NPQLTD

Ambition Institute has designed this ground-breaking NPQ to help you develop the knowledge and expertise to lead teacher development at your school.

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

Become a teaching expert

The new NPQs are designed to give you high quality professional development. All the training is evidence-based and informed by the science of learning.

Champion quality teaching

Many teachers who end up in leadership roles haven’t had any formal training to become teacher educators. This programme fills that gap by giving you the knowledge and insight to make classroom teaching in your school the best it can be.

Learn to your timetable

This programme is designed to fit around your busy teaching role. Much of the work can be completed in short bursts around your existing schedule.

Connect with peers

You’ll get to train and collaborate with other teacher leaders on the programme, sharing your experiences and building a network.

Benefits for your school

Develop a golden thread

The new NPQ framework continues a ‘golden thread’ throughout every stage of a teacher’s career. Schools and trusts can have confidence that all their educators, from classroom teachers to leaders of multiple schools, are building and developing their practice from the same evidence-based framework.

Create confident leaders

Teachers who complete this programme will be able to successfully oversee staff development, leading to better teaching at your school and improved pupil outcomes.

Increase staff attainment

By investing in your teachers, you are showing confidence in their abilities. After completing the programme, they are more likely to stay in their roles and help you nurture the next generation of teaching talent.

More options for improvement

The new specialist NPQs are designed to be complementary, giving teachers multiple career pathways and options at every stage of their careers.

What you’ll learn

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

On this programme, you will learn how to:

• make sure professional development in your school is focused on a shared responsibility for improving outcomes for all pupils
• diagnose what teachers know and can do, starting professional development from that point and adapting the approach based on their developing expertise
• help teachers improve through evidence-based professional development focused on improving classroom teaching
• gain an understanding of what teachers have learned by reviewing patterns of performance over a number of assessments
• develop and lead a team of colleagues who can facilitate a range of professional development approaches
• contribute to a programme of professional development for mentors, trainees and early career teachers.

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 online sessions and self-guided modules you complete in your own time. You will be encouraged to put what you learn into practice and track your progress as you go.

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, responsibility for leading other educators to develop. You might support all teachers in your school, trainees or those early in their career.

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