Early Headship Coaching Offer for new headteachers (EHCO)

Choose our Early Headship Coaching Offer and you’ll be joining over 35,000 teachers and school leaders (as of May 2025), who have decided on Ambition to complete their NPQ since they were launched in 2021.

Our EHCO provides you with tailored, personalised support to apply knowledge from the NPQH to your school context.

We have designed this support offer for new headteachers to accompany the NPQ in Headship, to help you put the evidence and expertise from your NPQH into practice in your school setting.

Benefit from expert guidance
Over three terms, you'll receive guidance from an experienced, serving headteacher who works in a similar setting or phase, to help you apply expertise from the NPQH, to overcome the challenges and complex problems you face in your day-to-day role.

Train to your timetable
Our 'little and often' approach often means you can engage with our NPQs around your busy timetable, with minimal time needed out of school.

No assessment
There is no formal assessment for the EHCO. So, you can focus entirely on practically applying your learning.

Join our charitable mission
We support teachers and school leaders at every stage of their careers, helping them to keep getting better. We are a charity providing training and professional development based on the most rigorous research and evidence about what really works.

You can take advantage of the Early Headship Coaching Offer at the same time as doing the new NPQ for Headship.

New headteachers are suitable for this targeted support package if you meet all these criteria:

• are in your first five years of headship
• have previously completed an NPQH, are applying for an NPQH, or are currently doing an NPQH with us or another NPQ provider.

If you have any questions, email [email protected] and a member of our team will be in touch with next steps.

For our autumn 2025 cohort, teachers and leaders from all state schools in England are eligible to apply for a funded place on the EHCO.

To be eligible, EHCO applicants also have to meet these criteria:

• Be in your first five years of headship.
• Have previously completed an NPQH, are applying for an NPQH, or are currently doing an NPQH with us or another NPQ provider.
• Work in a state funded school in England.

Check your funding eligibility

To check whether you are eligible for funding, you can use our online eligibility check tool.

If you don't work in an eligible school, the Early Headship Coaching Offer costs £800 plus VAT.

Get in touch to find out more here.

*Currently nurseries are not available yet on the tool. If you work in a nursery, please contact us directly at [email protected]

Our Early Headship Coaching Offer is tailored to your needs with the content covered will depend on your school’s specific challenges.

It’s structured around the persistent problems of school leadership. You will select from these topics and personalise the course to support areas they want to develop expertise in. Each headteacher will select three persistent problems over the duration of the course:

• School culture: Establishing a professional and supportive school culture and encouraging staff to contribute.
• Learning and development: Ensuring effective approaches to professional learning and development.
• Curriculum: Organising and teaching the curriculum.
• Behaviour: Attending to pupil behaviour and wider circumstances.
• School improvement: Analysing and diagnosing problems, planning and implementing strategies for continuous educational improvement.
• Administration: Managing an efficient and effective organisation.

Note: programme content is subject to change.

Join a local cohort with one of our regional partners and benefit from our expert curriculum design along with a tailored experience linked to your local context.

If you are unable to find a local cohort, you can join Ambition’s national cohort and gain a national network of peers. Either way, we work to give you the best possible experience.

Find a cohort that’s local to you in our list of partners here.

Applications are now open. Start your application here >>

Don’t wait! Due to a change in DfE guidance, there’s no spring 2026 cohort across all NPQ providers. So, there’s only one chance to start this academic year!

You can take advantage of the Early Headship Coaching Offer at the same time as doing the new NPQ for Headship.

Until you've completed the DfE registration, available from 8 September 2025, your application and funding will not be confirmed.

If you have any questions, email [email protected] and a member of our team will be in touch with next steps.

Who is the EHCO programme for?
The Early Headship Coaching Offer is designed for new headteachers in the first five years of their role and are currently on, have completed, or applying for an NPQ in Headship.

How long does the EHCO programme last?
The Early Headship Coaching Offer is a 12 month programme, with a mixture of live, facilitated sessions and self-directed learning.

Is the EHCO fully funded? The Early Headship Coaching Offer is fully funded for teachers and school leaders who work in eligible schools and organisations in England, by the Department for Education. Find out more about the eligibility criteria in the 'Funding' tab.

How does the EHCO programme accommodate busy schedules?
The Early Headship Coaching Offer is designed to fit around your schedule with a 'little and often' approach that aligns with insights from the science of learning.

Are there any specific requirements to enrol on the EHCO programme?
To be eligible for the Early Headship Coaching Offer, you must be a serving teacher in a school or organisation in England and have completed your early careers training.