NPQEYL: National Professional Qualification for Early Years Leadership

Spring cohort 2025

Register your expression of interest for a National Professional Qualification (NPQ)

About the programme

• Who are you?
• Why join UCL?
• What will you learn?
• What are the benefits for you?
• What are the benefits for your nursery?
• Is this programme for me?
• How long will it take?
• When will it start and how much will it cost?
• Are scholarships available for this programme?
• Programme route map
• How to apply

• What do participants say?

Who are you?

For leaders qualified to at least Level 3 with full and relevant qualification who are, or aspiring to be, managers of Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) nurseries, headteachers of school-based or maintained nurseries, or childminders with leadership responsibilities.

About the roles

Level 3 qualifications

All NPQEYL participants must hold a 'full and relevant' Level 3 qualification (or higher), prior to starting the course.

The DfE has published a list showing the qualifications which meet the approved 'full and relevant' criteria for early years qualifications. If you are not sure whether you hold a full and relevant Level 3 qualification (or higher), please refer to the early years qualifications achieved in England on the GOV.UK website, where you will be able to check if your qualification is listed.

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 Early Years leadership within a collaborative and open learning environment.

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

The NPQEYL puts you and your nursery* 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 face to face, self-directed study materials and within context support to enable you to progress professionally and develop networks to enhance your career.

* ’Nurseries’ refers to private, voluntary and independent nurseries, school-based and maintained nurseries, and childminders.

What will you learn?

• Culture – you will establish and sustain an effective nursery culture by setting the strategic direction within a climate of mutual trust and respect, underpinned by evidence-based practice. 
• Child development, curriculum and assessment – you will learn how to establish and support high quality early education in your nursery, underpinned by formative assessment and tailored to children’s needs.
• Additional and special educational needs and disabilities – you will learn how to ensure all children experience success, enabling colleagues to identify and meet individual needs.
• Professional development – you will ensure that colleagues engage in effective and supportive professional development, making use of existing frameworks (including mentoring and coaching) to build upon existing knowledge and skills to improve outcomes for children. 
• Organisational management – you will learn how to ensure the protection and safety of children and colleagues through the establishment of effective systems and processes, managing human and financial resources and fulfilling all statutory duties to enable a sustainable and thriving nursery community.
• Implementation – you will learn how to plan, deliver and sustain change successfully within your context by understanding the stages of implementation and aligning it with wider nursery improvement priorities.
• Working in partnership – you will effectively work in partnership with all stakeholders, including parents carers, external agencies and services.

What are the benefits for you?

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

You will be able to:

• Develop the skills, confidence and knowledge to implement new professional development initiatives successfully through a supported implementation project.
• Learn how to promote a culture of a collaborative environment through understanding relational leadership.
• Support staff through coaching and mentoring skills.
• Cultivate leadership skills which are responsive to the needs of children, families and adults you work with in your own unique early year's context. 
• Assess your current knowledge on child development and identify areas in which you need to develop your understanding.
• Learn about the skills of being a good early year’s leader and understand how leaders adapt to different situations. 
• Access research and materials and have many opportunities to discuss a variety of pedagogical approaches and models with other colleagues.

What are the benefits for your nursery?

We know that all children need early years professionals who are committed to their care and education and are confident learners themselves. Our programme has been developed with early years experts to:

• Create professionally confident early years teachers, practitioners and leaders.
• Grow the next generation of early years leaders with the skills and knowledge to use the evidence-base for the benefit of their children and families.
• Retain the best early years professionals who are excellent, collaborative role models for their nurseries and communities. 
• Inspire early years leaders who can harness the power of rich learning environments for all children no matter the current circumstances.

Is this programme for me?

Yes, if you lead or aspire to lead a nursery as a manager of a PVI nursery, a headteacher of a school-based or maintained nursery or a childminder with leadership responsibilities.

How long will it take?

Eighteen months followed by an eight day open book summative case study task.

Summary of programme and learning hours

• Audit before start of the programme: 1 hour.
• One day induction conference at the beginning of year one: 4 hours.
• Four self-directed learning, learning journal and implementation project: 32 hours.
• Three mentoring check-ins: 3 hours.
• Peer learning group sessions: 3 hours.
• Three face-to-face events: 3 hours.

Total programme = 75 hours

When will it start and how much will it cost?

The programme will start in April 2025. There will be an induction conference taking place in May 2025, which will be confirmed during the application process. Participants are required to attend the conference.

Scholarships may be available for this programme.

The programme fee is £1,055 (+VAT) for schools and participants in England required to pay for the programme. The same fee applies to independent schools in England. The programme is fully funded for PVI nurseries, school-based nurseries, and childminders with leadership responsibilities.

British International Schools: please follow the links to your preferred International Delivery Partner for fee information.

Are scholarships available for this programme?

Information for scholarship funding will be available soon.

Programme route map

*Please note, NPQ Mentors will be asked to complete a short School Impact Report at the end of module 2 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.

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 (April 2026 / May 2026).

How to apply

The DfE registration platform will be closed for a period of time from Monday 4 November to allow for essential maintenance, but you can register an expression of interest to apply for a UCL NPQ.

What do participants say?