Gain a prestigious professional qualification

We’re one of a select group of providers accredited by the DfE to deliver the improved NPQ for Leading Teacher Development. Be part of the first generation of school leaders to gain the qualification.

Increase your expertise in leading successful teacher development

Benefit from our programme’s blended approach, learn about the core research on how to design and deliver effective professional learning, with practical examples of how to put these approaches into action.

Get practical skills to take you to the next level as a leader

Build expertise in developing others, including practical skills in how to sequence, plan and develop a high-quality CPD offer (Continuing Professional Development) for all staff. In addition, for anyone mentoring trainee teachers – whether in a school or other setting – we offer optional deep dive content to equip you to lead teacher training.

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 Teacher Development (NPQLTD). 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.

Is the NPQLTD programme for me?

This programme is for teachers and leaders interested in developing others, including those who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading the development of other teachers in their school. You may have responsibilities for the development of all teachers across a school, or specifically trainees or teachers who are early in their career.

The NPQLTD is also aimed at current and future initial teacher training (ITT) lead mentors based in other settings such as universities. As the largest ITT provider in the country, we’ve developed additional ITT-specific content and learning opportunities to equip you with everything you need to successfully lead initial teacher training.

How does the NPQLTD 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.

What will I learn?

You’ll develop expertise in the knowledge, skills and concepts for specialist areas related to your role. These include planning, sequencing and delivering a high quality CPD programme. 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. 

To find out more about the DfE’s NPQLTD content framework, you can download it below.

 

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, learning modules, conferences and a practical implementation cycle.

We also offer optional deep dive content to support individuals who are or have ambitions to mentor trainee . This additional learning is designed to equip lead mentors with key initial teacher training knowledge.

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 both online and in-person. 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.

A limited number of DfE scholarship funded places will be available to teachers and leaders from:  

• the 50% of schools with the highest proportion of students who attract pupil premium funding  
• the 16 to 19 educational settings identified as having high disadvantage  

Non-funded places: £899