National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL)

Our carefully sequenced and evidence informed NPQ for Executive Leadership is designed to equip you with the skills for leading across multiple schools.

• Length: 18 months.
• Delivery: Blended learning, that includes 'little and often' online and face to face learning.
• Qualification: Sector recognised qualification.
• Curriculum: Carefully sequenced and evidence informed.
• Cost: Limited funding for all state schools in England. Self-funded places available.

Funding for autumn 2026 is targeted for teachers and leaders working in England's top 50% most disadvantaged schools, according to pupil premium percentage.

To be eligible for funding, NPQEL applicants also have to meet the following criteria:

• Are, or are aspiring to be, an executive headteacher or have a school trust CEO role with responsibility for leading several schools.
• Work in the 50% of schools with the highest proportion of students who attract pupil premium funding and 16 to 19 educational settings identified as having high disadvantage in England.

Without funding, the NPQ for Executive Leadership costs £4,050 plus VAT.

RISE intervention schools 
You may be eligible for funding if you work in a school that is eligible for targeted regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) intervention. Find out more about RISE eligibility here.

Check if you're eligible! To see whether you are eligible for funding, you can use our eligibility checker tool. Or if you have further questions, get in touch to find out more here.

Self-funded payment options
If you are unable to access a DfE funded scholarship, you can pay for your NPQ.

We will invoice the school/trust contact you provide in your application directly. Depending on your school type, they maybe be able to reclaim VAT.

If you are unable to come to an arrangement with your school, we can invoice you directly, but you will not be able to reclaim VAT.

Unfortunately, we do not offer payment plans for our NPQ programmes.

The cost of your programme must be paid in full before the start of your programme. We are unable to offer refunds once you start the programme.

DfE funding restrictions
Due to DfE funding being limited, being eligible for an NPQ scholarship does not guarantee either suitability for the course or that a funded course place is available.

If funded places are not available, you can:

• Approach a different NPQ provider to enquire about the availability of funded course places
• Choose to join your chosen providers waiting list
• Choose to pay for a course place

Do you work in a school outside of England?
Find out more about our International NPQ offer here >>

Choose our NPQ for Executive Leadership and you’ll be joining over 40,000 teachers and school leaders (as of May 2026), who have chosen Ambition for their NPQ since they were launched in 2021.

Evidence-informed curriculum
You’ll benefit from our evidence-informed curriculum to help you put evidence-based leadership methods into practice and drive change in your schools or multi-academy trust.

Access the latest research
Throughout the NPQEL course, you’ll get access to the key research on areas including curriculum, assessment and governance across multiple schools and the importance of a positive culture to improve outcomes. Rather than spending your time sourcing the latest insights, you’ll instead focus on putting your learning into practice.

Train to your timetable
Our ‘little and often’ approach means you’ll need on average just one hour per week to engage in our NPQs, helping you to fit your NPQEL around your timetable.

No large project
On our NPQs, there’s no large project at the end. Instead, you’ll sit an ‘open book’ assessment with support via a live webinar and clinics available to help you get the most from your NPQ.

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.

To be eligible for this programme, you must be a school leader who is, or is aspiring to be, an executive headteacher or have a school trust CEO role with responsibility for leading several schools.

NPQs are not suitable for active Early Career Teachers.

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

Do you work in a school outside of England?
Find out more about our International NPQ offer here >>

You’ll sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which you respond to a short case study.

The assessment window starts at the end of the 18-month programme and your outcome is usually available within four months (subject to change by the DfE).

During this time:

• You’ll be given an eight-day window to complete the case study.
• You have two submission attempts. If you fail on the first submission, you will have one further opportunity to resit the assessment. You will submit the assessment in the next available assessment window.
• You need to complete 90% of the programme and pass the assessment to gain the qualification.
• We will offer a live clinic in advance of the assessment window to support you.

Applications are currently closed. Enquire now to be kept updated about the November 2026 cohorts.

DfE registration: Until you've completed the DfE registration, available from 23 June 2026, your registration and funding will not be confirmed. You will be able to register here.

Do you work in a school outside of England?
Find out more about our International NPQ offer here >>

We’re proud to be the largest provider of NPQs in England.

As an education charity, this helps our mission to support more teachers and school leaders serving children from disadvantaged backgrounds to keep getting better.

From our recent participant survey*, we heard that:

• 94% of participants agreed that their Ambition NPQ had helped them to develop their expertise as a school leader.
• 92% of participants agreed that as a result of their Ambition NPQ, they felt better equipped to carry out their current role.
• 93% of leaders agreed that staff completing an Ambition NPQ had supported their school to improve.

You can read more about what our NPQ participants have said here >>

*taken from our 2025 NPQ participant surveys.

We’re now welcoming interest in our NPQs from those working outside of England.

For schools and applicants working outside of England, content is delivered through blended learning. This includes a mix of real-time, interactive online sessions and self-guided modules you complete in your own time.

If you work in a school outside of England and are interested in one of our NPQs for yourself or your school, you can find out more about our International NPQ offer here >>