NPQLT

Ambition Institute has designed this ground-breaking NPQ to help you develop the knowledge and understanding of what excellent classroom teaching looks like.

Ambition’s 'little and often' approach uses the latest evidence to help you put your learning into practice in your school setting. You will train alongside other teachers with similar responsibilities, with content focusing on the key challenges you face in your role.

With no project work and minimal time out of school, the new NPQs are designed to fit around your busy timetable.

Benefits for you

Excel as a teacher

Delve into the nuts and bolts of what makes an effective teacher, what good teaching looks like, and how you can lead others and they can learn from you.

Build on existing experience

This programme helps you to unpack and apply learning in teaching, curriculum and assessment – and to support others to develop in these areas. That’s whether you are a classroom teacher keen to develop your knowledge or a head of department wanting to maximise your impact.

Invest in your future

Ongoing professional development helps you to grow and thrive as a teacher. You will follow an evidence-based framework and gain a professional accreditation at the end of the programme.

Train to your timetable

This programme is designed to fit around your teaching role and much of the work can be completed in bite-size chunks around your existing work timetable.

Connect with your peers

You will train alongside other teachers from similar school contexts. You can share your experiences and build a strong support network.

Benefits for your school

Create a ‘golden thread’

The new NPQs are all aligned. So, no matter what career stage your teachers are at, by joining this programme, they will benefit from an evidence-based framework. They will also share a common language with other NPQ participants that they can pass on to colleagues.

Access the latest learning

Teachers will bring evidence-based teaching and learning into classrooms, meaning high quality teaching and improved pupil outcomes.

Identify future leaders

Competent and confident teachers who excel in their roles will be more likely to apply for middle or senior positions in your school when they arise.

Retain your teaching talent

By allowing teachers to develop and nurture their talents in specialist areas you are investing in their future. This will boost their confidence, making them feel supported and less likely to apply for jobs elsewhere.

Tap into a network

Your teachers will train alongside peers from other schools with similar contexts, supported by facilitators that fully understands your needs.

What you'll learn

This programme follows the Department for Education’s National Professional Qualification (NPQ): Leading Teaching Framework.

On this programme, you will learn how to:

• explain important ideas about the science of learning
• understand what good teaching practice is and how to implement it
• support colleagues to design a broad and coherent curriculum
• plan effective lessons and stimulate your pupils’ thinking
• help colleagues adapt their teaching to different needs
• contribute to the design of school assessment systems
• align your professional development with wider school improvement priorities.

Note: programme content is subject to change.

How you'll learn

The content is delivered through blended learning. This includes a mix of real-time interactive sessions, face-to-face training, peer-led sessions and self-guided modules you complete in your own time.

Note: programme content is subject to change.

The assessment window starts at the end of the 12-month programme and runs for three months. During this time, participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.

There are two assessment windows every year, and participants can sit the assessment two times, if they need to.

You need to complete the course to qualify for the NPQ accreditation.

Ambition Institute will offer a webinar and live clinic in advance of the assessment window to support participants.

Scholarship funding for autumn 2025

Scholarship funding is available for teachers and leaders in publicly funded schools (including maintained nursery schools) and 16 to 19 educational settings in England for the following NPQs:

• special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs)
• headship

Funding for these courses is also available to:

• schools eligible for targeted regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) intervention
• hospital schools
• young offender institutions
• local authority virtual school headteachers, staff in a defined deputy headteacher role and staff in direct teaching roles
• other local authority staff in direct teaching roles – for example, local authority supply or peripatetic teachers

Scholarship funding is also available for the following NPQs based on disadvantage criteria:

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

For these NPQs, scholarship funding to cover the full NPQ course cost will be available to teachers and leaders from eligible schools and 16 to 19 settings that have high levels of disadvantage. 

For the NPQ in early years leadership, highly disadvantaged early years settings and maintained nursery schools will also be eligible. 

For the NPQ in leading teacher development, scholarship funding is also available if you’re taking on the role of lead mentor for an initial teacher training (ITT) provider accredited to deliver ITT from September 2024.

To be eligible, your school or setting must be on one of the disadvantage eligibility lists.

Eligibility lists

Details of eligibility lists based on disadvantage are set out as follows.

Schools

The top 50% of publicly funded schools that have the highest proportion of students attracting pupil premium. This does not include maintained nursery schools.

Further education

The top 50% of 16 to 19 settings where the highest proportion of funded students attracting a disadvantage uplift. This is based on a combination of disadvantage block 1 and block 2 funding.

Early years

The top 50% of early years settings where the highest proportion of children get early years pupil premium or disadvantaged 2-year-old entitlement funding.

This includes private, voluntary, independent (PVI) settings, Ofsted-registered early years childminders and maintained nursery schools.

These settings are eligible for the early years leadership NPQ only.

Maintained nursery schools are also eligible for headship and SENCO NPQs regardless of disadvantage.

Schools eligible for targeted RISE intervention

This includes schools that:

• were previously scheduled for structural intervention after 1 January 2025 but have since had this intervention revoked
• are stuck schools – a stuck school is defined as a school that was graded Requires Improvement or equivalent at its most recent Ofsted inspection, and was also graded below Good at its previous inspection and is still within the same structure

The eligible settings are fixed for the autumn 2025 recruitment period.

Early headship coaching offer

For the early headship coaching offer, you can get funding to cover the course fees if you’re both:

• in your first 5 years of headship in England in a state-funded school or 16 to 19 organisation
• currently doing, or have completed, the NPQ for headship

Funding restrictions 

You can only receive scholarship funding for each NPQ once.

If you receive scholarship funding but then withdraw from or fail a course, you cannot get scholarship funding for the same NPQ again.

Being eligible for an NPQ scholarship does not guarantee that:

• the course is suitable for you
• a funded course place will be available

NPQ providers determine suitability through their application processes.

The total amount of scholarship funding is limited, so some eligible teachers and leaders may not secure a funded place. Check with your provider before you register to see if a funded place is available.

NPQ providers manage applications for the courses they deliver and may prioritise applications according to the number of funded places they have available. For example, priority will be given to applications for the NPQ for SENCOs to those needing to take the NPQ as a mandatory qualification for their role as a SENCO.

If a funded place is not available

If funded places are not available with your chosen NPQ provider, you can:

• contact another provider to enquire about funded places
• join your provider’s waiting list
• self-fund your course place

Find out more about providers and the NPQ courses they offer.

Legacy NPQs 

If you received scholarship funding for a legacy NPQ before November 2021 and withdrew from the programme, you’re still eligible for scholarship funding for the current NPQs.   

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.

Complete the form below and a member of the team will be in touch.