NPQ in Leading Teaching
Build your expertise for leading teaching in your specialist area.
- Develop as a specialist in your role.
- Gain the skills for successful leadership.
- Learn to effectively support colleagues.
- Free one-to-one support and coaching.
- Join a passionate network striving for educational equality.
Create a culture of continuous improvement in your school.
Benefits
Develop as a specialist in your role
Gain an understanding of the core principles behind the science of learning, get practical tools and guidance to sequence your curriculum and plan for assessment in your specific subject and context.
Gain the skills for successful leadership
Build the expertise to effectively manage a team of teachers and create a culture of professional learning and continuous improvement in your school.
Learn to effectively support 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.
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 Leading Teaching (NPQLT). This free support comes in the form of an experienced former school leader who will coach and guide you throughout the programme. You can apply for this additional support in your application.
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.
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Programme
Is the NPQLT programme for me?
This programme is for those who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading teaching in a subject, year group, key stage or phase. For example a head of subject, key stage head or head of department.
How does the NPQLT work?
This 15-month programme (12 months' delivery and up to three months for assessment) consists of a series of courses based on the DfE’s NPQ frameworks. 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 or Teach First Development Lead – 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 specialist areas related to your role. These include subject and curriculum, classroom practice and adaptive teaching. Our content is informed by the best and most recent evidence and developed with input from serving 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 NPQLT content framework:
What are the training commitments?
The programme is designed to fit around your teaching and other school commitments. Over the course of the whole programme (spread over three terms), you’ll undertake approximately 55 hours of learning. This includes a combination of seminars, online learning modules, conferences and a practical implementation cycle.
How will I be assessed?
Assessment takes place within three months of you completing your NPQLT. Detailed dates will be shared with you before the start of the programme.
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 engage with at least 90% of the course and pass one summative assessment.
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Cost
Cost: £840
DfE funding
We’ll have more information on potential DfE scholarship funding for the NPQs in late May.
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Apply
Is my school eligible?
While NPQs are open to all teachers and leaders in schools in England, we prioritise working with schools that teach a high number of pupils from low-income backgrounds.
Our criteria are agreed with the Department for Education (DfE) and used to identify schools that will benefit most from working with us. We use the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) and Pupil Premium (PP) information for each school to guide us.
We work with schools that are ranked in the top 70% most deprived areas (based on IDACI) and where the proportion of pupils eligible for pupil premium is in the top 50% of all state-funded schools.
If your school is affiliated to one of our NPQ delivery partners, your school is automatically eligible to take part. Contact the relevant delivery partner for further information.
If you’re not sure whether your school is eligible, or if you think your school would benefit from our support but doesn’t match the standard eligibility criteria above, please email us at TFSLP@teachfirst.org.uk.
What are the programme start dates?
Thank you for your interest in our NPQ programmes. We’re excited to be a lead provider alongside our delivery partners of the refreshed suite of NPQ programmes.
Applications will open in early June for our programmes starting in October 2022. As a first step:
- If you are an individual, please register your interest by completing this short form.
- If you are a school, please complete this form.
Once applications open in early June, we will be in touch with you to complete our application form.
If your school is part of one of our delivery partners, please find out more and register your interest directly with the relevant delivery partner.
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