Frequently Asked Questions

Leaders and senior management from businesses that have been operating for over a year with between 5 – 249 employees are eligible. Only one person per business can join the course. If someone from your business attended the Small Business Leadership Programme (SBLP), then your business won’t be eligible for the Help to Grow: Management Course.

At least 5 of your staff must be permanent members of staff and on your payroll. They can be full-time or part-time, but freelancers or other contractors not on your PAYE are not considered employees for eligibility purposes.

Places are limited to one participant per company. This will allow as many businesses as possible to benefit from the Help to Grow: Management Course.

Social enterprises can register as long as they meet the standard eligibility criteria for the programme, but charities are ineligible for the programme.

The Help to Grow: Management Course is designed specifically to support business growth and aims to target businesses who will benefit in a way that impacts growth potential and productivity across the economy.

However, Government recognises the importance of the charitable sector in the UK, and wants to ensure that the sector can continue its vital work supporting the country, especially during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. For this reason, it has pledged £750 million to Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprises, including £200 million for the Coronavirus Community Support Fund delivered by DCMS and the Office for Civil Society.

We will aim to get in touch with you as soon as possible after registration, but please allow up to 5 days for us to check your eligibility. If you have any queries, please contact the Small Business Charter team on enquiries@smallbusinesscharter.org or 0207 634 9580.

If you need to change your course dates for any reason, please speak to your business school as soon as possible. Due to the limited number of places available within each cohort, we ask that you check your course dates thoroughly when booking.

Each course has an onboarding date and a module 1 start date. The course’s teaching starts on the module 1 start date. The onboarding session will introduce you to the facilitators and the virtual learning environment. Please register before the onboarding date.

The course is 50 hours in total over 12 weeks or approximately 4 hours each week. There may be a short break in the delivery to allow for holidays such as Christmas, Easter or Summer.

The course is delivered through a mix of online and face-to-face learning. There are a total of 12 modules. The four case study sessions, in modules 3, 6, 9 and 12, will be taught in person. Each session lasts 4 hours so please choose a course delivered at a location convenient to you.

8 of the 12 sessions are 2-hour online webinars, and there are also short weekly facilitated peer group calls with other participants (approx. 30 mins – 1 hour).

You will also receive 10 hours of mentoring from a dedicated business mentor. This time is flexible, and you and your mentor can agree when and how you take this.

When you enrol, you are committing to attend at least 39 hours of the course. We would advise that you attend all sessions to benefit from the full experience of the course, but we understand that work can be busy or circumstances may change week to week. If you cannot attend a session, please speak to your business school as soon as possible and depending on circumstances for not attending they will advise next steps.

The programme is open to senior leaders of businesses with between 5-249 employees, so you will complete your course alongside a mix of participants; business owners, CEOs and other senior business leaders such as those responsible for operations, finance, marketing, and HR, bringing a diversity of experience from a wide range of sectors.

All course materials are held in the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) for the course to which you will have access to as a participant. You will be given login details to the platform before and during your onboarding session ahead of module 1 commencing.

Joining the alumni programme ensures you continue to have access to the VLE after your course finishes.

The course facilitator will be a small business and enterprise expert from the business school you have chosen. All of the participating business schools have been accredited by the Small Business Charter for their expertise and experience in supporting small businesses.

The curriculum has been created alongside business leaders and industry experts with expertise in growing businesses. It is designed to help you to create a unique Growth Action Plan to begin implementing immediately. Over the course, your plan will be personally tailored to the challenges you face, including an organised set of actions and a plan on a page to share with your employees.

You will receive a certificate of completion at the end of your course. You will need to have completed a minimum of 75% of the course to receive a certificate.

The Help to Grow: Management Course mentoring is designed to support you with the development of your Growth Action Plan.

Mentors provide one-to-one support, share knowledge, experience, useful contacts and good practice. Mentors are there to be your critical friend, not make judgement. You will be able to share your thoughts and discuss your business problems. Mentors will treat anything you share with them as confidential.

Mentors are matched to the participants by the business school based on the needs of the participants provided at the start of the programme and the mentors’ expertise, availability, and location.

Your mentor will have a minimum of five years of recent experience leading a small or medium-sized business at a senior level, or equivalent experience working with business leaders on growth, productivity and innovation.

You will receive 10 hours of mentoring from a dedicated business mentor. This time is flexible and you and your mentor can agree when and how you take this.

If you have any other questions about mentoring, please contact the Small Business Charter team via mentoring@smallbusinesscharter.org, or alternatively if your question relates to mentors provided by a specific business school, please get in touch with the business school direct.

After the 12-week Help to Grow: Management Course, you will be able to join our alumni programme. This programme will offer the opportunity to attend exclusive events, continue to network with your peers, experts and prominent business leaders, access new, exclusive learning material and continue to develop your growth action plan.

Yes, joining the alumni programme once you have finished your course ensures that you continue to have access to the VLE.