National Professional Qualification
for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)
For school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, a senior leader with cross-school responsibilities.
Learn the Key Concepts Underpinning Successful Senior Leadership
Awards 30 Master's Credits
Develop a Culture in Which Staff and Pupils Are Able to Thrive
Apply Now for Spring 2024
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The National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL) is accredited by the UK Department for Education (DfE). The qualification is delivered by the Outstanding Leaders Partnership, the leading provider of UK accredited qualifications for education professionals worldwide.
Outstanding Leaders Partnership was recently rated ‘Exceptional’ by the DfE’s quality assurance agent and voted ‘Company of the Year’ at the BETT Awards. We are the market leader, and to date have supported over 1500 candidates from 75+ countries to access and complete an NPQ.
National Professional Qualification (NPQ): Senior Leadership
NPQSL gives candidates all of the essential knowledge, skills and concepts that underpin successful senior leadership with candidates learning how to:
- Contribute to establishing and sustaining the school’s strategic direction
- Contribute to establishing and sustaining an effective culture across the school
- Establish and sustain effective planning and preparation across the school
- Ensure teaching across the school stimulates pupil thinking and understanding
- View the NPQSL Framework tab for the full programme content
What are the benefits?
In recent years, Outstanding Leaders Partnership has grown into a nationwide network of 165 schools, multi-school organisations, dioceses and university partners. The extensive expertise and diversity of our partner network allows us to develop rich, phase-specific, programme content which is delivered and facilitated by local experts in local schools.
- Facilitation and support from serving school leaders in outstanding schools
- Purpose-built virtual learning environment enabled for mobiles and tablets
- Delivery at local venues
- Guaranteed support to pass the final assessment
- Content contextualised for your locality and updated to reflect national developments and legislation
- Regular progress updates for mentors and headteachers
National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) for International Schools
Outstanding Leaders Partnership began delivering National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) to international schools in 2018. Since then, thousands of international schools colleagues have completed our prestigious qualifications, helping them to become more effective school leaders.
The majority of our international NPQ candidates complete the qualifications through our remote online delivery model where the face-to-face elements are delivered via interactive facilitated webinars. International face-to-face NPQ delivery is also available, please contact us for your nearest group. If you would like to host NPQs in your school or schools group then please visit our partnerships page.
Remote Online Delivery for International Schools
For colleagues working in international schools, we are able to deliver the National Professional Qualification for Leading Teaching (NPQLT) entirely online.
Participants access the qualification resources through our award winning Virtual Learning Environment, Canvas, where they engage with international schools colleagues from around the world to discuss the resources and collaborate to complete the various tasks.
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NPQLT candidates will attend 3 face-to-face events if they choose to complete the programme via the blended delivery model. Our international delivery network allows us to bring face-to-face training to a school near you and facilitated by local school leaders (please contact us for international locations).
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Candidates access online learning and support via our virtual learning environment (VLE) Canvas. Through Canvas, candidates are able to engage with their peers, access multimedia content and submit work for assessment.
NPQSL Delivery Structure
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NPQSL Framework
The NPQ frameworks are based on a robust method of design and development, building on the evidence base and expert guidance already established in the ECF and the ITT Core Content Framework. The NPQ frameworks reflect the Teachers’ Standards and Headteachers' Standards to ensure coherency with the requirements already used by the teaching profession.
Please see the NPQSL Framework below. If your computer or device does not support the Adobe plugin you can download the framework pdf here.
Who is this for?
The National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL) is for school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, a senior leader with cross-school responsibilities.
The role of a senior leader within a school is complex. Although the role varies, many senior leaders contribute to all aspects of the school through the leadership team as well as having a specific whole school responsibility of their own. This means the role is often both operational and strategic and relies on working with and through colleagues (in particular, through middle leaders) to ensure every pupil gets an excellent education.
Requirements
Applicants must have full support from their school/organisation. A head teacher, member of the SLT, line manager or Chair of Governors (or similar authoritative role) must confirm their support and that all information submitted is true and correct. This is a Department for Education mandatory requirement.
To apply for NPQSL, applicants must have the following:
- Teacher Reference Number (TRN)
- 2 years teaching experience
- Leadership aspiration/experience
If you are unsure if you meet the above requirements or have other relevant experience then please contact our team who will be able to support your application.
What does it cost?
NPQSL International costs £1550 plus VAT where applicable. VAT is chargeable on courses funded by private individuals.
Next Steps
We are now accepting applications for the Spring 2024 NPQSL Cohort. Click below to apply.
