The Centre has developed a range of capacity-building programs aimed at enhancing school leadership. These programmes are of different durations, either short-term or long-term, conducted through face-to-face and/or online modalities. The major programmes conducted through face-to-face include 16-day leadership development of school heads, One-Month Certificate Course, one-year Post Graduate Diploma in School Leadership and Management, and three months Online Programme on School Leadership Management for school heads. The Online Programme on School Leadership and Management (Basic level) has over 1 lakh registrations of school heads.

The Centre has actively contributed to large-scale capacity development programmes of DoSE&L, Ministry of Education, with leadership courses in both National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Development (NISHTHA), NIPUN Bharat and PMSHRI. Moreover, NCSL has regularly provided academic support to School Leadership Development for Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. Additionally, the Centre is developing capacity-development programs on new themes of NEP 2020 such as pedagogical leadership, skills-based and vocational education, equity, diversity, gender inclusivity, and foundational learning, all aimed at improving leadership in government schools and enhancing student learning outcomes.