National Professional Qualifications
We are working with Best Practice Network to deliver the suite of National Professional Qualifications.
The National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) are a suite of DfE accredited qualifications for school leaders, designed to support professional development - helping school leaders and teachers become more effective.
The application window for NPQs beginning in Spring 2025 is now open. We have been allocated a limited number of funded places for this cohort and recommend applying as soon as possible.
We expect that in the future there will be only one application window per year for each NPQ, and therefore the next opportunity to begin an NPQ will be Spring 2026.
All of the qualifications are based on NPQ Frameworks which draw from the very latest evidence and research and complete the golden thread, running from initial teacher training through to school leadership, rooting teacher and school leader development in the best available evidence and collective wisdom of the profession.
To learn more about the benefits of NPQs, for schools and individuals, take a look at our Guide to NPQs.
Download 'A Guide to NPQs' - advice and guidance for leaders and prospective applicants
Funding
NPQs may be funded by schools or by scholarship funding.
Scholarship funding for Spring 2025 will be available to teachers and leaders from:
- the 50% of schools with the highest proportion of students who attract pupil premium funding
- 16 to 19 educational settings identified as having high disadvantage
