National Professional Qualification
for Leading Teacher Development (NPQLTD)
National Professional Qualification (NPQ): Leading Teacher Development
NPQLTD gives participants all of the essential knowledge, skills and concepts that underpin successful leadership of teacher development. Participants will cover ‘learn that’ and ‘learn how to’ statements in four areas:
- 1 – Teaching
- 2 – Designing Effective Professional Development
- 3 – Delivering Effective Professional Development
- 4 – Implementation
See the NPQLTD Framework tab for the full programme content.
What are the benefits?
The fully blended learning approach combined with performance coaching and enrichment activities make this an exciting and valuable opportunity for those who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading the development of other teachers in their school.
The NPQLTD qualification is aligned to Masters credits and can act as a springboard on to Liverpool Hope University’s MA in Leading in Education or the MBA in Educational Leadership.
Benefits for Participants
- Become adept in supporting initial teacher training, early career teachers as well as the wider development of all colleagues across the school
- Develop expertise across a number of specialist areas related to their role (e.g. designing professional development)
- Purpose-built virtual learning environment enabled for mobiles and tablets
- Guaranteed support to pass the final assessment
- Content contextualised for your locality and updated to reflect national developments and legislation
- Facilitation and support from serving school leaders in outstanding schools and delivery at local venues
Benefits for Schools
- Regular progress updates for mentors and headteachers
- Support succession of school leaders and build a cohesive, impact-focused school leadership team
- A professionally aware and informed leader who can make evidence-based decisions and approach leading teacher development in an effective and efficient manner
- The ability to review and evaluate practice in order to bring about change and get the best outcomes for young people and staff within the organisation
How is NPQLTD delivered?
NPQLTD makes use of a blended delivery model consisting of face-to-face events, online study, webinars and coaching.
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NPQLTD participants will attend 3 face-to-face events. Our nationwide delivery partnership network allows us to bring face-to-face training to a school near you and facilitated by local school leaders.
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Participants access online learning and support via our virtual learning environment (VLE) Canvas. Through Canvas, participants are able to engage with learning communities of peers and access multimedia content. They can also access research and expert school-led practice aligned to the curriculum content for the qualification and receive high-quality feedback from experienced online mentors and in-school coaches.
Online-only Delivery Model
NPQLTD participants can choose to complete the programme via our virtual online delivery model. This delivery model includes virtual live online events to replace face-to-face events.
NPQLTD Qualification Structure
Who is this for?
The National Professional Qualification for Leading Teacher Development (NPQLTD) is suitable for teachers who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading the development of other teachers in their school. They may have responsibilities for the development of all teachers across a school or specifically trainees or teachers who are in the first two years of their career.
Leading the development of other teachers is complex. Although the role varies, many of those leading teacher development who will take this qualification are considered to be part of the middle leadership team. They may indirectly manage a team of mentors or coaches and their work is focussed on supporting initial teacher training, early career teachers as well as the wider development of all colleagues across the school.
What does it cost?
Fees to be confirmed.
NPQLTD Framework
National Professional Qualification (NPQ): Leading Teacher Development
In collaboration with an Expert Advisory Group, the Department for Education consulted extensively with the sector to design the reformed suite of NPQs. This has included invaluable input from teachers,
school and trust leaders, academics and experts.
The frameworks set out two types of content. Within each area, key evidence statements (“Learn that…”) have been drawn from current high-quality evidence from the UK and overseas. This evidence includes high-quality reviews and syntheses, including metaanalyses and rigorous individual studies. In addition, the NPQ frameworks provide practical guidance on the skills that teachers and school/trust leaders should be supported to develop. Practice statements (“Learn how to…”) draw on both the best available educational research and on additional guidance from the Expert Advisory Group and other sector representatives.
The Education Endowment Foundation has independently reviewed the frameworks to ensure they draw on the best available evidence and that this evidence has been interpreted with fidelity. The NPQ frameworks will be kept under review as the evidence base evolves. As in any profession, the evidence base is not static and research insights develop and progress.
School Culture
School Culture | |
Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. High-quality teaching has a long-term positive effect on pupils’ life chances, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. 2. Teacher expectations can affect pupil outcomes; setting goals that challenge and stretch pupils is essential. 3. Setting clear expectations can help communicate shared values that improve classroom and school culture. 4. Teachers have the ability to affect and improve the wellbeing, motivation and behaviour of their pupils. 5. Teachers are key role models, who can influence the attitudes, values and behaviours of their pupils. 6. Teachers can influence pupils’ resilience and beliefs about their ability to succeed, by ensuring all pupils have the opportunity to experience meaningful success. 7. A culture of mutual trust and respect between colleagues supports effective relationships. |
Contribute to the creation of a culture of high expectations across the school by:
● Prioritising professional development and a shared responsibility for continuous improvement. |
Enabling Conditions for Good Behaviour | |
Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. While classroom-level approaches have a big impact on 8. A predictable and secure environment benefits all pupils, |
Support the development of a positive, predictable and safe environment for pupils by: Motivate pupils by:
|
Subject and CurriculumComplex Behaviour Needs | |
Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. Despite consistent systems being beneficial for all pupils, 7. SENCOs, pastoral leaders and other specialist |
Support pupils who need more intensive support with their behaviour by: Prevent and respond to bullying by: |
Professional Development | |
Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. Teaching quality is a crucial factor in raising pupil attainment. 2. Helping teachers improve through evidence-based professional development that is explicitly focused on improving classroom teaching can be a cost-effective way to improve pupils’ academic outcomes when compared with other interventions, and can narrow the disadvantage attainment gap. 3. Effective professional development is likely to involve a lasting change in teachers' capabilities or understanding so that their teaching changes. 4. Professional development should be developed using a clear theory of change, where facilitators understand what the intended educational outcomes for teachers are and how these will subsequently impact pupil outcomes. Ideally, they should check whether teachers learn what was intended. 5. Whilst professional development may need to be sustained over time, what the time is used for, is more important than the amount. 6. More effective professional development is likely to be designed to build on the existing knowledge, skills and understanding of participants. 7. The content of professional development programmes should be based on the best available evidence on effective pedagogies and classroom interventions, and aim to enhance capabilities and understanding in order to improve pupil outcomes. 8. Teachers are more likely to improve if they feel that they are working within a supportive professional environment, where both trust and high professional standards are maintained. 9. Supportive environments include having the time and resource to undertake relevant professional development and collaborate with peers, and the provision of feedback to enable teachers to improve. They also include receiving support from school leadership, both in addressing concerns and in maintaining standards for pupil behaviour. 10. Professional development is likely to be more effective when design and delivery involves specialist expertise from a range of sources. This may include internal or external expertise. 11. Teacher developers should choose activities that suit the aims and context of their professional development programme. Successful models have included regular, expert-led conversations about classroom practice, teacher development groups, and structured interventions. However, these activities do not work in all circumstances and the model should fit the educational aims, content and context of the programme. 12. All schools with early career teachers undertaking statutory induction must adhere to the regulations and relevant statutory guidance. 13. School staff with disabilities may require reasonable adjustments; working closely with these staff to understand barriers and identify effective approaches is essential. |
Contribute to effective professional development linked to behaviour and culture across the school by: Plan, conduct, and support colleagues to conduct, regular, expert-led conversations (which could be referred to as mentoring or coaching) about behaviour and culture by:
|
Implementation | |
Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. Implementation is an ongoing process that must adapt to context over time, rather than a single event. It involves the application of specific implementation activities and principles over an extended period (e.g. implementation planning, ongoing monitoring). 2. Successful implementation requires expert knowledge of the approach that is being implemented and the related area of practice (e.g. behaviour), which is shared amongst staff. 3. Implementation should involve repurposing existing processes and resources (e.g. governance, data collection) rather than creating a separate set of procedures. 4. Effective implementation begins by accurately diagnosing the problem and making evidence-informed decisions on what to implement. 5. Thorough preparation is important: time and care spent planning, communicating and resourcing the desired changes provides the foundation for successful delivery. Teachers and leaders should keep checking how ready their colleagues are to make the planned changes. 6. Implementing an approach with fidelity (i.e. as intended) increases the chance of it impacting positively on school practice and pupil outcomes. Any approach should specify which features of the approach need to be adopted closely and where there is scope for adaptation. 7. A combination of integrated activities is likely to be needed to support implementation (e.g. training, monitoring, feedback) rather than any single activity. Follow-on support (e.g. through high-quality coaching) is key to embedding new skills and knowledge developed during initial training. 8. Delivery of a new approach is a learning process – expect challenges but aim for continuous improvement. Monitoring implementation is an essential tool in identifying, and acting on, problems and solutions. 9. The confidence to make good implementation decisions is derived, in part, from confidence in the data on which those decisions are based. Reliable monitoring and evaluation enable schools to make well-informed choices, and to see how their improvement efforts are impacting on teacher knowledge, classroom practices and pupil outcomes. 10. A school’s capacity to implement an approach is rarely static (e.g. staff leave, contexts change). Sustained implementation requires leaders to keep supporting and rewarding the appropriate use of an approach and check it is still aligned with the overall strategy and context. 11. Implementation benefits from dedicated but distributed school leadership. Senior leaders should provide a clear vision and direction for the changes to come. At the same time, implementation is a complex process that requires feedback from staff and shared leadership responsibilities. 12. Implementation processes are influenced by, but also influence, school climate and culture. Implementation is easier when staff feel trusted to try new things and make mistakes, safe in the knowledge that they will be supported with resources, training, and encouragement to keep improving. |
Plan and execute implementation in stages by: Make the right choices on what to implement by:
Deliver changes by: Sustain changes by: |
Assessment | |
Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. Effective assessment is critical to teaching because it provides teachers with information about pupils’ understanding and needs. 2. Good assessment helps teachers avoid being overinfluenced by potentially misleading factors, such as how busy pupils appear. 3. Before using any assessment, teachers should be clear about the decision it will be used to support and be able to justify its use. 4. To be of value, teachers must use information from assessments to inform the decisions they make; in turn, pupils must be able to act on feedback for it to have an effect. 5. High-quality feedback can be written or verbal; it is likely to be accurate and clear, encourage further effort, and provide specific guidance on how to improve. 6. Over time, feedback should support pupils to monitor and regulate their own learning. 7. Working with colleagues to identify efficient approaches to assessment is important; assessment can become onerous and have a disproportionate impact on workload. |
Support colleagues to avoid common assessment pitfalls by:
Support colleagues to provide high-quality feedback by: ● Sharing approaches to peer- and self-assessment that are likely to increase its effectiveness (e.g. by sharing model Encourage colleagues to use high quality, reliable assessment without creating unnecessary workload by: |
Professional Development | |
Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. Teaching quality is a crucial factor in raising pupil attainment. 2. Helping teachers improve through evidence-based professional development that is explicitly focused on improving classroom teaching can be a cost-effective way to improve pupils’ academic outcomes when compared with other interventions, and can narrow the disadvantage attainment gap. 3. Effective professional development is likely to involve a lasting change in teachers' capabilities or understanding so that their teaching changes. 4. Professional development should be developed using a clear theory of change, where facilitators understand what the intended educational outcomes for teachers are and how these will subsequently impact pupil outcomes. Ideally, they should check whether teachers learn what was intended. 5. Whilst professional development may need to be sustained over time, what the time is used for, is more important than the amount. 6. More effective professional development is likely to be designed to build on the existing knowledge, skills and understanding of participants. 7. The content of professional development programmes should be based on the best available evidence on effective pedagogies and classroom interventions and aim to enhance capabilities and understanding in order to improve pupil outcomes. 8. Teachers are more likely to improve if they feel that they are working within a supportive professional environment, where both trust and high professional standards are maintained. 9. Supportive environments include having the time and resource to undertake relevant professional development and collaborate with peers, and the provision of feedback to enable teachers to improve. They also include receiving support from school leadership, both in addressing concerns and in maintaining standards for pupil behaviour. 10. Professional development is likely to be more effective when design and delivery involves specialist expertise from a range of sources. This may include internal or external expertise. 11. Teacher developers should choose activities that suit the aims and context of their professional development programme. Successful models have included regular, expert-led conversations about classroom practice, teacher development groups, and structured interventions. However, these activities do not work in all circumstances and the model should fit the educational aims, content and context of the programme. 12. All schools with early career teachers undertaking statutory induction must adhere to the regulations and relevant statutory guidance. 13. School staff with disabilities may require reasonable adjustments; working closely with these staff to understand barriers and identify effective approaches is essential. |
Contribute to effective professional development linked to teaching, curriculum and assessment across the school by: Plan, conduct, and support colleagues to conduct, regular, expert-led conversations (which could be referred to as mentoring or coaching) about teaching by: Avoid common teacher assessment pitfalls by designing approaches that: |
Implementation | |
Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. Implementation is an ongoing process that must adapt to context over time, rather than a single event. It involves the application of specific implementation activities and principles over an extended period (e.g. implementation planning, ongoing monitoring). 2. Successful implementation requires expert knowledge of the approach that is being implemented and the related area of practice (e.g. behaviour), which is shared amongst staff. 3. Implementation should involve repurposing existing processes and resources (e.g. governance, data collection) rather than creating a separate set of procedures. 4. Effective implementation begins by accurately diagnosing the problem and making evidence-informed decisions on what to implement. 5. Thorough preparation is important: time and care spent planning, communicating and resourcing the desired changes provides the foundation for successful delivery. Teachers and leaders should keep checking how ready their colleagues are to make the planned changes. 6. Implementing an approach with fidelity (i.e. as intended) increases the chance of it impacting positively on school practice and pupil outcomes. Any approach should specify which features of the approach need to be adopted closely and where there is scope for adaptation. 7. A combination of integrated activities is likely to be needed to support implementation (e.g. training, monitoring, feedback) rather than any single activity. Follow-on support (e.g. through high-quality coaching) is key to embedding new skills and knowledge developed during initial training. 8. Delivery of a new approach is a learning process – expect challenges but aim for continuous improvement. Monitoring implementation is an essential tool in identifying, and acting on, problems and solutions. 9. The confidence to make good implementation decisions is derived, in part, from confidence in the data on which those decisions are based. Reliable monitoring and evaluation enable schools to make well-informed choices, and to see how their improvement efforts are impacting on teacher knowledge, classroom practices and pupil outcomes. 10. A school’s capacity to implement an approach is rarely static (e.g. staff leave, contexts change). Sustained implementation requires leaders to keep supporting and rewarding the appropriate use of an approach and check it is still aligned with the overall strategy and context. 11. Implementation benefits from dedicated but distributed school leadership. Senior leaders should provide a clear vision and direction for the changes to come. At the same time, implementation is a complex process that requires feedback from staff and shared leadership responsibilities. 12. Implementation processes are influenced by, but also influence, school climate and culture. Implementation is easier when staff feel trusted to try new things and make mistakes, safe in the knowledge that they will be supported with resources, training, and encouragement to keep improving. |
Plan and execute implementation in stages by: Make the right choices on what to implement by: Prepare appropriately for the changes to come by: Deliver changes by: Sustain changes by: |