National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) are a national, voluntary suite of qualifications designed to support the professional development of teachers and school leaders. They equip teachers with the expertise to lead sustainable improvement across their schools.

NPQs can be divided into two groups:

• Leadership programmes, covering senior leadership; headship; executive leadership; early years leadership and special educational needs.
• Specialist programme, covering the leadership of teaching; behaviour and culture; teacher development; literacy and leading primary maths.

Details about each of these programme is available via the links on the right-hand side of this page.

Scholarship funding

As part of the government’s long-term education recovery plan, it was announced in May 2022 that funding for fully-funded NPQ training scholarships will be available in academic years 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024.

From Autumn 2022, the organisations eligible to access scholarships are:

• state-funded schools

• state-funded 16 to 19 organisations

• independent special schools

• virtual schools (local authority run organisations that support the education of children in care)

• hospital schools not already included in other categories of eligible organisations

• young offender institutions

Local authority employed supply teachers will also be able to access scholarships.

Teachers and leaders who are employed as above are eligible for training scholarships for the following NPQs:

• NPQ for Leading Teaching (NPQLT)

• NPQ for Leading Behaviour and Culture (NPQLBC)

• NPQ for Leading Teacher Development (NPQLTD)

• NPQ for Leading Literacy (NPQLL)

• NPQ for Leading Primary Mathematics (NPQLPM)

• NPQ for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)

• NPQ for Headship (NPQH)

• NPQ for Executive Leadership (NPQEL)

• NPQ for Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL)

• NPQ for Special Educational Needs Coordinators (NPQSENCO)

NPQ for Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL)

Training scholarships for the NPQ for Early Years Leadership are available to those leaders qualified to at least level 3 with a full and relevant qualification^{[footnote 1]}: who are, or are aspiring to be:

• managers of private, voluntary and independent nurseries

• headteachers of school-based or maintained nurseries

• childminders with leadership responsibilities

And are employed:

• in a maintained nursery school in England

• in a pre-school class that’s part of a school in England

• in a nursery that is registered on the Ofsted Early Years Register

• as a childminder and registered on the Ofsted Early Years Register, or with a registered Childminder Agency

Targeted support funding

For each teacher or leader a state-funded school and state-funded 16 to 19 organisation employs and who starts a NPQ in the 2023 to 2024 academic year, the following funding grant will apply:

• state-funded primary schools with 1 to 150 pupils will receive a grant payment of £800

• state-funded primary schools with more than 150 pupils will receive a grant payment of £200

• state-funded secondary schools and state-funded 16 to 19 educational settings with 1 to 600 pupils will receive a grant payment of £200

Apply to undertake a National Professional Qualification

Please visit the dedicated web page (see 'In this section' on the right-hand-side of this page) for the NPQ you are considering applying for. Check your eligibility and then follow the instruction in the 'Apply' section of the web page.