DRET Teaching School Hub

NPQ for Leading Teaching

NPQ for Leading Teaching

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National Professional Qualification in Leading Teaching

DRET Teaching School Hub work in partnership with the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) as an Associate College to deliver NPQ Programmes. The NIoT are rooted in schools; they know the unpredictability of school life – the day-to-day challenges that teachers face. Their time-efficient NPQs have been drawn up specifically to meet the needs of time-poor, commitment-heavy teachers and leaders. Teachers know best what teachers need – our programme will give you only the information essential to providing the best education possible for your pupils.

Our NPQLT is designed for ambitious teachers who lead or aspire to lead teaching in a subject, year group, key stage or phase.

Developed by teachers for teachers, the programme will harness leading research, putting it to immediate, practical use. Because our programme has been designed by teachers, there will be no time wasted: it will provide only the information essential to helping you do your job efficiently, effectively and in a way that inspires pupils to success.

It is impossible to underestimate the role that teacher leaders – heads of subject, year group, key stage or phase – play in schools. Not only are you actively shaping the curriculum that pupils study, but you are the person who will support pupils in need, whether they’re struggling academically, socially or with their home lives.

Our NPQLT will provide access to leading research, developed by people who know what teachers need. This will give you the knowledge necessary to become a truly outstanding teacher-leader, and to use this knowledge to inspire others to do the same.

But at the heart of it all will be your pupils. Everything you learn will help ensure that your pupils flourish and are able to live the fullest and most successful lives they possibly can.

Benefits

  • Essential knowledge: There is no fluff – every minute spent working towards an NPQLT will enable you to make a greater impact in your job.
  • Research-informed practice: You’ll have access to the latest and best evidence of what works in education, and will be able to apply this to sequencing your curriculum and planning for assessment in your own subject and context.
  • Learn to lead: You’ll build the expertise necessary to manage a team of teachers and to determine the culture of the team.
  • Personalised learning: You’ll develop the skills to meet individual pupils’ needs – and support colleagues to do the same – so that all pupils will have an opportunity to thrive.
  • Community of educators: You’ll be part of a diverse community of educators, all learning from one another during the course – and potentially afterwards, too.
  • Fulfilment: The better and more knowledgeable you are at your job, the more enjoyable and exciting you will find it – and that enthusiasm will be passed on to your pupils

Curriculum

What you’ll learn:

  • What good teaching practice involves and how to implement it
  • How to support colleagues in designing a broad and coherent curriculum
  • How to plan effective lessons and to stimulate pupils’ thinking
  • How to help colleagues to adapt their teaching to different levels and needs
  • How to contribute to the design of school assessment systems
  • How to align your professional development with wider school-improvement priorities

How you'll learn:

The programme is made up of five modules, studied over 12 months. Each module usually contains a combination of self-study units, locally delivered in-person sessions, online masterclasses delivered by specialists, practice clinics and virtual visits to a school.

 Time commitment:

There are two or three scheduled events every half term, some online and some in-person and around six to eight hours of self study.

Assessment

In order to receive NPQLT accreditation, participants will need to complete the programme and achieve a pass mark in a written, ‘open book’ style, structured assessment of up to 1,500 words.

Assessment support clinics will be provided to participants before they embark on gaining their accreditation.

The assessment itself takes place over an eight-day window. There are two assessment windows per year and participants have two opportunities to take part.  

Funding

You may be able to get your NPQ course fees paid for by the Department for Education (DfE). This is called scholarship funding.  You do not need to apply for it.

When you register for an NPQ, DfE will tell you if you are eligible for funding. 

From spring 2025, scholarship funding to cover the full NPQ course cost will be available to teachers and leaders from:

  • schools: the top 50% of state funded schools in England that have the highest proportion of students attracting pupil premium, as set out in the eligibility lists
  • 16-19 settings: the top 50% of state funded settings in England that have the highest proportion of students eligible for disadvantage funding 

For the early years leadership NPQ, highly disadvantaged early years settings will also be eligible.    

You will only be eligible for scholarship funding for the spring 2025 cohort if your setting is on one of the eligible disadvantaged settings lists and you are taking one of the following NPQs:

  • leading teacher development
  • leading teaching
  • leading behaviour and culture
  • leading literacy
  • senior leadership
  • executive leadership
  • early years leadership

Eligibility lists for the spring cohort will be made available in early 2025.

Apply

To apply, you must be a teacher who has, or is aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading teaching in a subject, year group, key stage or phase.

Applications to for the April 2025 programme are now open, please click the button below.

 Apply here