Funding your NPQ
Scholarship funding for Autumn 2026
Funding & eligibility updated 19/05/2026: Funding for national professional qualifications (NPQs) - GOV.UK
Scholarship funding is available for teachers and leaders in publicly-funded schools (including maintained nursery schools) and 16 to 19 educational settings in England for the following NPQs:
Funding for these courses is also available to:
- hospital schools
- young offender institutions
- local authority virtual school headteachers, staff in a defined deputy headteacher role and staff in direct teaching roles
- other local authority staff in direct teaching roles - for example, local authority supply or peripatetic teachers
Early years leadership NPQ scholarship
Scholarship funding is available for the early years leadership NPQ for publicly funded early years settings and maintained nursery schools, including:
- private, voluntary, independent (PVI) settings
- Ofsted-registered early years childminders
- maintained nursery schools
- those working in publicly-funded early years educational settings
RISE scholarships
Schools in the targeted regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) programme are eligible for scholarship funding for all NPQs. Regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE): school support provides further details on the targeted RISE programme and lists schools that are eligible for targeted RISE intervention.
Leading teacher development NPQ scholarship
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)
Check if you are eligible for the course
You should check the course eligibility criteria before you register. You may meet the funding criteria but not the course eligibility. You can find out how to check the eligibility of your workplace here: Funding for national professional qualifications: eligible settings - GOV.UK.
Costs
The table below outlines the costs for NPQs for colleagues not employed in state-funded schools:
| NPQ | UK Price if not eligible for scholarship |
| Leading Teacher Development (NPQLTD) | £899 |
| Leading Behaviour and Culture (NPQLBC) | £899 |
| Leading Teaching (NPQLT) | £899 |
| Leading Literacy (NPQLL) | £899 |
| Leading Primary Maths (NPQLPM) | £899 |
| Senior Leadership (NPQSL) | £1139 |
| Headship (NPQH) | £1949 |
| Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL) | £1139 |
| Special Educational Needs Coordinator (NPQSENCO) | £1332 |
Pricing correct for Spring 2025 cohorts, subject to change for future cohorts.
Apprenticeship Levy for NPQs
Ambition Institute have decided not to accept the Apprenticeship Levy for any of the NPQs. This is because we do not believe it is possible to combine the programme design and delivery of the new NPQ suite with the apprenticeship levy.
The NPQs are designed to be flexible and to work around educators' busy schedules, whereas the apprenticeship levy has extra demands, including 1:1 apprenticeships, tutor meetings and portfolio preparation.
The apprenticeship levy also requires participants to have 20% 'off the job training', which would mean a day a week out of school for the duration of the programme. We think it is undesirable to take teachers and school leaders out of their schools to complete an NPQ at any time but particularly at a time of educational recovery.
Funding restrictions (Autumn 2025)
Please note - we are awaiting updates around funding restrictions for Autumn 2026. Below is how funding was allocated in 2025/26.
- Funded places have been capped across all programmes and settings.
- You can only receive scholarship funding for each NPQ once.
- If you receive scholarship funding but then withdraw from or fail your programme, you cannot receive scholarship funding for the same NPQ again.
NTSH has been awarded a limited pot of funding for it's schools and funded places will award funding based on DfE eligibility and on the following priority:
1. Disadvantage criteria (defined by DfE Funding for national professional qualifications: eligible settings - GOV.UK)
2. Northamptonshire Schools
3. Date applied
Additional criteria: SENCO - active SENCO in role