in small groups) delivered by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA Business).
- A continuous improvement project. (Read some published projects from previous Scholars here.)
- Facilitated Action Learning sets.
- Ongoing networking opportunities.
- Funding for bespoke development opportunities: you choose from a range of our associated partners’ programmes or identify your own.
- Invite to the Florence Nightingale Commemorative Service at Westminster Abbey, London.
- High-profile celebration event to celebrate the success of our FNF Scholars.
- FNF team on hand to support you throughout the process.
Core scholarship partners
Details and Dates (provisional)
PLEASE NOTE: If successful, you will be allocated specific dates for the modules of your scholarship programme. It is crucial that you note these dates and ensure you can attend all modules on the dates you are allocated.
Applications open
Link will be at the bottom of page
'Preparing a Standout Scholarship Application'
Recording available to members and their wider workforce only – via the member portal
Application deadline
By 09.00
Notification of interview
By email
Interview dates
Virtual.
1-2-1 coaching
Virtual
Welcome Day
London
Residential (Global Scholars only)
In London. Including Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service, Hart Ridge Consulting Ltd and Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA Business) courses. Accommodation provided/included
Leading with Influence and Authority – Hart Ridge Consulting Ltd (UK Scholars only)
2-day residential in London. One night accommodation provided/included. Exact dates tbc
Presence and Impact – Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA Business) (UK Scholars only)
3-Day Residential in London. Two nights accommodation provided/included. Exact dates tbc
Your choice – bespoke course or learning
Personal budget provided for this. Guidance will be given.
Check-ins with your Mentor and with Team FNF
Ongoing
Scholar Celebration Conference
London. Date tbc
Florence Nightingale Commemorative Service at Westminster Abbey
London (Global Scholars to attend in 2026 during their residential week)
Useful Information
Eligibility criteria
To participate in the programme you must:Â
Be a registered nurse or midwife with the NMC (or equivalent if outside the UK).
Be working at UK Health and Social Care Agenda for Change (or equivalent for independent sector or internationally) band 7 and above.
Have commitment from your employer – including a £1,500 employer contribution if applying from the UK. (please get in touch if you require a business case to support discussions with your employer around this).
Please note that sponsored places are very limited and applicants will need to demonstrate significant potential for personal and professional leadership growth.
There will be a ‘top tips’ recording available on the Member portal, when applications open, for members and their wider workforce only
Cost
Our Scholarship places for UK-based applicants are sponsored by a number of different organisations and so there is no cost to the individual applicant for the scholarship. However there is a £1,500 employer contribution requirement (please get in touch if you require a business case to support discussions with your employer around this).
Please note that participants will need to pay all travel costs and any additional accommodation costs not outlined in the programme detail.
Unfortunately, we have no open access sponsored Scholarship places this year for applicants outside the UK. International applicants will need to arrange their own funding or sponsor. Please get in touch for more details.
Application form guidance
The application form link is at the bottom of this page.
To complete the form you will need to include the following information:
- Personal, employment and education information.
- Information on your senior sponsor, who will support your application
- Details about the service you work in and your team’s role
- Information about your proposed continuous improvement project:
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- Problem identification: Briefly describe your project idea, highlighting the specific changes you aim to implement and how these will contribute to solving the identified problem.
- Solution and proposed changes: Provide an overview of your idea and the changes you plan to implement to solve the problem.
- Relevant stakeholders: Identify key stakeholders involved in your project, such as porter staff, nursing staff, etc.
- Predicted benefits/outcomes: Describe the anticipated benefits, outcomes, or results of your project. How will you measure the success of your changes in addressing the problem, and what will the improved way of working look like?
- To ensure all applicants are evaluated on a fair and consistent basis, we ask that you refrain from mentioning the name of your employer or organisation in the long-answer sections of this application. This enables FNF to remove potential bias from our review process and focus solely on the strength of your responses when shortlisting candidates.
- Once applications open you will be able to start the application form and come back to it another day before completing/submitting.
Remember, we have a ‘Preparing a Standout Scholarship Application’ recording available exclusively to members. The link can be found on your member portal. Â To check if you work at a member organisation click here.
FAQs
You can visit out leadership programme FAQ page to find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about our programmes
I am profoundly grateful for the transformative impact of the FNF scholarship, which has boosted my confidence and leadership skills. I feel I am embarking on an exciting journey, one defined by choosing courage over comfort and progress over perfection.
Benedict Ssentume, Clinical Practice Educator -Suicide Prevention at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Scholar Sponsors 2026-2027
