National Professional Qualification for Leading Teacher Development

This course is designed 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 early in their career. 
 
If you aren’t sure if this is the right NPQ for you look at the pages for the other courses or contact us for a personal chat via enquiries@llse.org.uk 

The course is comprised of three modules. Each of the modules takes 12 weeks to complete. As part of each module, you will undertake some online study (approximately 2 hours per week of the 12 weeks), participate in two live interactive webinars (90 minutes each), and attend a face-to-face session (half day).  
 
As part of the online learning, you will have the opportunity to engage with relevant research and evidence, learn how leaders in other schools carry out their role and participate in discussion forum activities with everyone else completing the same qualification as you. You will also complete a series of activities to build a personal online learning journal. This will record your progress, help you to reflect on the new knowledge, understanding and skill you are acquiring and act as a repository for all of the key information you don’t want to forget.  
 
You will be expertly guided through your modules with support from your two facilitators and your in-school coach.

• The key topics covered over the course of the three modules are:
• Effective teaching
• Designing effective professional development
• Delivering effective professional development
• Implementation of effective teacher development

Within each module there are opportunities for you to complete formative assessment activities which will enable you and your facilitator to reflect on and evaluate the progress you make whilst completing the qualification.  

Formative assessment takes place throughout the programme, helping you to understand the progress you are making, and facilitators to adapt your learning experiences. 

There are two overall criteria to achieving the qualification:

• Engagement with a minimum of 90% of the course
• Successful completion of the summative assessment

Summative assessment takes the form of a 1500-word response to a case study, completed in a single 8-day window at the end of your programme. The assessment will give you the opportunity to demonstrate how you would deploy the knowledge, skills and understanding gained through the NPQ to lead and implement a specific aspect of change. 

Find out further information about assessments

UK - £890.00 + VAT

Funding Information Autumn 2026 -For the leading teacher development NPQ, scholarship funding is available if you:

• work in a school or setting that appears on one of the disadvantage eligibility lists
• are taking on the role of lead mentor for an initial teacher training (ITT) provider accredited to deliver ITT from September 2024 (this includes those working in non-school settings or in schools not otherwise eligible under the disadvantage criteria)

Please visit our NPQ funding page for additional information. Details of eligibility lists based on disadvantage are set out here

As with any professional development the more you put into the process of learning the more you will be able to take from it. This qualification requires commitment and time as well as a willingness to try new things, make mistakes and extend your knowledge, skill and understanding. We have designed the course with flexibility in mind and whilst you might complete the online elements of the course on your own and at a time which best suits you and your wellbeing, you will be part of both a local and national cohort of other teachers and leaders studying exactly as you are, we refer to this as your community of practice. You will gain most from the course by seizing each opportunity to engage with your community of practice – an enquiring mind is a must.  
 
We recognise that each school and college, whilst similar to others will operate with its own unique culture, set of strengths and challenges, it is for this reason that we have engaged with practitioners across the country to provide contextualised case study input and allow you to see how the ideas covered in the course work in the real world. This means we welcome collaboration with you as the course participant to create new content for others to learn from, so, as you complete the course, if you think you have a case study within your own school or college, get in touch and let us celebrate what you and your colleagues are achieving.  
 
In short, we expect that participants are teachers and leaders who will be able to meet all of the following criteria:

• Active engagement in every aspect of the programme - face-to-face and online elements 
• A commitment to accurate, evidence-informed self-evaluation and reflection                       
• The ability to proactively arrange and participate in coaching sessions                                 
• A commitment to submit a 1,500-word assessment within 8 calendar days of it being set at the end of the programme   
• A commitment to thoughtfully engage with evaluations about their entire programme learning experience that will support our continued quality improvement 

The taught elements of your course will take place over a 12-month period. This will be followed by the completion of your summative assessment which must be submitted within an 8-day period following completion of your course. The whole of the assessment process including submission of your summative assessment, marking and moderation will take a total of 3 months. 

"The course has given me time to reflect on the different ways in which to lead people in different situations and has allowed me to accept the type of leader I am and want to develop into. It has also given me an insight into how different people lead, and has given me the opportunity to practice the parts of leadership that I feel are more challenging such as challenging conversations."  
  
"I found the learning environment in face to face sessions  effective. I thought the facilitators were well prepared and, appreciated the 'real life' examples which were shared in addition to the pre-prepared slides."  
  
"I enjoyed the coaching sessions and learned a great deal from working alongside my coach during the project.  Often our conversations were evaluative but solution focused and we discussed ways to ensure the project moved our teachers and students forward."  
  
"I found the support network of the community of practice, colleagues in my school also completing the NPQ, coach, Headteacher and the team I worked with to complete the project incredible for helping me to put aside my misgivings about taking on whole school responsibility. Having the NPQ study to underpin my practice helped me to reflect and design my approach to implementation accordingly and with an evidence base to inform my practice."
  
"I have felt that in my role as a Geography lead I have a more strategic approach to implementing change. I am also developing my confidence in using evidence to inform my decisions and how to communicate that clearly with staff. The case studies have been particularly useful parts of the reading as they show how these elements can be used in practical ways."

Recruitment for the Autumn 2026 Cohort is now open.

Applications to join this cohort, either with a funded/non funded place are now open. Funded places are limited, and we would encourage you to start your application early by following this link.

DfE registration
All NPQ applicants are required to register with the Department for Education (DfE). This service is now open,  and you can start your registration here. Everyone applying for an NPQ (regardless of funding pathway) will be required to have a One Login account. We recommend people set this up now to avoid any delays in the registration process. You can do that by visiting  Register to get started with GOV.UK One Login - GOV.UK One Login