National Professional Qualification for Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL)

This course is designed for leaders of early years education. This includes teachers, EYFS and senior leaders in schools, leaders in nurseries and childminders with leadership responsibilities.
Become an early years expert and help to give all children up to the age of five the best possible start in life.

Registrations are now open for November 2025. No other NPQ cohorts will be available in the 2025/26 academic year.

Eligibility: Designed for leaders of early years education. This includes teachers, EYFS and senior leaders in schools, leaders in nurseries and childminders with leadership responsibilities. To apply, you need to be an early years practitioner who is qualified to at least level three, with a full and relevant early years or teaching qualification.

Duration: 18 months

Curriculum:

Our NPQ for Early Years Leadership course follows the Department for Education’s National Professional Qualification: Early Years Leadership Framework.

You will learn how to:

• Set a strategic direction for your early years setting and apply ambitious standards for all children
• Champion evidence-based practice
• Plan and deliver care and a high-quality curriculum to support children’s development
• Establish communication, language and literacy approaches to support children’s learning
• Make sure all children experience success
• Identify children who need support and make appropriate referrals
• Create an environment for all children and colleagues where everyone feels welcome and safe.

How you will learn:

The programme is delivered with a mixture of face-to-face and virtual sessions. The programme starts with a full-day Conference to introduce you to the structure and content of the course, allowing you to meet your Visiting Fellows and the wider NPQ cohort, a second full-day Conference will take place in year two.  

Each of the nine courses within the programme are taught through a combination of independent and paired self-study modules, a facilitated live clinic, and supported by peer-led community sessions. 

The North-West London Teaching School Hub team will be supporting you throughout your learning journey on the programme, tracking your progress and acting as your point of contact. 

Assessment:

You’ll sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which you respond to a short case study.

The assessment window starts at the end of the 18-month programme and runs for up to four months (subject to change by the DfE).

During this time:

• You’ll be given an eight-day window to complete the case study.
• Participants can sit the assessment twice, if they need to.
• You need to complete 90% of the programme and pass the assessment to gain the qualification.
• We will offer a live clinic in advance of the assessment window to support you.

Cost:

Funding for autumn 2025 is targeted for those teachers and leaders who work in the most challenging schools or educational settings, serving more disadvantaged communities.

For the NPQ for Early Years Leadership, funded scholarships are available for those who meet the following criteria:

• Be an early years practitioner who is qualified to at least level three, with a full and relevant early years or teaching qualification.
• Work in 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.

Suitable applicants from highly disadvantaged private, voluntary, independent (PVI) settings, Ofsted-registered early years childminders and maintained nursery schools will also be eligible to apply for a funded place.

If you do not work in an eligible school, or all fully-funded spaces have been filled, the cost of the NPQEYL is £1139 + VAT.

Check your setting’s eligibility
If you’re unsure whether you will qualify for this ‘pupil premium’ based on funding, please use our eligibility checker tool.

Self-funded payment options
If you are unable to access a DfE funded scholarship, you can pay for your NPQ.

Ambition Institute will invoice the school/trust contact you provide in your registration directly. Depending on your school type, they maybe be able to reclaim VAT.

If you are unable to come to an arrangement with your school, Ambition Institute can invoice you directly, but you will not be able to reclaim VAT.

Unfortunately, Ambition Institute do not offer payment plans for NPQ programmes.

The cost of your programme must be paid in full before the start of your programme. Ambition Institute are unable to offer refunds once you start the programme.

DfE funding restrictions
Due to limited DfE funding, eligibility for a scholarship does not guarantee a funded place.

If no funded places are available, you can:

• Join a waiting list with your chosen provider
• Pay for your place yourself
• Approach another NPQ provider

Facilitators:

Cassie Brazell

East Lane Primary School

Further Info:

Only in exceptional circumstances may a participant request either a deferral or withdrawal from their programme. Participants should be aware that there is a process to follow which is outlined in Ambition’s Institute’s Deferral and Withdrawal Policy.

A participant considering withdrawal from an NPQ Programme should be aware that it is Department for Education Policy to only fund an NPQ course for a participant once. This means that a participant who starts a Department for Education funded NPQ course, and then withdraws from that course, will not be funded again for the same programme.