Why choose us?
As your local Teaching School Hub, we offer local, face to face delivery by exemplary local leaders. We have a highly experienced expert facilitation team who bring the content to life through engaging delivery. Our dedicated team is on hand to provide support and guidance throughout the programme.
Don’t just take out word for it though, here is what our participants think:
‘Thank you for a fantastic day. I’m really looking forward to the course ahead.
Networking discussions were also incredibly valuable’ NPQH Participant, Feb 22
‘Really motivational’ NPQLT Participant, Feb 22
‘Best CPD I’ve had in my career - thank you!’ NPQLTD Participant, Feb 22
Programme Details
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National Professional Qualification for Leading Behaviour and Culture (NPQLBC)
For: Those responsible for leading behaviour
Course length: 12 months
Accreditation: NPLBC
Programme start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £899 + VAT. Scholarship funding may be available.
About the course
We are partnering with education charity Ambition Institute to deliver the new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Leading Behaviour and Culture. In 12 months, participants will gain expertise in behaviour management and discover how to create a school culture where staff and pupils can thrive.
The programme is delivered by our highly trained and skilled Visiting Fellows; teachers and leaders from our school-based delivery partners.
You will learn how to:
- Assist pupils with complex behavioural needs
- Support the development of a positive, predictable and safe environment for pupils
- Create a culture of high expectations across your school
- Nurture improvement through evidence-based professional development
- Put new approaches to leading behaviour and culture into practice in your school setting
How you'll learn
The content is delivered through blended learning. This includes a mix of real-time, interactive online sessions and selfguided modules you complete in your own time. The programme includes facilitator-led sessions with your peer group that focus on decision making.
The assessment window starts at the end of the programme. Participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.
Who should apply?
To apply, you must be a teacher who has, or is aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading behaviour and/or supporting pupil wellbeing in your school. For example, you might be a pastoral lead, head of behaviour, an assistant or deputy headteacher or a headteacher.
If you're interested, please complete our expression of interest form.
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National Professional Qualification for Leading Teaching (NPQLT)
For: Those responsible for leading teaching
Course length: 12 months
Accreditation: NPQLT
Programme start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £899 + VAT. Scholarship funding may be available.
About the course
We are partnering with education charity Ambition Institute to deliver the new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Leading Teaching. In 12 months, participants will discover what outstanding teaching looks like and use this knowledge to become high-performing leaders of teaching.
The programme is delivered by our highly trained and skilled Visiting Fellows; teachers and leaders from our school-based delivery partners.
You will learn how to:
- Explain important ideas about the science of learning
- Understand what good teaching practice is and how to implement it
- Support colleagues to design a broad and coherent curriculum
- Plan effective lessons and stimulate your pupils’ thinking
- Help colleagues adapt their teaching to different needs
- Contribute to the design of school assessment systems
- Align your professional development with wider school improvement priorities
How you'll learn
The content is delivered through blended learning. This includes a mix of real-time, interactive online sessions and selfguided modules you complete in your own time. The programme includes facilitator-led sessions with your peer group that focus on decision making.
The assessment window starts at the end of the programme. Participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.
Who should apply?
To apply, you must be a teacher who has, or is aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading teaching in a subject, year group, key stage or phase.
If you're interested, please complete our expression of interest form.
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National Professional Qualification for Leading Teacher Development (NPQLTD)
For: Those responsible for leading teacher development
Course length: 12 months
Accreditation: NPQLTD
Programme start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £899 + VAT. Scholarship funding may be available.
About the course
Ambition Institute has designed this ground-breaking new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) to help you develop the knowledge and expertise to lead teacher development at your school. In 12 months, participants will gain the knowledge to become teacher educators and successfully support fellow teachers to expand their skills.
You will learn how to:
- Make sure professional development in your school is focused on a shared responsibility for improving outcomes for all pupils
- Gain an understanding of what teachers have learned by reviewing patterns of performance over a number of assessments
- Help teachers improve through evidence-based professional development focused on improving classroom teaching
- Diagnose what teachers know and can do, starting professional development from that point and adapting the approach based on their developing expertise
- Develop and lead a team of colleagues who can facilitate a range of professional development approaches
- Contribute to a programme of professional development for mentors, trainees and early career teachers
How you'll learn
The content is delivered through blended learning. This includes a mix of real-time, interactive online sessions and selfguided modules you complete in your own time. The programme includes facilitator-led sessions with your peer group that focus on decision making.
The assessment window starts at the end of the programme. Participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.
Who should apply?
To apply, you must be a teacher who has or aspires to have responsibility for mentoring or leading CPD in your subject phase or school.
If you're interested, please complete our expression of interest form.
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National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)
For: Senior leaders or aspiring senior leaders
Course length: 18 months
Accreditation: NPQSL
Programme start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £1,139 + VAT. Scholarship funding may be available.
About the course
Ambition Institute’s new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Senior Leadership gives you the chance to learn evidence-based school leadership and put it into practice. It also gives you the opportunity to focus on specific leadership challenges in your school or trust.
This programme develops your leadership skills and knowledge and covers the content listed in the Department for Education’s NPQ Senior Leadership Framework.
You will learn how to:
- Establish a safe and positive environment for pupils
- Lead school-wide professional development for staff
- Make and act on evidence-informed decision
- Work well with parents, carers, other schools and the wider community
- Set clear goals and communicate shared values that improve the culture in your classrooms and school
- Support colleagues to meet individual needs and make sure all pupils have access to a rich curriculum
- Lead by example, be accountable for decisions and make sure colleagues know their responsibilities
How you'll learn
The content is delivered through blended learning. This includes a mix of Covid-safe face-to-face conferences, real-time, interactive online sessions and self-guided modules you can complete in your own time. You will put what you learn into practice in your school and can track your progress and get feedback as you go.
The assessment window starts at the end of the programme. Participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.
Who should apply?
To apply, you must be, or are aspiring to be, a senior leader with cross-school responsibilities. For example, you might be an assistant or deputy headteacher, or a head of department or faculty.
If you're interested, please complete our expression of interest form.
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National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH)
For: Headteachers or aspiring headteachers
Course length: 18 months
Accreditation: NPQH
Programme start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £1,949 + VAT. Scholarship funding may be available.
About the course
Ambition Institute’s new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Headship gives you the chance to put evidence-based school leadership methods into practice and drive change in your school setting. It also offers the opportunity to focus on specific headship challenges in your school or trust.
This programme develops your knowledge and skills in the 10 areas listed in the Department for Education’s NPQ Headship Framework.
You will learn how to:
- Transform pupils’ knowledge, capabilities and beliefs about learning
- Create a fair and structured approach to learning and testing
- Establish a safe and positive environment for pupils
- Make and act on evidence-informed decisions
- Lead school-wide professional development for staff
- Support colleagues to meet individual needs and make sure all pupils have access to a rich curriculum
- Set clear goals and communicate shared values that improve classroom and school culture
- Establish good financial, human and educational resource management
- Work well with parents, carers, other schools and the wider community
- Lead by example, be accountable for decisions and make sure staff know their professional responsibilities
How you’ll learn
The content is delivered through blended learning. This includes real-time, interactive online sessions, Covid-safe face-to- face conferences and self-guided modules you can fit around your timetable. You will put what you learn into practice in your school and be able to track your progress and get feedback as you go. The programme also includes coaching and peer learning.
The assessment window starts at the end of the programme. Participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.
Who should apply?
To apply, you must be, or aspire to be a headteacher or head of school with responsibility for leading a school.
If you're interested, please complete our expression of interest form.
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National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL)
For: Executive leaders
Course length: 18 months
Accreditation: NPQEL
Programme start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £4,050 plus VAT. Scholarship funding may be available.
About the course
Ambition Institute’s new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Executive Leadership gives you the chance to put evidence-based leadership methods into practice and drive change in your schools or multi-academy trust.
This programme develops your executive leadership skills and knowledge and covers the content listed in the Department for Education’s NPQ Executive Leadership Framework.
You will learn how to:
- Create a positive and effective culture across your schools or trust
- Participate in governance and be fully transparent and accountable
- Give clear feedback to teachers and make sure they are supported with guidance and training to do their jobs effectively
- Work effectively in partnership with parents, the community and other schools and trusts
- Create and sustain a positive, safe and predictable environment for all pupils across your schools or trust
- Support school leaders and your senior team to put in place an evidence-informed approach to designing the curriculum
- Work with school leaders and your senior team to make sure professional development priorities are aligned with plans to improve your school or trust
How you'll learn
The content is delivered through a mix of real-time, interactive online clinics and self-guided modules you complete in your own time. You will put what you learn into practice across your schools or trust, tracking your progress and getting feedback as you go. You will also benefit from one-to-one coaching sessions led by experts and peer-based learning.
The assessment window starts at the end of the programme. Participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.
Who should apply?
To apply, 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.
If you're interested, please complete our expression of interest form.
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National Professional Qualification for Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL)
For: Leaders qualified to at least Level 3 with a full and relevant qualification who are, or are aspiring to be, managers of Private, Voluntary and Independent nurseries, headteachers of school-based or maintained nurseries, or childminders with leadership responsibilities
Course length: 18 months
Accreditation: NPQEYL
Programme start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £1,139 + VAT Scholarship funding may be available.
About the course
We are partnering with education charity Ambition Institute to deliver the new NPQ for Early Years Leadership. In 18 months, participants will discover how to support practitioners, teachers and leaders to develop expertise in leading high-quality education and care, as well as effective staff and organisational management.
A child’s experiences between birth and age five have a major impact on their future life chances. Our priority is to help early years leaders to continuously develop their knowledge and skills throughout their careers so every child gets the best start in life.
Leading a nursery requires a wealth of strategic and operational knowledge. The role is reliant on working with and through colleagues to ensure every child gets the best start in life.
Early years leaders need to have a strong understanding of their context, community and the children and adults they work with. They also need to have expertise across a number of areas related to their role (e.g. high-quality early education and care, parental engagement, additional and special educational needs, and organisational management) and in approaches that, through working with their colleagues, enable their nursery to keep improving (e.g. professional development and implementation). They must understand the relationship between these different areas, how they can change over time, how to set an ambitious vision for their nursery, and how to establish the unique culture and conditions which can shape the experiences of children and be a deciding factor in practitioners, teachers and leaders remaining in the profession.
This NPQ programme supports the development of essential knowledge, skills and concepts that underpin successful leadership of a high-quality nursery. It sets out what those leading a nursery should know and be able to do within the areas related to their role and in relation to approaches that enable their nursery to keep improving.
You will learn how to:
- Establish and sustain the nursery’s strategic direction
- Establish and sustain an effective culture across the nursery
- Plan and deliver care and a high-quality curriculum to support child development
- Establish and sustain communication, language and literacy approaches to support children’s learning
- Effectively manage children’s behaviour and support children’s personal, social and emotional development
- Support practitioners and teachers to develop a strong understanding of how assessment can improve teaching and transition
- Ensure all children experience success
- Support colleagues to meet individual needs without creating unnecessary workload
- Ensure all leaders, practitioners and teachers can identify any additional needs early and ensure appropriate referrals
- Ensure colleagues engage in effective professional development
- Conduct, and support colleagues to conduct, regular expert led conversations (which could be referred to as mentoring or coaching) about all aspects of their roles
- Ensure the protection and safety of children and colleagues
- Establish and oversee effective systems, processes and policies for managing admissions, exclusions and appeals
- Prioritise, allocate and manage resources (including financial, human and educational) appropriately, effectively and efficiently across the nursery to ensure sustainability
- Recruit, develop, support and appropriately manage all colleagues
- Ensure rigorous approaches to identifying, managing and mitigating risk
- Plan, implement and mitigate against change
- Work in partnership with parents and carers, nurseries, agencies and services
How you'll learn
The content is delivered through blended learning. This includes a mix of real-time, interactive online sessions and selfguided modules you complete in your own time. The programme includes facilitator-led sessions with your peer group that focus on decision making.
The assessment window starts at the end of the programme. Participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.
Who should apply?
To apply, you must be:
- Managers or aspiring managers of independent, voluntary or private nurseries
- Childminders with leadership responsibilities
- Headteachers of maintained school-based nurseries or maintained nurseries
- Leaders with a full Level 3 qualification or above
If you're interested, please complete our expression of interest form.
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National Professional Qualification for Leading Literacy (NPQLL)
For: Those responsible for leading literacy
Course length: 12 months
Accreditation: NPQLL
Programme start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £899 + VAT. Scholarship funding may be available.
About the course
We are partnering with education charity Ambition Institute to deliver the new NPQ for Leading Literacy. In 12 months, participants will discover what outstanding teaching looks like and use this knowledge to become high-performing leaders of literacy.
Leading literacy teaching is complex. Although the role varies, many phase leaders, key stage leaders, and heads of department (or similar titles) with responsibilities for leading literacy are considered to be part of the middle leadership team. They often contribute to strategic school development, develop and lead a team of teachers, and their work is focused on supporting effective teaching of literacy across the school.
You will learn how to
- Explain important ideas about the science of learning
- Champion reading across the school
- Support colleagues to develop all pupils’ language capability and wider understanding of language
- Support colleagues to develop all pupils’ word reading
- Support colleagues to develop pupils’ reading comprehension across the school
- Support colleagues to develop pupils’ fluent written transcription and sentence construction skills
- Support colleagues to teach pupils to use strategies for planning and monitoring their writing
- Plan, conduct, and support colleagues to conduct, regular, expert-led conversations (which could be referred to as mentoring or coaching) about teaching literacy
How you'll learn
The content is delivered through blended learning. This includes a mix of real-time, interactive online sessions and selfguided modules you complete in your own time. The programme includes facilitator-led sessions with your peer group that focus on decision making.
The assessment window starts at the end of the programme. Participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.
Who should apply?
To apply, you must be a teacher who has, or is aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading literacy across a school, year group, key stage or phase.
If you're interested, please complete our expression of interest form.
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National Professional Qualification for Leading Primary Maths
For: Those responsible or aspiring to lead primary maths.
Course length: 12 months
Accreditation: NPQLPM
Start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £899 plus VAT
About the course
Scholarship funding is available
We are partnering with education charity Ambition Institute to deliver the new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for Leading Primary Maths. In 12 months, participants will become expert leaders of primary maths and learn how to embed high-quality Mastery approaches to maths teaching in school.
The programme is delivered by the Great North Maths Hub, who are highly trained and skilled Visiting Fellows.
You will learn how to:
- Understand what good primary maths teaching practice is and how to implement it.
- Embed mastery approaches to teaching maths in your school.
- Lead your school to teach maths effectively, working collaboratively with senior leaders and teachers.
- Develop your ability and capacity to improve the provision of maths across your school.
- Equip staff to plan effective primary maths lessons and stimulate your pupils’ thinking.
- Help colleagues to adapt their maths teaching to meet different needs.
- Align your professional development with wider school improvement priorities.
Note: programme content is subject to change.
How you’ll learn
Our NPQLPM is designed so you can engage in live, facilitated sessions alongside modules you can complete at any time. The programme includes facilitator-led sessions with your peer group that focus on decision-making. The programme starts with a one-day live conference and clinics will be interspersed across the 12 months. Our NPQ courses no longer include a large project at the end. Instead, you’ll sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which you respond to a short case study.
Who should apply?
To apply, you must be a teacher who has or is aspiring to have, responsibilities for primary leading teaching in mathematics, numeracy, curriculum, teaching and learning, phase or a primary classroom teacher aspiring to lead. You should already be familiar with mastery approaches to teaching maths.
NPQLPM participants are expected to have completed a minimum of 1 Year of the DfE's Teaching for Mastery programme, delivered by the national network of Maths Hubs and co-ordinated by NCETM, or have secure mastery expertise from another equivalent programme.
If you're interested, please complete our expression of interest form.
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Early Headship Coaching Offer (EHCO)
For: Those looking into headship.
Course length: 12 months
Accreditation: EHCO
Programme start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £800 + VAT. Scholarship funding may be available.
Many teachers will be aware of the Government’s reform of the National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) rolled out in September.
However, you may not know that in addition to this new framework for teachers’ qualifications, the government has also introduced an Additional Support Offer - Early Headship Coaching specifically to help new-in-post headteachers to thrive, excel and support their teachers and pupils to do the same.
What is the Early Headship Coaching Offer?
The Additional Support Offer is a 12-month government programme which provides targeted support to new headteachers to help them find their feet and tackle the challenges and problems that come with the role.
The exact support you receive will be tailored to your needs, challenges and goals. As a provider of the NPQs and Early Headship Coaching, we’ve developed a programme based on the evidence of what makes an effective headteacher. Your unique programme will include one-to-one coaching, shadowing experienced headteachers and ongoing personal development, all designed to help you tackle the persistent problems in your school.
School leaders are constantly faced with problems which are often ‘knotty’ and sometimes unsolvable. Ambition Institute has defined these as the persistent problems of school leadership – problems that are universal and unavoidable, which all leaders will face irrespective of the context they work in. With the Early Headship Coaching Offer, you’ll be able to share these problems with experts and peers to develop tailored solutions at each stage of support on the programme.
For example, if you’re struggling with an inconsistency of teaching quality across the school, you’ll build a plan that looks deeper into the context of the problem with your coach. You’ll then see what success can look like through a school shadowing visit, before finally reviewing your problem and building an action plan with your peers. Working through the Early Headship Coaching Offer, you’ll develop a stronger understanding of your problem’s root causes and build sustainable approaches to address these problems. As you progress over the 12 months, you’ll be able to check in with your coach to continually reflect on your solutions and progress.
Who is eligible for the Early Headship Coaching Offer??
To be eligible for the Early Headship Coaching Offer you must:
- Be a headteacher in a state school when you begin the training.
- Be within the first two years of your headship (i.e. you did not start your role before September 2019).
- Either have taken the NPQH before beginning your headship, or are currently taking the NPQH
- Have not previously withdrawn from the Additional Support programme.
How will it benefit me and my career?
Becoming a leader in your school is hugely exciting, but no doubt daunting. With this kind of support, you won’t feel as if you’re taking the next step of your career alone.
You’ll have access to insight and knowledge from people who have been there and done it, as well as online resources created by fellow educators, with practical advice to help you tackle any challenges.
As well as expert one-to-one guidance, you’ll connect with people at similar points in their career to share experiences, feedback and moral support.
With such a wealth of experience and expertise behind you, you’ll be able to grow into the type of leader you want to become and build the career you’ve always wanted.
If you are interested, fill out this expression of interest form.
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NPQSENCO
For: you must be a current or aspiring SENCO, or a school leader such as a senior leader or headteacher. The NPQ for SENCOs is also open to leaders in specialist or alternative provision. NPQs are not suitable for active Early Career Teachers.
Course Length: 18 months
Accreditation: NPQSENCOs
Programme start date: Spring 2025
Cost: £1,332 + VAT
About the course
The carefully sequenced and evidence informed NPQ is designed around the key problems you face. You'll learn to implement tailored SEND strategies related to your school’s context.
This new NPQ is designed for leaders by experienced SEND experts.
Through our NPQ, you'll build an inclusive school culture that better serves all pupils, including those with SEND.
You’ll get access to the key research on SEND. This includes core school leadership domains like teaching, behaviour and culture, alongside specialist SEND knowledge on topics like identifying need, running effective intervention and working within the law.
You will learn how to:
Contribute to establishing and sustaining a positive and supportive culture across the school for all pupils.
Support senior leaders to ensure staff and governors enact statutory guidance.
Support teachers and support staff to understand the importance of expert teaching for all pupils and to implement a graduated approach in the classroom, subject or domain effectively.
Support the delivery of effective provision for pupils with SEND and their families, and be able to review, monitor, evaluate and improve the impact of SEND provision.
Work with staff, specialists and other agencies to assist the school in meeting the needs of all pupils.
Implement an efficient SEND identification process across the school which ensures that barriers to learning are identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity.
Work with and equip fellow leaders with the skills to establish and sustain effective curriculum planning that enable teachers to plan, adapt and teach effectively for all pupils.
Support the development of a positive, safe and supportive environment for pupils across the whole school.
Ensure all pupils feel motivated in school with a supportive setting to enable them to reach their aspirations and potential.
How you will learn
The content is delivered through blended learning. This includes a mix of face-to-face conferences, real-time, interactive online sessions and self-guided modules you can complete in your own time. You will put what you learn into practice in your school and can track your progress and get feedback as you go.
The assessment window starts at the end of the programme. Participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.
Who Should Apply
You must be a current or aspiring SENCO, or a school leader such as a senior leader or headteacher. The NPQ for SENCOs is also open to leaders in specialist or alternative provision. NPQs are not suitable for active Early Career Teachers.
If you're interested, please complete our expression of interest form.
Spring 2025 NPQs
The Three Rivers Teaching School Hub is the designated hub for Northumberland, North Tyneside and Newcastle. Please register your interest for NPQ's starting in Autumn 2024.
Register