The leadership NPQs: Six reasons to be excited

Our National Professional Qualifications have a strong track record for school leadership and school improvement.

There are five leadership NPQs, and they are:

• NPQ in Senior Leadership (NPQSL)
• NPQ in Headship (NPQH)
• NPQ in Executive Leadership (NPQEL)
• NPQ in Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL)
• NPQ for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (NPQSENCO)

Here are six reasons to get excited about them.

1. Specific to school leadership

The frameworks map out what best practice looks like and the evidence base for school leadership so that leaders in schools can make decisions that are most likely to have positive effects.

Leadership NPQs are organised around ten areas of leadership that are all specific to school contexts. The areas attend to both the specialist areas of school leadership like ‘curriculum and assessment’ and approaches to school improvement like ‘professional development’. This means every part of the NPQs is as relevant to schools as possible.

The ten leadership areas covered by the frameworks are:

• Culture.
• Teaching.
• Curriculum and assessment.
• Behaviour.
• Additional and special educational needs and disabilities.
• Professional development.
• Organisational management.
• Implementation.
• Working in partnership.
• Governance and accountability.

The frameworks for Senior Leadership, Headship and Executive Leadership all cover these same 10 areas. While these areas remain the same across the leadership NPQs, they are adapted to the area of specialism for two of the NPQs.

The NPQ in Early Years Leadership also covers child development, curriculum and assessment while the the NPQ for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators covers the areas of identification and assessment, and provision and intervention.

This commonality between the leadership NPQs provides the golden thread of learning by which a school leader can continue developing their knowledge and expertise as they move through their career.

2. A golden thread

Building on the Initial Teacher Training Early Career Framework, the current suite of NPQs completes the Department for Education's golden thread of professional development throughout every stage of a teacher’s and leader's career.

From those early days of training to be classroom teacher through to specialising in an area of interest or moving into school or trust leadership there are now joined-up professional development options which provide a consistent approach to developing teaching and leadership expertise.

Schools and trusts can have confidence that all their educators, from early career teachers to leaders of multiple schools, are building and developing their practice from the same evidence-based framework.

3. Focus on knowledge

NPQs are designed to develop knowledge and expertise so that teachers and leaders build mental models which guide decision making. This means that when faced with challenges in their leadership role they can draw on these mental models to make better decisions. This professional development is based on the NPQ frameworks. The frameworks are set out as a series of ‘learn that…’ and ‘learn how to…’ statements that emphasise knowledge and skills which are most important to school leadership. This is to ensure school leaders are secure in the formal knowledge that is required in education, such as which teaching approaches are most effective. They also provide practical knowledge of how to lead and manage in a school setting, such as how to create the conditions for staff and pupils to thrive.

If you want to learn more about why we think developing school leaders’ knowledge matters, read our hidden knowledge of experts blog.

4. Breadth qualifications

The leadership NPQs are longer than their specialist counterparts (18 months) and cover more leadership areas, because the work of senior leaders in schools is more complex and multi-faceted. Senior leaders can benefit from a well-rounded view of school leadership, beyond just their current areas of responsibility, and a clear understanding of how the different areas of school leadership interact.

The breadth of leadership areas covered by the leadership frameworks – from ‘teaching’ through to ‘organisational management’ – provides an opportunity for leaders to develop expertise in areas where they might not already have it. We know all people come to learning with different areas of expertise: NPQs are a good opportunity for leaders to think about areas that are not part of their experience to date. School leaders can benefit from studying a wide range of leadership areas in preparation for progressing into more senior and strategic roles.

It is also important for school leaders to develop deep knowledge in some areas of education leadership. Read Specialist NPQs: The next step in your leadership development? for more information.

5. Drawn from a common evidence base

The current frameworks have been developed by looking at a wide evidence base including how children learn, what impacts their behaviour and how they are assessed, and what makes effective professional development for teachers and leaders. The frameworks have been approved and endorsed by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).

This common evidence base is a major part of the golden thread, which brings a shared terminology and experience to the national conversation on leadership development for schools. This has the potential to reduce the inequality in education that many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds still face.

6. There is an Early Headship Coaching Offer (EHCO) available for new headteachers

When senior leaders step into their first roles as headteachers, they go through what is acknowledged to be a particularly challenging career transition. Now, on top of the standard NPQ for Headship programme, the Early Headship Coaching Offer is on offer for participants new to headship.