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Funding your NPQ

Scholarship funding for Spring 2024 

Updated 4th December 2024: Following on from Autumn 2024 funding, Northamptonshire Teaching School Hub will soon be receiving its funding allocation for Spring 2024. Funded places across all programmes have been significantly capped, meaning that most schools should expect to self-fund NPQs. This includes those NPQs 'funded for all' and 'PP50 schools/high disadvantage'.

Funding for Spring 2024 will target those teachers and leaders who work in the most challenging schools or educational settings, serving more disadvantaged communities. Funding for Spring 25 has not yet been announced.

Scholarship funding to cover the full NPQ course cost will be available to teachers and leaders from: 

  • the 50% of schools with the highest proportion of students who attract pupil premium funding 
  • 16 to 19 educational settings identified as having high disadvantage 

For the early years leadership NPQ, highly disadvantaged early years settings will also be eligible.    

Scholarships will continue to be available to all teachers and leaders from publicly funded schools and 16 to 19 educational organisations for the following NPQs: 

  • leading primary maths  
  • SENCO  
  • headship  

For the early headship coaching offer, funding to cover the course fees will be available if you are in your first 5 years of headship in England in a state-funded school or state-funded 16 to 19 organisation. You should also be doing or have done the headship NPQ.  

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 for Spring 2024 when registration opens later this year (expected to be in July).

Funding restrictions 

  • 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. 

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

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.

Spring 2024 - now open

DfE-funded scholarships were available to schools across England, including all state schools and state funded organisations that offer 16-19 places.

 

Tagged  NPQs