Headship

NPQH is suitable for school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, a headteacher or head of school with responsibility for leading a school.

Although some headteachers and principals still teach, the role is primarily a strategic and operational one and relies on working with and through their colleagues (in particular, through the leadership team) to ensure every pupil gets an excellent education.

We partner with Best Practice Network to deliver this NPQ, please ensure you select Best Practice Network as lead provider when registering on the DfE Portal.

What You’ll Learn and How

NPQH is delivered with a blend of online studies, webinars, coaching and face to face events and s broken updivided into ‘cycles’ to support your learning.

Best Practice Network will allocate a leadership mentor to each programme member, who will be the main point of contact during the NPQ. Your leadership mentor will provide personalised support throughout, help to manage workload and provide feedback on all submitted tasks.

In addition to this, your school will nominate an in-school performance coach to offer you support, guidance and challenge through planned coaching sessions.

Programme Eligibility and Suitability

Applicants must have full support from their school/organisation. A head teacher, member of the SLT or line manager must confirm their support and that all information submitted is true and correct. To apply for the NPQH, applicants must have the following:

Teacher Reference Number (TRN)*
2 years teaching experience
Leadership aspiration/experience
Be 18-36 months from applying for a headship role (if not an acting Headteacher)

*If you do not have a TRN, this will be provided when you register with the DfE.

Time Commitment

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Online learning 38 hours
Coaching 6 hours
Face to Face Events 5 (totalling 40 hours)
Total Learning Hours 104 hours

Assessment

Following successful completion of NPQ training, you will complete undertake an assessment to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding.

Your assessment will consist of reading a short case study and answering key questions. They are ‘open book’ assessments which means you will have access to all content and materials to support you with your answer. You will have eight days to complete your assessment, this is designed to provide flexibility to complete it around personal and professional commitments.

Your assessment will be marked using a comparative judgement and will be reviewed by a number of assessors, before being verified by an external moderator. The Department for Education (DfE) will award you your qualification directly. You will receive your result around three months after completing the assessment.

How to Apply

To apply for this NPQ, applicants must complete the application form on the BPN Portal (link https://ccms.bpnsystems.net/applications/index.php) Applications from schools within our hub region of Halton, Warrington and Wigan will automatically be allocated to us.

As part of the process you will be required to complete your registration on the DfE portal (link https://register-national-professional-qualifications.education.gov.uk/)