Who this course is for

This course is for school leaders who are, or want to be a:

• headteacher or head of school

Overview

This 18-month course will help you gain confidence and develop skills in:

• curriculum and assessment
• behaviour
• professional development
• governance and accountability
• implementing school improvements

This course will:

• take 18 months to complete
• involve an average of 1 to 2 hours of study each week
• be a mix of self-study and group sessions
• have a written assessment
• start in autumn 2024  

Funding 

Funding to cover the course fees for this NPQ is available for teachers and school leaders in state-funded settings in England.

Course content

This course covers themes including:

• school culture
• effective teaching
• supporting curriculum and assessment development
• establishing and sustaining a positive, predictable and safe environment for pupils
• additional and special educational needs
• professional development
• organisational management

You’ll also learn about:

• implementation strategies
• working in partnership with parents and carers
• governance and accountability

Benefits for you and your school

Deliver meaningful change in your school

You’ll be equipped with school-focused leadership knowledge, which you can use to establish the culture and conditions where staff and pupils can thrive.

You’ll be encouraged to apply and translate what you’ve learned to your own school context. Your training provider will give you models and examples that’ll help you translate theory into practical skills you can use in your school’s setting.

Flexible training

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

Access the latest research

Benefit from the latest evidence-based learning and approaches to great teaching and leadership.

Individualised training

You’ll be able to focus on specific areas of leadership where you want to improve your knowledge. This will help you make evidence-informed decisions and action positive change.

Learning backed by evidence

You’ll be introduced to evidence-informed practices. This will enable you to develop strategies to improve teaching and pupil performance at your school.

Who this course is for

This course is for teachers and leaders who are, or want to be senior leaders with cross-school responsibilities.

Overview

This 18-month course will help you gain confidence and develop skills in: 

• leadership knowledge and the specialist expertise needed to tackle school improvement priorities 

• supporting the development of a positive, predictable and safe environment for pupils 

• contributing to your school’s strategic direction and establishing an environment for pupil success 
• helping staff feel supported and valued 

You will train alongside peers with similar responsibilities. The course content focuses on the key challenges teachers and leaders face in their role. 

Teachers and education experts designed this course to fit around busy teaching timetables. There’s no project work and minimal time out of school required. 

This course will: 

• take 18 months to complete 
• involve an average of 1 to 2 hours of study each week 
• be a mix of self-study and group sessions 
• involve a written assessment 
• start in autumn 2024 

Funding 

Funding to cover the course fees for this NPQ is available for teachers and school leaders in many state-funded settings in England. 

Course content 

This course covers themes including: 

• school culture 
• effective teaching 
• supporting curriculum and assessment development 
• behaviour 
• additional and special educational needs 

• professional development 

• organisational management 

You’ll also learn about: 

• the latest evidence-based learning and approaches to teaching and leadership  
• implementation strategies 
• working in partnership with parents and carers 
• governance and accountability

Your training provider will give you models and examples that will help you translate theory into practical skills you can use in your setting. 

You can focus on specific areas of leadership where you want to improve your knowledge.  

Who this course is for

This course is for leaders qualified to at least level 3 with a full and relevant qualification who are, or want to be:

• managers of private, voluntary and independent nurseries
• headteachers or leaders of school-based or maintained nurseries
• childminders with leadership responsibilities
• other early years foundation stage leaders, such as reception class teachers or early years co-ordinators

If you work in a school, discuss with your headteacher or provider which NPQ best meets your needs. The other NPQs are designed with school teachers and leaders in mind.

Overview

This course will help you gain confidence and develop skills in:

• delivering high-quality early education and care
• organisational management and staff development
• giving constructive feedback to parents and carers
• working with children who have additional and special educational needs
• implementing improvements

You’ll train alongside peers with similar responsibilities. The course content focuses on the key challenges teachers face in their role.

Early years professionals helped us design this course to fit around busy schedules.

This course will:

• take 18 months to complete
• involve an average of 1 to 2 hours of study each week
• be a mix of self-study and group sessions
• involve a written assessment
• start in autumn 2024

Funding

Funding to cover the course fees for this NPQ is available for professionals in many schools and early years settings in England.

Eligibility

You need to have a full and relevant qualification to at least level 3. Full and relevant qualifications are defined as qualifications that demonstrate depth and level of learning appropriate to specified outcomes of full early years, childcare or playwork qualifications. The qualification should have valid, reliable assessment and awarding procedures and must include an element of assessed performance.

You also need to be, or be aspiring to be, a:

• manager of private, voluntary and independent nursery
• headteacher or leader of a school-based or maintained nursery
• childminder with leadership responsibilities

Course content

You’ll learn how to:

• establish and sustain your setting’s strategic direction
• develop an evidence-based teaching culture
• plan and deliver care and a high-quality curriculum to support child development
• implement communication, language and literacy approaches to support children’s learning
• effectively manage children’s behaviour and support children’s personal, social and emotional development
• ensure all leaders, practitioners and teachers can identify any additional needs early and ensure appropriate referrals
• prioritise, allocate and manage resources appropriately, effectively and efficiently across all settings to ensure sustainability
• ensure rigorous approaches to identifying, managing and mitigating risk
• plan and execute implementation of what you’ve learned

Benefits for you and your school

Ensuring all children experience success

After completing this course you’ll be able to develop an ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of all your children.

Delivering a high-quality and ambitious curriculum

You’ll learn how to deliver a curriculum to support child development which is rooted in a clear pedagogical vision.

Smoothing the admissions, exclusions and appeals process

The course will boost your understanding of how to comply with relevant laws and statutory guidance. You’ll also learn about creating fair and inclusive policies, processes and systems.

Managing resources effectively

You’ll gain knowledge about budgeting, funding and marketing. You’ll also be able to confidently recruit and develop the right people for your setting.

Knowing what approaches to use

This course will help you hone your decision-making skills. The techniques you learn can be applied to a range of different improvement decisions for your setting.

Who this course is for

This course is for:

• special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs)
• teachers interested in developing expertise in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or undertaking a SENCO role in future
• school leaders

Overview

This 18-month course will enable you to:

• co-ordinate special educational needs (SEN) provision throughout your school
• work alongside other leaders to build a school culture in which pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can:
  • participate meaningfully in the full life of the school
  • achieve ambitious outcomes
  • make successful transitions to their next steps

This course will:

• take between 18 and 22 months to complete (18 months taught and 3 to 4 months assessment window)
• involve an average of 1 to 2 hours of study each week
• be a mix of self-study and group sessions
• have a written assessment

Funding

Funding to cover the course fees for this NPQ will be available for teachers and school leaders in state-funded settings in England.

Mandatory qualification for SENCOs

All mainstream schools (including academies and free schools) must have a SENCO. The SENCO must be a qualified teacher, or the headteacher, working at the school.

The SEND Regulations 2014 have been amended and the NPQ is now the mandatory SENCO qualification. The 3-year window to complete the mandatory qualification after taking up a SENCO post will remain.  

Refer to the mandatory qualification for SENCOs page for further information.

SENCOs meet their statutory requirement on receiving the outcome of their NPQ. Participants should allow up to 4 months on top of the 18 months of study to receive their outcome.

Course content and structure

The course includes 8 topics:

• school culture
• statutory framework
• identification of need
• teaching
• behaviour
• leading and managing provision
• professional development
• implementation

Details of these topics are outlined in the SENCO NPQ framework. Providers use this framework to design their course.

The course includes:

• independent study
• group coaching
• face-to-face sessions with other participants

Who this course is for

This course is for:

• teachers and leaders with responsibility for leading maths across a primary key-stage or school, or those who want to have this responsibility 
• teachers familiar with mastery approaches to teaching primary maths, who want to improve leadership skills in this area 
• school subject leaders already engaged in the primary Teaching for Mastery programme or similar programme

Overview

This one-year course will help you to:

• embed mastery approaches to teaching maths in your school
• lead your school to teach maths effectively, working collaboratively with senior leaders and teachers

This course will:

• take 12 months to complete 
• involve an average of 1 to 2 hours of study each week 
• be a mix of self-study and group sessions 
• have a written assessment 
• start in autumn 2024

Funding

Funding to cover the course fees for this NPQ is available for teachers and school leaders in state-funded settings in England.

Eligibility 

Before applying for this NPQ (National Professional Qualification), you should have a secure understanding of mastery approaches to teaching maths from the Teaching for Mastery programme, or an equivalent programme. 

Course content 

Develop a school culture with a positive attitude to maths 

You’ll learn how pupils learn maths, so you can develop systems which help children: 

• overcome maths anxiety 
• build resilience 
• develop problem-solving strategies 

You’ll learn how to create a culture of high expectations where teachers: 

• challenge and motivate pupils 
• give pupils high quality feedback 

Design and introduce maths curriculums 

You’ll learn how to design maths curriculums and develop the leadership skills to help you introduce them, including how to: 

• identify the maths knowledge that pupils need 
• help pupils make connections between maths facts and concepts 
• identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and make changes accordingly 
• plan curriculum changes so that teachers are supported 

Support maths teachers in your school 

You’ll learn techniques to help you support the teaching of maths, including techniques to help teachers: 

• plan and sequence lessons so that pupils can build their knowledge 
• support inclusion of pupils, for example by ensuring that the starting point is accessible to all 
• manage their workload, for example by sharing approaches to marking work 
• understand and use consistent maths vocabulary 

Who this course is for

This course is for teachers and middle leaders who have, or want to have responsibilities for leading literacy across a school, year group, key stage or phase.

Overview

This one-year course will help you gain confidence and develop skills in:

• running literacy improvement strategies
• supporting colleagues who want to develop their pupils’ reading

This course will:

• take 12 months to complete
• involve an average of 1 to 2 hours of study each week
• be a mix of self-study and group sessions
• have a written assessment
• start in autumn 2024  

Funding 

Funding to cover the course fees for this NPQ is available for teachers and school leaders in many state-funded settings in England.

Course content

This course covers how to support colleagues to develop all pupils’:

• language capability and wider understanding of language
• word reading
• reading comprehension
• writing skills

You’ll also learn how to:

• contribute to effective professional development linked to teaching, curriculum and assessment across the school
• design and implement literacy improvement strategies

Benefits for you and your school

Wider understanding of language

You’ll be able to use techniques from the course to help your school’s development of pupils’ language and vocabulary.

Practical skills to encourage reading

You’ll learn how to build a school-wide culture that promotes reading for pleasure.

Making use of existing resources

The course has been designed to ensure teachers responsible for leading literacy don’t need to create new resources.

Help with teaching phonics effectively

You’ll be able to support colleagues to develop all pupils’ word reading by ensuring the school uses systematic synthetic phonics methods.

Who this course is for

This course is suitable for all teachers and leaders who are, or want to be, involved in developing and implementing behaviour and wellbeing strategies in their school.

This course is also suitable for other specialised roles including:

• behaviour management lead
• special educational needs co-ordinator
• welfare management manager
• pastoral team lead
• key stage and phase leaders
• social, emotional and mental health lead

Overview

This one-year course will help you develop skills and gain the confidence to enact changes in:

• setting a culture of high expectations and learning in your school
• enabling conditions for good behaviour for pupils and ensuring colleagues are supported in their classroom-level approaches
• supporting pupil wellbeing and understanding the impact this has on behaviour

This course will:

• take 12 months to complete
• involve an average of 1 to 2 hours of study each week
• be a mix of self-study and group sessions
• involve a written assessment
• start in autumn 2024 

Funding 

Funding to cover the course fees for this NPQ is available for teachers and school leaders in many state-funded settings in England.

Course content

This course covers themes including:

• creating a culture of high expectations, including the impact this has on school outcomes
• enabling conditions for good behaviour, including through implementing effective behaviour management systems
• dealing with complex behavioural needs, including how to prevent and respond to bullying
• developing effective professional development linked to behaviour and culture
• implementing evidence-based improvement plans

Benefits for you and your school

Gain expertise and drive meaningful change

You’ll develop knowledge and skills in leading behaviour and culture. You’ll then be able to apply these in practice across your school.

This will help to engage and motivate staff and pupils. It will also help reduce disruption in classrooms.

Create a positive school culture

You’ll learn to develop school-wide systems and processes which support the creation of an effective learning environment for all pupils. This will enable you to get the best out of pupils and colleagues in your school.

Support complex behavioural needs

You’ll understand how to adapt approaches to pupil’s individual needs, while maintaining high expectations for all pupils.

Improve pupil outcomes

You’ll be able to shape a positive and encouraging atmosphere where pupils are more likely to thrive.

Who this course is for

This course is for teachers and middle leaders who have, or want to have, responsibilities for leading teaching in a:

• subject
• year group
• key stage
• phase

Overview

This one-year course will help you gain confidence and develop skills in:

• creating a culture of high expectations
• supporting colleagues with all aspects of their teaching
• contributing to effective professional development linked to teaching, curriculum and assessment

This course will:

• take 12 months to complete
• involve an average of 1 to 2 hours of study each week
• be a mix of self-study and group sessions
• involve a written assessment
• start in autumn 2024  

Funding 

Funding to cover the course fees for this NPQ is available for teachers and school leaders in many state-funded settings in England.

Course content

Effective teaching

You’ll gain:

• an understanding of the core principles behind the science of learning
• techniques to plan lessons that stimulate your pupils’ thinking
• practical tools and guidance to sequence your curriculum and plan for assessment
• an understanding of how to align your professional development with wider school improvement priorities

Leadership

You’ll build the expertise to:

• identify and implement good teaching practice
• support colleagues in designing a broad and coherent curriculum
• effectively manage a team of teachers
• create a culture of professional learning and continuous improvement in your school
• contribute to the design of effective school assessment systems

Supporting colleagues

You’ll develop the skills to help colleagues:

• plan effective lessons
• meet individual pupil needs
• provide opportunities for all pupils to succeed
• adapt their teaching to different needs

Who this course is for

This course is for staff who have, or want to have, responsibility for:

• leading the development of other teachers in their school
• mentoring trainees or early career teachers

Overview

This one-year course will help you gain confidence and develop skills in:

• implementing evidence-based professional development programmes focused on improving classroom teaching
• promoting a strong professional development culture across their school

This course will:

• take 12 months to complete
• involve an average of 1 to 2 hours of study each week
• be a mix of self-study and group sessions
• involve a written assessment
• start in autumn 2024

Funding 

Funding to cover the course fees for this NPQ is available for teachers and school leaders in many state-funded settings in England. 

Course content 

This course covers: 

• designing and delivering effective professional development 
• how to make informed evidence-based professional development decisions 
• techniques for tailoring and adapting support based on individual development needs 

Benefits for you and your school 

Increased professional development culture 

Build expertise around creating a culture of professional learning and continuous improvement in your school. Staff feel supported if their school invests in their development. This can then filter down to the classroom, resulting in happier, more motivated pupils. 

Improved pupil outcomes 

You’ll learn how to ensure professional development in your school is focused on a shared responsibility for improving outcomes for all pupils. 

More effective support for colleagues 

Develop the skills to help colleagues plan effective lessons, meet individual pupil needs and provide opportunities for all pupils to succeed without creating unnecessary workload.