National Professional Qualifications (NPQs).

The Specialist NPQs provide teachers and leaders with more options to keep getting better. 

There are five NPQs which are specialist qualifications:

• NPQ in Leading Behaviour and Culture (NPQLBC)
• NPQ in Leading Literacy (NPQLL) 
• NPQ in Leading Primary Maths (NPQLPM)
• NPQ in Leading Teaching (NPQLT)
• NPQ in Leading Teacher Development (NPQLTD)

The leadership NPQs are designed to look at what best practice means for school leadership. They attend to the knowledge and skills school leaders need to help them tackle the persistent problems of their daily roles.

There are four NPQs which cater to teachers in leadership, or aspiring towards leadership:

• NPQ in Senior Leadership (NPQSL).
• NPQ in Headship (NPQH).
• NPQ in Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL).
• NPQ in Special Education Needs (SENCO)

NPQ scholarships are determined by the Department for Education (DfE). Scholarship funding for any future NPQ cohort has not yet been confirmed by the DfE and is subject to change. 

Scholarship funding is available for teachers and leaders in publicly funded schools (including maintained nursery schools) and 16 to 19 educational settings in England for the following NPQs:

• Special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs)
• Headship

NPQ in Early Years Leadership (NPQ EYL)

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.

This includes private, voluntary, independent (PVI) settings, Ofsted-registered early years childminders and maintained nursery schools.

You can find the full DfE eligibility criteria here 

Click here to check if your school/establishment is eligible for a fully funded scholarship.

Scholarships are only confirmed after you complete both:
• An application
• DfE registration 

You will be supported by our team of Visiting Fellows. They are the best local and national leaders, who will bring the content to life through engaging delivery.

Each NPQ is broken down into modules which can be spread across the timetable, whether that is in between lessons, after school, on a commute or at home. And with our ‘little and often’ approach, you will get better faster.

✅ Flexible learning to suit your teachers and leaders’ timetable.

✅ Focused on what they need to know in their role.

✅ Delivered ‘little and often’ so they get better faster. 

Our hybrid delivery model includes face-to-face and online delivery.

Our NPQs are designed with flexibility in mind. Every NPQ is delivered through a blend of online sessions, face-to-face workshops, and self-guided learning accessed through Ambition Institute's learning portal, StepLab. This allows you to structure your learning flexibly and to suit your lifestyle. 

At the end of your course, you will sit an open-book assessment in which you respond to a short case study. You will have an eight-day window in which to complete the assessment.

You need to complete the course to qualify for the NPQ accreditation.

For more information including FAQs click here

The next NPQ cohort will start in November 2025; there will only be 1 cohort for this academic year 2025/26.

Applications are now open.