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NPQEL: National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership

For school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, an executive headteacher or have a school trust CEO role with responsibility for leading several schools.

Autumn cohort 2024

Pre-register

About the programme

Why join UCL?

The UCL Centre for Educational Leadership looks forward to working with you on their newly designed NPQ supporting you to deepen your knowledge of Executive Leadership within a collaborative, professionally challenging and open learning environment.

Based on the latest research and evidence this new programme will enable you to develop your new learning, extend your skills and put them into practice.

Our programmes put you and your schools at the heart of the programme through a professional learning group approach that helps you to share your thinking and understanding within a well-planned framework. You will experience a blended approach of two residential events, self-directed study materials and in school support to enable you to progress professionally and grow the networks that will enhance your career.

What will you learn?

  • Trust culture - you will establish and sustain an effective trust culture through communicating its strategic direction, supporting leaders to prioritise, allocate and manage human and financial resources whilst fulfilling all statutory duties to enable a thriving trust community with ambitious standards for all.
  • Teaching - you will learn how to establish and sustain effective teaching across the trust to support school leaders to embed teacher’s pedagogical knowledge and classroom skills to enable the best outcomes for all children and young people no matter what their starting point is.
  • Curriculum and Assessment - you will learn how to support school and trust leaders to sustain high quality planning, teaching and learning. Ensure that assessment and data collection is readily available and reliable and informs both the design and delivery of professional development for teachers within and across the trust.
  • Operational management – you will learn how to run a group of schools effectively, considering long term strategic and financial planning, the use of cross-trust staff and a range of operational structures.
  • Behaviour and support - you will be able to ensure that your schools establish and sustain high standards of behaviour and learning across the whole trust community.  Within your schools you will develop the expertise to oversee an approach with all leaders and key stakeholders to build a safe, inclusive learning environment for all.
  • Implementation - you will learn how to work with leaders to implement change across the trust successfully by understanding the complexity of multiple implementation projects and aligning them with wider trust priorities.
  • Trust governance – you will learn how to apply robust risk management strategies within the context of trust governance, the national policy space and the regulatory environment associated with it.

What are the benefits for you?

Our participants have noted many benefits to studying for an NPQEL. Overall, they outline how the programme has given them professional confidence, time and space to reflect on themselves and the kind of executive leader they want to become and increased knowledge in their chosen area of study. 

You will be able to:

  • Address the importance of culture, implementation and professional development and how all work together to achieve a desired outcome.  
  • Prioritise where you invest most of our energy, understanding 'within school factors' - where local headteachers can have high impact; and beyond-school factors where we may have influence but not direct control.   
  • Understand how governance has changed over time and the complexities and responsibilities of the Trust and its Trustees.  
  • Reflect on how the external environment impacts on the children and links to a developing understanding of the layers of leadership from trust to civic level and how we use our civic leadership more positively to be advocates of our community.
  • Build and strengthening your trust to enable a model of cooperative collaboration across a MAT or Trust.
  • Conduct leadership strategy/strength reviews in your own settings triangulating performance management evidence with keeping in touch meetings.
  • Have excellent opportunities to discuss the challenges that are faced within different settings and to talk through the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches.

What are the benefits for your school?

We know that our children and young people need teachers who are committed to their education and are confident learners themselves. Our programmes have been developed with teachers and leaders to:

  • Create professionally confident teachers and leaders who can lead at scale.
  • Grow the next generation of leaders with the skills and knowledge to use the evidence-base for the benefit of their children, young people and wider communities.
  • Retain and develop the best teachers who are excellent, collaborative role models for their schools and communities.
  • Inspire leaders who can harness the power of rich learning environments for their children and young people no matter the current circumstances.

Is this programme for me?

Yes, if you aspire to leading a group of schools as an executive headteacher or school trust CEO.

How long will it take?

18 months followed by an 8-day open book summative case study task.

Summary of programme and learning time

Initial learning audit x 2

Total learning time: 1 hour.

Online induction conference x 1

Total learning time: Half a day.

Online self-directed study modules x 3

Total learning time: 30 hours.

Face-to-face events (x3)

Total learning time: 5 days.

Peer learning group sessions x 4

Total learning time: 8 hours.

Coaching sessions x 6

Total learning time: 6 hours.

Total programme hours

Total learning time: 75 hours.

When will it start and how much will it cost?

The programme will start in November 2024 with an online induction module followed by a residential in either Manchester or Oxford (dates to be confirmed), depending on your location and availability.

The cost is £4,099 for those in independent schools. British International Schools, please contact your preferred International Delivery Partner. 

Are scholarships available for this programme?

Funding to cover the course fees for this NPQ is available for teachers and school leaders in many state-funded settings in England. You can find out how to check the eligibility of your workplace for autumn 2024 when the DFE registration opens later this year.

Programme route map

NPQEL route map, spring 2024.
Route map (text version):
NPQ Programme Induction (January 2024 – February 2024)

Watch online programme information webinars  

Residential 1: 10 hours – March

Module 1 (February 2024 – July 2024)

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Learning Audit: 30 mins – February

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Online Self-directed Study: 8hrs – February/July

Facilitated Activity / 1 to 1 meeting / virtual or live event
Peer Learning Group 1: 2hrs – May/June

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Formative Assessment Tasks: 1hr – June

Facilitated Activity / 1 to 1 meeting / virtual or live event
Line Manager / Mentor Check-in: 1hr – June/July

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
End of Module Evaluation: 15 mins – July

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Programme Impact Report*: 15 mins – July

Module 2* (July 2024 – January 2025

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Learning Audit: 30 mins - July

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Online Self-directed Study: 8hrs – July/January

Facilitated Activity / 1 to 1 meeting / virtual or live event
Peer Learning Group 2: 2hrs  - September/October 

Facilitated Activity / 1 to 1 meeting / virtual or live event
Face to face Event: 5hrs – November

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Formative Assessment Tasks: 1hr – November/December

Facilitated Activity / 1 to 1 meeting / virtual or live event
Peer Learning Group 3: 2hrs – December/January

Facilitated Activity / 1 to 1 meeting / virtual or live event
Line Manager / Mentor Check-in: 1hr – January

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
End of Module Evaluation: 15 mins – January

Module 3* (January 2025 – July 2025)

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Learning Audit: 30 mins – January

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Online Self-directed Study: 8hrs – January/July

Facilitated Activity / 1 to 1 meeting / virtual or live event
Peer Learning Group 4: 2hrs – March/April

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Formative Assessment Tasks: 1hr – May/June

Facilitated Activity / 1 to 1 meeting / virtual or live event
Line Manager / Mentor Check-i:n: 1hr – June

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
End of Module Evaluation 15 mins – July

Self-directed Study UCL eXtend
Programme Impact Report * 15 mins – July

Facilitated Activity / 1 to 1 meeting / virtual or live event
Residential 2: 10hrs – March

Final Assessment Preparation (August 2024)

Ensure 90% engagement– August

Ensure Access to Assessment Platform – September

*Please note, Line Managers / Mentors will be asked to complete a short School Impact Report at the end of module 1 and 3 to gauge how engagement with the programme is supporting School / Improvement. This is separate from the Line Manager / Mentor Check-in which is more participant focused.

**You will also have access to coaching support throughout the programme.

Runs over 18 months: Implementation Project: Work-based reflective learning, integrating research with practice and aligned to the EEF process model for school improvement (not assessed).

After 18 months: Final Summative Assessment (September 2025)

How to apply

Although the DfE registration portal is currently displaying as open, it is only available to accommodate amendments to Spring’s 2024 registrations. It does not allow registrations for the Autumn 2024 cohort. The DfE portal will re-open in July; however, until then, please complete this short pre-registration form where you can register and secure your place for your preferred NPQ. Once the portal re-opens we will email you to advise you to register on the DfE portal.

What do leaders of schools say?

Being introduced to various approaches to implement change has been very useful. Alongside that, the added benefit of being able to discuss these approaches with various other leaders and aspiring leaders in numerous settings up and down the country. It really does provide an excellent opportunity to discuss the challenges that are faced within different settings and to talk through the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches."

Participant Autumn 2022

I found the information on incremental coaching very helpful as a way into developing strong teaching in school. Following the Formative Assessment Task on Instructional Coaching, I set up coaching pairs across the school with a focus on moving forward the teaching of writing. This has had a positive impact. I have also engaged with a secondary school within the MAT that we are about to join and discussed their approach to coaching. I have asked for one of their members of staff who has completed a masters in coaching to provide training to me and my senior leader next term, as well as share how progress is recorded."


 

Participant Spring 2022

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