National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)

This 18 month programme is for school leaders who are, or are aspiring to be, a senior leader with cross-school responsibilities.

What is the NPQSL?

The role of a senior leader within a school is complex. 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.

NPQSL gives candidates all of the essential knowledge, skills and concepts that underpin successful senior leadership with candidates learning how to:

  • Contribute to establishing and sustaining the school’s strategic direction;

  • Contribute to establishing and sustaining an effective culture across the school;

  • Establish and sustain effective planning and preparation across the school;

  • Ensure teaching across the school stimulates pupil thinking and understanding.

Who is NPQSL suitable for?

NPQSL is for those who are, or are aspiring to become, a senior leader with cross-school responsibilities such as an experienced middle leader, a deputy headteacher, an assistant headteacher, or other senior staff. This includes those who are, or are aspiring to be, a senior leader with cross-school responsibilities e.g. a Director of a Teaching School Alliance.

The fully blended learning approach combined with performance coaching and enrichment activities make this an exciting and valuable opportunity for current and aspiring senior leaders.

The NPQSL qualification is aligned to Masters credits and can act as a springboard on to Liverpool Hope University’s MA in Leading in Education or the MBA in Educational Leadership.

Registration for the NPQSL cohort due to commence in September 2022 will open shortly. If you are interested in joining the next cohort of NPQSL please email mark@espeducation.co.uk to register interest.

How does it work?

“The quality evidence-based data, case studies and resources provided throughout the course were excellent.”

Justin Low, Distance Learning NPQSL, Discovery Bay International School, Hong Kong

Participants access online learning and support via our virtual learning environment (VLE) Canvas. Through Canvas, participants are able to engage with learning communities of peers, access multimedia content, research and expert school-led practice aligned to the curriculum content for the qualification and receive high-quality feedback from experienced performance coaches. and submit work for assessment.

We run two intakes of NPQSL each academic year with these cohorts commencing in the autumn and spring terms.

Alternatively, have you considered the NPQH?

For more information about NPQSL, application deadline and costs, please contact Mark Bignell on mark@espeducation.co.uk