NPQ for Executive Leadership

Executive Leaders provide a vital role in school improvement, working with colleagues to develop their leadership and their ability to shape schools that best serve the needs of their communities.

Through this course, you will develop your knowledge of all the key leadership areas required for Executive Leaders, as well as developing your ability to lead others in a broad and varied remit. You will work with colleagues from across the country in part of a national cohort of aspiring leaders, learning from one another as well as benefitting from the expertise of the top performing Executive Leaders who design and deliver this programme.

The National Institute of Teaching was founded by four leading multi-academy trusts. Our programmes are underpinned by leading research and driven by what we have found works best in schools. Through our programmes, we aim to ensure participants develop their leadership to ensure their hard work and dedication has the maximum impact on pupils.

Our programmes are school-led: they are delivered by individuals who work in schools, right now. That means they have the in-depth, domain-specific knowledge to help you grapple with content at the right level, and to support you to problem-solve and apply learning to your own context.

Our programmes are centred on impact: our aim is for your practice to improve and develop in your current context, and for you to be ready and to take the next step in your career as a result of learning with us. We have designed our programmes carefully, and work closely with school leaders through our regional structures, as well as working with participants, to ensure our programmes are impactful in your context.

Our programmes are respectful of your time: we know you spend most of your time doing the most important job there is – serving the children in your community. That’s why our programmes are designed to be flexible, to deliver exactly what you need in the most time-efficient manner possible, and to have impact.

Our programmes are rooted in research: every aspect of what you learn is based on the best available research as well as what we have seen and experienced to work best in our founding multi-academy trusts and associate colleges.

Our programmes allow you to build a community: our in-person local seminars are focused on peer learning and problem solving together. As well as applying your learning to your own context, you will have the opportunity to build your network and support one another’s development beyond your time learning with the NIoT.

How to create a Trust culture where colleagues and pupils can thrive across schools

• How to embed effective teaching, curriculum and assessment across multiple schools
• How to implement and sustain practices which lead to excellent pupil behaviour across schools
• How to support all children in your schools to succeed, including those with additional and special educational needs
• How to support and develop colleagues through trust-wide professional development
• How to run a large organisation, such as a number of schools or as a trust-wide leader
• How to work effectively with colleagues and other stakeholders to secure a great education for the children in your schools
• What governance and accountability mean in the context of multiple schools

National seminars: extend your learning with an expert, school leader facilitator, build your network and apply your learning to your own context.

Virtual school visits: visit some of the country’s leading schools, learning about how they have developed and improved their practice over time to deliver exceptional outcomes and experiences for young people.

Online masterclasses: hear school-based sector experts sharing best practice from their context and experience.

One to one coaching: apply your learning to scenarios and to your own context, with the feedback and guidance of an expert serving Executive Leader.

Online self-studies: learn cutting-edge research and how it is being applied successfully in schools.

You’ll need to spend 1 to 2 hours a week working on this NPQ.

Please contact npq@niot.org.uk so that we can let you know your nearest National Institute of Teaching delivery school or centre.

We can confirm that we will be delivering NPQs in schools near the following locations:

North and West: Blackburn, Manchester, Leyland and Skelmersdale

South, East and London: Norwich, London and South Essex

North and East: Tyne and Wear, Doncaster, Redcar, Halifax, Gateshead, Washington, Peterlee and Grimsby

South and West: Birmingham, Bristol, Devon, Cornwall, Swindon, South Staffordshire, Dudley, Sandwell, Worcester and Walsall

More locations will be added regularly; please check back/apply and we’ll confirm if there’s delivery near you.

To get your NPQ accreditation you’ll need to complete the course and pass a written assessment (between 1,500 and 2,500 words).

To join the next NIoT NPQEL cohort, please complete our online application form.

Funding scholarships have not yet been confirmed by the DfE. We will update this page as soon as we have more information on eligibility criteria. Alternatively, you can check here for the latest updates.

For the Autumn 2024 cohort, funding was made available to schools with the highest 50% of pupil premium pupils as well as early years and 16 to 19 educational settings identified as having high disadvantage.

If your school is not eligible for funding, the NPQ for Executive Leadership costs £3750.