What is the School Leader Programme?

The School Leader Programme is a dual award which has mapped the DfE's NPQ for Senior Leadership (NPQSL) to the Level 5 Operations Manager Standard.

This means you will be undertaking two prestigious awards concurrently, providing you with even more resources to excel in your career.

Benefits include:

  • Enhanced Leadership Training: Gain access to extended leadership training that goes beyond the standard NPQSL curriculum, ensuring you are well-prepared for any challenge.
  • Expert Support & Coaching: Benefit from additional support and coaching from seasoned tutors and coaches, providing you with personalised guidance and insights.
  • Collaborative Learning Experience: Participate in the same Face-to-Face events as your peers in the standalone NPQSL, fostering collaboration and networking opportunities.
  •  Wraparound Apprenticeship Benefits: Enjoy the comprehensive support of an apprenticeship, including structured learning and practical, hands-on experience.

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Train at no cost to you
or your school

Access funding through your
school's Apprenticeship Levy

Chartered Management
Institute 

Become a Chartered Fellow
and Institute of Leadership and
Management Fellow

Aligned to Masters
level credits

Can be used as a springboard on to
Liverpool Hope University's MA in
Leading Education


Price for this programme: £9,000 £0

This course is fully funded through the Apprenticeship Levy Fund

"Having completed a number of professional qualifications during my time as a teacher, I have found this course to be the one that most clearly impacted upon my practice. In particular, the focus on linking theory and wider reading to my day job was hugely effective. Rather than reflecting on hypotheticals, the course felt embedded in the reality of my job"

Graduate

 

Who is it for?

The School Leader Programme is for school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, a senior leader with cross-school responsibilities. 

Although the role varies, many senior leaders contribute to all aspects of the school through the leadership team as well as having a specific whole school responsibility of their own. This means the role is often both operational and strategic and relies on working with and through colleagues (in particular, through middle leaders) to ensure every pupil gets an excellent education.

Apprenticeships provider of the year

Why should I undertake the dual award?

Cross-sector experience

Candidates access cutting-edge theory, resources and delivery from thought leaders and leading practitioners from all sectors of the economy.

Utilise levy funding

This professional development opportunity makes use of the apprenticeship levy and includes the DfE accredited NPQSL at no additional cost.

A wider view of leadership

Candidates apply cross-sector management and leadership practice to their school context providing greater challenge and a broader perspective to organisational improvement.

Practice-based learning

Candidates undertake school-based activities and are assessed on how they apply learning in their day-to-day role, helping develop and refine organisational management and leadership skills.

Access to extra 1:1 coaching and content

Throughout the course you will have access to 1:1 coaching and teaching to help you succeed in the qualification.

A personal experienced tutor to help you

An experienced tutor will help you throughout both the apprenticeship and the National Professional Qualification (NPQ).

Stay up to date with
business theory

Enhance your knowledge of essential business functions and stay updated with the latest in management theory and practices.

Hone your team
leadership skills

Build self-awareness and confidence to lead successfully and collaborate more effectively within a team.

 

This programme focuses on the holistic development of the appropriate skills, knowledge and behaviours, designed in partnership with cross-sector industries, to ensure bespoke coverage of all the relevant requirements of leading and managing at a senior level at your setting.

The School Leader Programme makes use of a blended delivery model consisting of Face-to-Face events, online study, webinars and coaching.

Face-to-face

Face-to-Face

NPQSL participants will attend 4 face-to-face events via the blended delivery model. Our nationwide delivery partnership network allows us to bring face-to-face training to a school near you and facilitated by local school leaders.

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, receive high-quality feedback from experienced performance coaches and submit work for assessment.

How do I access the funding?

The School Leader Programme with NPQSL can be funded through your school’s apprenticeship levy. Schools will be able to access the funding through their apprenticeship service (AS) account.

If your school needs help setting up your AS account, just let us know and we’ll guide you through it.

The School Leader Programme with NPQSL costs £9,000 from Apprenticeship Levy funds or co-investment for non-levy payers where the government pays 95% (the NPQSL standalone cost is £1140).

The level of funding depends on each candidate’s learning needs, with a maximum allocation of £9,000 to cover the cost of the apprenticeship.

What is the Apprenticeship Levy?

The levy is paid by large employers with a wage bill of over £3 million. These employers pay 0.5% of their total annual pay bill into the levy. Most state-maintained schools and multi-academy trusts pay into the levy.

The levy is designed to create long term sustainable funding for apprenticeships and to give employers more control to provide their staff with a range of training opportunities.

Apprenticeship funded training is designed for both new and existing staff members.

Below is the programme structure for the School Leader Programme:

Below are the learning hours for the NPQSL and the Level 5 Operations Manager Standard:

  • Candidates must be able to evidence level 2 English and Maths prior to undertaking end-point assessment. If you do not already hold exemptions, you will need to complete Functional Skills as part of the programme.
  • Applicants must be in a middle leader role as a minimum and have completed 2 full years of teaching.
  • All applicants must have either QTS, QTLS, a Level 5 (or higher) qualification (any subject), or an international equivalent (see below). You must be able to evidence this with a copy of your certificate.
  • For those with QTS, you can download a copy of your certificate here https://teacherservices.education.gov.uk/SelfService/Login.
  • For those with QTLS, you can download a copy of your certificate here https://set.et-foundation.co.uk/my-set/my-profile. If for any reason you are unable to provide a copy of your certificate, you will need to ask a representative from the school where you are teaching to contact Capita Teachers' Pensions. Your employer should know how to do this via the Capita employer portal https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/
  • If do not have QTS or QTLS, you will need evidence completion of a Level 5 qualification (any subject). For International applicants, you will need to apply for a UK ENIC Statement of Comparability https://enic.org.uk/Qualifications/SOC/Default.aspx to demonstrate your Level 5 qualification is comparable to UK qualifications.

Laura Saunders, Lead Facilitator, delivered a webinar consisting of a 30 minute presentation about the School Leader Programme followed by a Q&A session.

The presentation looks at:

  • Who the School Leader Programme is for?
  • What will you learn on the programme?
  • How is the programme delivered?
  • What are the benefits of completing the qualification?
  • The Apprenticeship Levy funding available

The slides used during the presentation can be downloaded here.

Our School Leader Programme dual award includes the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL). For more information about NPQSL click here.

Best Practice Network is one of the leading providers of NPQSL nationally and the quality of our provision is rated ‘Exceptional’ by the DfE’s external quality assurance agent.

You can view our performance against the national metrics here.

How to apply

We are no longer accepting applications for the Autumn 2024 cohort. You can register your interest for Spring 2025 by clicking the below: 

Register Your Interest

 

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National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)

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Headteacher Apprenticeship (with NPQH) Level 7

Designed for aspiring or recently appointed headteachers looking to improve their leadership capability. 

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Formative Assessment Tasks 

Browse our collection of Formative Assessment Tasks, written by NPQ participants. These tasks have resulted in real and sustainable change in schools. 

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