National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH)

For school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, a headteacher or head of school with responsibility for leading a school.

Applications are now closed for Spring 2025. You can register your interest in our next cohort below.

At a glance

Course duration
18 Months

Master credits
Master's Credits
100

Face-to-face Events
5

Online learning
38 hours

Coaching
6 hours

Total Learning Hours
104 hours

What are the benefits?

The NPQH is a DfE accredited qualification.

The content and processes used within the programme are subject to robust external quality assurance so that schools and participants may have confidence that the areas studied have direct relevance to their current needs.

The NPQH 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

Increased capability to set an ambitious vision for a school
Increased knowledge and understanding of what effective headteachers need to know and do to successfully lead both the strategic direction of a school and its operational management
Opportunities to network with other leaders in order to reflect on the latest research into effective school leadership and to explore practice in other settings
Choose what to study. Our regular needs analyses support participants to focus their energies on those aspects of their leadership they most wish to develop
Assessment tasks that involve professional enquiry into relevant aspects of your school’s current practices
Flexible delivery arrangements according to needs and circumstances e.g. provision for staff who work part-time

Benefits for Schools - develop leaders who

Have a sound understanding of the complexities of leading a school across each of its domains and is able to confidently lead the strategic direction of a school
Understands that much of their work involves working with others to achieve the school’s strategic goals
Is equipped with essential knowledge and understanding of effective practice in both strategic leadership and operational management and the ability to develop these skills in others
Can lead and establish a culture of professional evidence-based enquiry at all levels in the organisation and guide teachers and other leaders in the development of their understanding of the science of learning
Has the skills necessary to orchestrate a school’s improvement strategies by providing guidance to other leaders on effective strategies for the implementation of sustainable change
Shares common understandings and a shared professional language with other leaders within and beyond their school – the ‘golden thread’ of professional development

"It's been a great experience. I have learned a lot and grown in my leadership. I am more confident and learning to work better with my team and school governing body."

- NPQH Graduate

Who is it for?

NPQH is suitable for school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, a headteacher or head of school with responsibility for leading a school.

Although some headteachers and principals still teach, the role is primarily a strategic and operational one and relies on working with and through their colleagues (in particular, through the leadership team) to ensure every pupil gets an excellent education.

How is NPQH delivered?

NPQH makes use of a blended delivery model consisting of face-to-face events, online study, webinars and coaching

Face-to-Face

NPQH participants will attend 5 face-to-face events via the blended delivery model. Our nationwide delivery partnership network allows us to bring face-to-face training to a training centre in your region, facilitated by experienced school leaders and facilitators.

Online Learning

Participants access online learning and support via our virtual learning environment (VLE) Canvas. Through Canvas, participants are able to engage with their learning communities of peers and access multimedia content. They can also access research and expert-led school practice aligned to the curriculum content for the qualification and receive high-quality feedback from experienced performance coaches.

NPQH Qualification Structure

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 NPQH, applicants must have the following:

Teacher Reference Number - see TRN Support Guide
2 years teaching experience
Leadership aspiration/experience
Be 18-36 months from applying for a headship role (if not already a headteacher)

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?

The National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) costs £1,980 plus VAT if applicable.

VAT will not be applied to DfE funded candidates or state-funded schools
Candidates from international schools should visit our NPQH international page

Leadership Performance Coach

The leadership performance coach is a participant’s main point of contact for the duration of the NPQH. Our leadership performance coaches are experienced teachers and leaders who are experts in our programme curriculum. They understand first-hand the challenges teachers experience in work life. Their role is to support a participant's progress and development through the programme. They support you by:

Providing advice and feedback throughout the programme
Marking and responding to all of your practice task activities completed for each online course
Providing you with feedback on each of the Formative Assessment Tasks following their completion

Our leadership performance coaches apply flexibility and are accountable to ensure success on your programme. With the above responsibilities, their main role and purpose is to help you manage your workload and ensure work life balance as much as possible whilst studying with us.

At the end of the programme, in conjunction with their mentor and in-school performance coach, participants will evaluate the impact of the programme on their leadership development and the benefits to their school.

National Professional Qualification (NPQ): Headship 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 National Professional Qualification for Headship Framework below. If your computer or device does not support the Adobe plugin you can download the framework pdf here.