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NEW National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Senior Leadership

For school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, a senior leader with cross-school responsibilities.

We’re pleased to be continuing to partner with education charity Ambition Institute, Beckfoot Trust and Dixons Academies Trust to deliver the new NPQ for Senior Leadership. This 18-month programme helps participants to develop their leadership knowledge and expertise to improve outcomes for teachers and pupils in their schools.

What are National Professional Qualifications (NPQs)?

National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) are the most widely recognised qualifications in the education sector for current and aspiring leaders. NPQs are open to all teachers and leaders in schools in England and Wales.

What our teachers will learn:

  • How to enact positive change across their school
  • Evidence-based knowledge taught by leadership experts
  • At a time and pace that suits their existing timetable.

Benefits to our schools:

  • Learning backed by the latest evidence
  • Create a leadership pipeline
  • Attract and retain teaching staff.

Why were the NPQs reformed?

The reformed National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) offer teachers and leaders clearer development opportunities and career progression. These qualifications will build on key areas of the Early Career Framework (ECF), allowing for further specialisation and development of expertise and help prepare teachers and leaders for the next step in their careers.

The reformed qualifications aim to:

  • Help teachers hone and develop the skills they already have, helping them to become more effective leaders inside and outside the classroom and improving overall teaching quality.
  • Retain high-calibre teachers by offering clearer development opportunities and career progression.

Why this programme?

Accredited NPQ Provider

Ambition Institute has designed this ground-breaking new NPQ to help you develop a culture of high expectations and good behaviour in your school. The programme uses the latest evidence-based learning and shows you how to put it into practice. You will learn alongside other teachers from schools with similar challenges and circumstances.

The new and reformed NPQs have been developed as a complete series, sharing a common language. This means you can have the confidence that all the educators in your school are building and developing their knowledge from the same evidence-based frameworks.

We know that teachers’ schools’ and trusts’ needs vary. So its programmes are designed with flexibility in mind and can be completed at a time that suits you best and fits in with your existing role. Through Steplab, the innovative personal development platform built for teachers, by teachers, you will have access to your modules and practice activities to help you get better faster.

Train to your timetable

This programme is designed to be flexible to fit your busy working role. Training is delivered in bite-sized chunks, which is useful for knowledge retention, and you can learn at a time and pace that suits you.

Build your confidence

Get the support you need to take the next step in your career.

Access the latest research

Benefit from the latest evidence-based learning and approaches to great teaching and leadership. See how it can improve schools and change lives.

Enact positive change

Ambition Institute’s programmes are designed to support you to apply and translate what you’ve learned to your own school context. It does this by providing models and examples that seek to make the link between theory and practice concrete.

Benefit from peer-to-peer support

Learn from a network of like-minded peers and have the opportunity to share insight with colleagues in your own school setting.

Create a common knowledge base

NPQ qualifications are aligned, so you can have confidence that all educators will share a common language and framework to develop your school or trust.

Support your leaders

Senior leaders will be given the tools to drill down into specific areas of leadership to improve their knowledge, make evidence-informed decisions and action positive change.

Learning backed by evidence

Participants will be introduced to evidence-informed practices straightaway. This will help them develop strategies to improve teaching and pupil performance at your school.

Make a leadership pipeline

The programme will help to identify future leaders and create a positive culture where teachers can develop and thrive.

Boost attainment

Studies show that high-quality continuous professional development can improve pupil outcomes almost as effectively as having a teacher with 10 years’ experience in the classroom.

What you’ll learn

This programme develops your leadership skills and knowledge and covers the content listed in the Department for Education’s NPQ Senior Leadership Framework.

You will learn how to:

  • Set clear goals and communicate shared values that improve the culture in your classrooms and school
  • Establish a safe and positive environment for pupils
  • Support colleagues to meet individual needs and make sure all pupils have access to a rich curriculum
  • Lead school-wide professional development for staff
  • Make and act on evidence-informed decisions
  • Work well with parents, carers, other schools and the wider community
  • Lead by example, be accountable for decisions and make sure colleagues know their responsibilities.

How you’ll learn

The content is delivered through blended learning. This includes a mix of Covid-safe face-to-face conferences, real-time, interactive online sessions and self-guided modules you can complete in your own time. You will put what you learn into practice in your school and can track your progress and get feedback as you go.

Note: programme content is subject to change.

Assessment

The assessment window starts at the end of the 18-month programme and runs for three months. During this time, participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.

There are two assessment windows every year, and participants can sit the assessment two times, if they need to.

You need to complete the course to qualify for the NPQ accreditation.

Ambition Institute will offer a webinar and live clinic in advance of the assessment window to support participants.