NPQ for Senior Leadership
Our NPQ for Senior Leadership is designed for teachers and leaders who hold, or aspire to hold, whole-school leadership responsibilities.
NPQs at the National Institute of Teaching are school-led: our organisation was founded by four leading multi-academy trusts, and our programmes are designed and delivered with a focus on the realities of schools. Because teachers’ time is precious, our programmes are respectful of your time, and designed to have immediate impact on the pupils and colleagues in your school, as well as the colleagues and children you will work with in the future.
- Overview
- Why study at the NIoT?
- What you'll learn
- How you'll learn
- Time commitment
- Location
- Assessment
- How to apply
- Funding
- Our Other Leadership NPQs
Overview
Senior leaders support teachers to give pupils the best possible experience in schools. Through their strategic and operational leadership, they create the conditions for colleagues and pupils to flourish.
Through our NPQSL, you will develop your domain knowledge of all aspects of schools and school leadership, as well as spending time applying that knowledge to your context as well as common leadership challenges, so you will be better prepared to meet the demands of your future career pathway, and to create the conditions for pupils to thrive.
Why study at the NIoT?
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.
What you'll learn
What you’ll learn:
- How to contribute to creating and sustaining your school’s strategic direction
- How to establish and sustain a positive school culture for pupils and adults
- How to implement effective curriculum and lesson planning at whole-school level
- How to design and implement whole-school assessment practices that produce reliable and valid data without creating a workload burden for teachers
- How to establish and maintain quality teaching across a school so all pupils can experience success in learning
- How to lead pupil behaviour and culture at whole-school level
- How to develop colleagues and manage them well
- How to work effectively with all stakeholders in the school community
- All aspects of statutory compliance associated with senior leadership, including safeguarding, exclusions, HR and finance
- Relevant aspects of governance and external organisations for senior leaders
How you'll learn
Local 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.
Online group coaching: apply your learning to scenarios and to your own context, with the feedback and guidance of an expert school-based coach.
Online self-studies: learn cutting-edge research and how it is being applied successfully in schools.
Time commitment
There are two to three scheduled events every half term, some online and some in-person. There are also between four to eight hours of self study.
Location
Please contact [email protected] 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.
Assessment
In order to receive NPQSL accreditation, participants will need to complete the programme and achieve a pass mark in a written, ‘open book’ style, structured assessment of up to 2,000 words.
We will support participants with writing clinics 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.
How to apply
Applications are now closed for the April 2025 cohort. Register your interest for our next round of NPQs to get information directly to your inbox.
Funding
For the April 2025 cohort, funding was 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. Find out more about funding and eligibility criteria here.
If your school was not eligible for funding, the NPQ for Senior Leadership cost £950.
Our Other Leadership NPQs
We offer a whole host of other NPQs from subject specialisms to leadership skills. Take a look at the other related NPQs we offer:
Contact us
Please get in touch to find out more about our programmes and find out where we are delivering them near you.