"Participants are effusive about the quality of the training and support that they receive across all NPQ programmes. The lead provider’s delivery model is accessible, carefully designed and expertly delivered"

Ofsted

Ofsted Inspection Judgements, NPQ Inspection, June 2024

We are proud to announce that our National Professional Qualification (NPQ) programme has received a remarkable "Outstanding" rating from Ofsted. This exceptional judgment reflects the dedication and hard work of the NPQ team, Delivery Partners, schools involved, and the participants themselves.

You can read the report in full below.

What is it like to be an NPQ participant at this lead provider?

At Best Practice Network, participants are effusive about the quality of the training and support that they receive across all NPQ programmes. The lead provider’s delivery model is accessible, carefully designed and expertly delivered. This allows participants to continually assess, develop and deepen their own prior knowledge while learning and applying new skills and practices that challenge them out of their comfort zone. Participants value the remarkable impact that this has when leading improvements in their own schools. They are exceptionally well prepared for the next stages of their careers.

Facilitators and coaches actively engage with participants as part of all NPQ programmes. Participants are constantly supported to collaborate with others, reflect on their own progress and act on personalised feedback in the context of their own settings. This enables participants to progressively enhance their knowledge and skills in a safe environment. They welcome external challenge, build their confidence and explore new perspectives to their advantage.

The lead provider places a high priority on ensuring a positive experience for all participants. For example, it ensures that resources are of a high quality, user-friendly and rooted in relevant research. Participants feel valued. Leaders continually seek and act on their feedback in order to make adaptations and enhancements to the courses. This helps participants to access everything that they need in a timely way that fits with their wideranging commitments.

Information about this lead provider

◼ Best Practice Network is currently delivering training to 11,095 NPQ participants across the six different NPQ qualifications that it offers as a lead provider.

◼ The lead provider has a national network of 56 delivery partners that include schools, teaching school hubs, multi-academy trusts and other educational
establishments.

◼ Best Practice Network provides direct delivery to 2,190 participants.

Information about this inspection

◼ This inspection was carried out by six of His Majesty’s Inspectors and one Ofsted inspector. The inspection was carried out through in-person meetings, online meetings and on-site visits.

◼ Inspectors met with the lead provider’s representatives, including the quality director, the NPQ director, members of the partnerships team and senior facilitators. The lead inspector also met with representatives of the Best Practice Network advisory board, the managing director of Best Practice Network and the chair of the supporting education group (SEG) board.

◼ Inspectors carried out focused reviews in all six of the NPQ programmes offered at the time of the inspection. Twelve focused reviews were carried out in total. For each focused review, inspectors met with delivery partner leaders and facilitators, discussed training with groups of participants, met with headteachers and senior leaders from participants’ schools and educational settings, reviewed the exemplified training materials and scrutinised a range of documentation. Two inspectors also visited two different live training events in person. In total, inspectors visited 10 delivery partners, either on-site or online.

◼ The inspection team considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for NPQ participants, delivery partners and school leaders.

What does the lead provider do well and what does it need to do better?

At Best Practice Network, there is a steadfast commitment to ‘strive for excellence’ with a clear and unwavering focus on participants’ success. This values-based vision is shared, embedded and clearly understood by all members of the workforce and all delivery partners. This creates strong centralised systems of collaboration and communication and ensures that all participants receive a consistently high-quality experience across all programmes and geographical areas. The content of each programme is meticulously designed and structured, highly ambitious and faithful to the relevant NPQ framework.

Formative assessment tasks are rigorous, and they link pertinent research into real-life practice. They are personalised to participants’ starting points and contexts. For example, in each task, participants are skilfully coached to tackle areas of insecurity in their particular knowledge and skills. They purposefully plan, practise, and implement their learning, and they receive helpful, targeted feedback. In doing so, participants deepen their understanding and develop agile leadership behaviours.

Participants are exceptionally well supported to reflect on and develop their learning using additional mentors and coaches. These mentors and coaches are acutely aware of participants’ strengths and areas for development. Together with facilitators, they expertly guide participants, enabling them to contextualise and apply their learning confidently in their own professional setting. The lead provider ensures that its exacting standards are upheld through the skilful recruitment, training and retention of experienced and expert mentors and coaches. As a result, participants become highly self-aware, and they rapidly acquire the skills and knowledge that they need to become effective in their roles.

Delivery partners appreciate the high levels of support that the lead provider offers. They share a strong sense of mutual trust. Best Practice Network deliberately operates many systems centrally to ensure consistency of approach and to take the strain of organisational commitments. This allows partners to focus on high-quality delivery. Partners value the reciprocal and consultative relationship that they have with the lead provider. For example, many delivery partner leaders are representatives on the Best Practice Network advisory board. Here they consult and influence the design and delivery of NPQ programmes. They appreciate the opportunities that this provides for them to network with partners nationally, share good practice and benefit the education system more widely for pupils.

Leaders are tenacious and relentless in their commitment to securing continual improvement. They consult widely and regularly with all stakeholders and act promptly on the feedback that they receive. For example, following participant feedback, considerable resources have been designated to ensure that online systems can be navigated with ease and that induction materials are continually reviewed to ensure accessibility for all. Participants feel extremely well supported with workload and time management.

Best Practice Network employs strong processes to monitor, evaluate and maintain a consistently high level of programme effectiveness. Leaders design and use highly effective diagnostic tools to check on the quality of professional development and training. This information is shared with delivery partners so that they can use it collaboratively to shape future delivery. Dedicated staff carry out frequent visits to training sessions, and they provide strong support to improve delivery when necessary.

Leaders and managers at all levels demonstrate a strong understanding of their statutory responsibilities, including in relation to safeguarding, equality and diversity. The designated safeguarding lead maintains detailed records and a strong strategic oversight to ensure compliance in this area and provide high levels of support. All stakeholders are clear about how to report safeguarding concerns and can do so through various channels.

Download the Ofsted report