Am I eligible to apply for an NPQ? 

To apply for an NPQ, applicants must have:

• full support from their school/organisation, as confirmed via a written agreement.
• Teacher Reference Number (TRN)
• relevant experience, as detailed under the 'Our Programmes' section of the website. 

Register your interest for an NPQ

Your next opportunity to do an NPQ with us will be in 2025/26.

Please register your interest with us and we’ll be in touch once further details are made available by the DfE. 

Register your interest

Need more information?

Frequently asked questions

Looking for a different NPQ programme?

Gain a prestigious qualification to take your career to the next level

Get the tools you need to establish and sustain your trust’s strategic direction and culture.

Develop specialist expertise in running a multi-school organisation

Learn how to develop processes and systems that enable and encourage collaboration between staff within and across your schools. You’ll gain practical skills in effectively managing resources and establishing sustainable policies.

Access training rated outstanding by Ofsted

Equip yourself with the knowledge and expertise to make a real difference to your schools.

Connect with and learn from other executive leaders in the field

Build and expand your network across the country. Gain valuable fresh perspectives from other leaders in similar roles.

Free one-to-one support and coaching

If you work in a school serving disadvantaged communities, you can apply for our free one-to-one support which runs alongside the NPQ in Executive Leadership (NPQEL).

You’ll be supported by an experienced former school leader who will coach and guide you throughout the programme.

Your delivery partner will confirm how you can be nominated for this support offer.

Join a passionate network striving for educational equality

Share experiences with other school leaders, learn how they’ve faced similar challenges and build a professional network that will support you throughout your career.

Register your interest for an NPQ

Your next opportunity to do an NPQ with us will be in 2025/26.

Please register your interest with us and we’ll be in touch once further details are made available by the DfE. 

Register your interest

Need more information?

Frequently asked questions

If you can’t find the information you need, please contact us.

Looking for a different leadership programme?

Is the NPQEL programme for me?

This is for school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, an executive headteacher, or have a school trust Chief Executive Officer (CEO) role with responsibility for leading several schools. 

How does the NPQEL work?

This programme consists of a series of courses based on the DfE’s NPQ frameworks.

It’s delivered over 18 months, and you’ll then complete a summative assessment within a fixed eight-day window. This will be marked and moderated and your result confirmed within three months.

Each course cycle features:

• evidence-based online content to refresh and build knowledge, as well as exemplify what this looks like for your role and level of leadership
• a formative assessment task to support your learning
• a face-to-face seminar with a group of peers, facilitated by a serving school leader – you’ll analyse and reflect on the task and hear further examples of good practice
• the opportunity to record reflections and consolidate learning

This cycle repeats throughout the programme, with implementation a consideration in every course. Towards the end of the programme, you’ll also take a course focused specifically on effective implementation. This provides an opportunity to complete a significant but manageable change project as part of your role. There will be ongoing support through a seminar group and discussion forum.

What will I learn?

You’ll develop expertise in the knowledge, skills and concepts for areas of trust-level responsibility related to your role. These include trust culture, working in partnership and organisational management. Our content is informed by the best and most recent evidence and developed with input from school leaders and subject matter experts.

Our programmes have a practical focus. You’ll be supported to make small but important changes to your and others’ practice throughout the programme. This will conclude with the implementation module and practical implementation cycle of the programme. 

Find out more about the DfE’s NPQEL content framework:

Download framework

What are the training commitments?

The programme is designed to fit around your other school commitments. Over the course of the whole programme (spread over five terms), you’ll undertake 80 hours of learning. This includes a combination of seminars, learning modules, conferences and a practical learning cycle.

How will I be assessed?

At the end of the programme, you will complete your summative NPQ assessment during a fixed 8-day window. Your assessment submission is a written response to a case study related to the content covered in your NPQ, and is an opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the NPQ Framework. Detailed dates will be shared with you before the start of the programme.

In order to be eligible to complete the assessment, you will need to have engaged with at least 90% of the course content. Diagnostic tasks contribute 30%, reflective tasks 20%, and attendance at events 50% to this total.

The assessment process for all NPQs has been refreshed to reduce the workload burden on teachers while still providing an opportunity to apply their knowledge. To pass the programme, you’ll need to evidence at least 90% of the course and pass one summative assessment.

At the start of your training, we’ll also provide you with the dates of the summative assessment so you can plan for this with your school. The summative assessment will take the form of a case study. It will represent a likely situation that a leader might encounter at the relevant NPQ qualification level. The summative assessment is designed to give you an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the relevant NPQ framework and how this can be applied to school improvement.

You will have an eight-day window to provide a written response of a maximum of 1500 words for the case study. It is an ‘open book’ approach so you can refer back to your course materials when completing your response.

Register your interest for an NPQ

Your next opportunity to do an NPQ with us will be in 2025/26.

Please register your interest with us and we’ll be in touch once further details are made available by the DfE. 

Register your interest

Need more information?

Frequently asked questions

If you can’t find the information you need, please contact us.

Looking for a different leadership programme?

Am I eligible to apply for an NPQ? 

To apply for an NPQ, applicants must have:

• full support from their school/organisation, as confirmed via a written agreement.
• Teacher Reference Number (TRN)
• relevant experience, as detailed under the 'Our Programmes' section of the website. 

Register your interest for an NPQ

Your next opportunity to do an NPQ with us will be in 2025/26.

Please register your interest with us and we’ll be in touch once further details are made available by the DfE. 

Register your interest

Need more information?

Frequently asked questions

Looking for a different NPQ programme?