National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)

This 18-month programme is for senior leaders, or those aspiring, with cross-school responsibilities such as deputy headteachers. Develop your leadership knowledge and expertise to improve outcomes for teachers and pupils in your school.

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

Eligibility: Designed for school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, a senior leader with whole school responsibilities. For example, you might be an assistant or deputy headteacher, or a head of department or faculty.

Duration: 18 months.

Curriculum:

Our NPQ in Senior Leadership course follows the Department for Education’s National Professional Qualification: Senior Leadership.

You will learn how to:

• Set clear goals and communicate shared values that improve the culture in your classrooms and school
• Establish a safe and positive environment for pupils
• Support colleagues to meet individual needs and make sure all pupils have access to a rich curriculum
• Lead school-wide professional development for staff
• Make and act on evidence-informed decisions
• Work well with parents, carers, other schools and the wider community
• Lead by example, be accountable for decisions and make sure colleagues know their responsibilities.

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:

• We will offer a live clinic in advance of the assessment window to support you.
• 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.

Cost:

Funding for autumn 2025 is targeted for teachers and leaders working in England’s top 50% most disadvantaged schools, according to pupil premium percentage.

To be eligible for funding, NPQSL registrations also have to meet the following criteria:

• Work in the 50% of schools with the highest proportion of students who attract pupil premium funding and 16 to 19 educational settings identified as having high disadvantage in England.
• Are, or are aspiring to be, a senior leader with cross-school responsibilities.

Fully-funded spaces are filled up quickly, therefore we always advice early applications.

If you’re unsure whether you will qualify for this ‘pupil premium’ based on funding, please use the Ambition Institute online eligibility check tool, and/or contact us at npq@northwestlondontsh.org.uk and we will advice.

*Currently nurseries are not available yet on the tool. If you work in a nursery, please directly contact directly at npqadmissions@ambition.org.uk

If you do not work in an eligible school, the NPQ for Senior Leadership costs £1,139 plus VAT.

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:

Andy Hammond

Middlesex Learning Trust

Emma Hazlegreaves

Middlesex Learning Trust

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.