National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)

We are proud to announce that we are part of the new NPQ Alliance, led by Ambition School Leadership.

This is a national Alliance that brings together over 50 multi-academy trusts, teaching school alliances and teaching schools – including Ark, Outwood Grange and Oasis Community Learning – with regional school groups from across the country. We will deliver the NPQs through the Alliance’s experienced facilitators, tailoring programme content to meet local challenges and each leader’s development needs.

Working together to test, learn and innovate

The Alliance will support the education system to do everything it takes to raise the aspirations and attainment of every child, no matter what their background.

The programme

The main focus of this programme is the participant’s own leadership development, including how to make best use of tasks and tools to make the transition to senior leadership. Participants will be assessed through a written assignment to ensure that they have reached the qualification requirements plus a viva interview to assess them against the more challenging Ambition bar.  

The programme will consist of a series of training sessions, along with pre- and post-reading and an in-school impact project.  

The training sessions will include the following five core areas:

• Self-development and stepping up into senior leadership
• Strategic leadership using data
• Leadership of whole-school CPD
• Teaching and learning improvements
• Horizon scanning and looking to the future

To make sure they get the most out of the programme participants will need to carry out pre-and post-workshop reading outside of the sessions.

Eligibility

This programme is suitable for:

Middle leaders who are aspiring to senior leadership and meet the following eligibility criteria:

• Likely to be in a senior leadership role in the next 12-18 months
• Have completed at least one year at a middle leadership level
• May have served on an extended SLT

Those currently in senior leadership roles who fit within the guidance below:

• Senior leaders should have responsibility for the results of a team, and line manage at least one middle leader
• Will serve on the senior leadership of the school, and attend SLT meetings
• In secondary schools, senior leaders will have roles such as assistant headteacher or assistant/vice-principals
• In large secondary schools, heads of large departments and faculties, leaders may have responsibility commensurate with that of senior leaders
• In primary schools, senior leaders will have roles such as assistant/associate headteacher or assistant/vice-principals as well as substantive whole-school responsibilities
• If the senior leader is aspiring to headship, or is a deputy headteacher in secondary / deputy or assistant headteacher in primary, this person is likely to be more suited to NPQH

For both aspiring and serving senior leaders to receive their qualification, they will need to lead an improvement project across their school, lasting at least two terms, to reduce variation in pupil progress and attainment and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of teaching.  Therefore, it is essential that this is something your school understands and will support when placing participants on the programme.