Navigating NPQs – A Teacher’s Journey Through Professional Development

Oli Aston

A candid reflection on completing the NPQLT, offering practical insights for educators considering professional development.

Currently, I am completing a National Professional Qualification in Leading Teaching. This article is an overview and personal reflection on my time spent so far completing this qualification, with the hope that those considering completing one have a reflection to draw upon when making the decision.

What are NPQS?

NPQ stands for National Professional Qualification and in education, there are now NPQs for aspiring or current middle leaders, SENCOs, Senior Leaders and Heads-there’s even one for executive leadership. In short, there’s a few different ones! The aim, as far as I understand it, is to improve school outcomes by providing teachers who are current or aspiring leaders to enhance their skills and apply their learning to their own setting. The Department for Education (DfE) sets out the full list of a mixture specialist and leadership NPQs (National professional qualification (NPQ) courses – GOV.UK) that are completed alongside your current commitments.

But who pays for the NPQs? In terms of funding, some schools fund these for staff from their own funds and others may receive scholarships by the DfE: this is dependent on your setting and eligibility which is automatically applied when you apply. It’s worth checking to see how you school sets out their criteria for staff to enrol on them and which one you would be most interested in.

Why complete a NPQ (why did I and why should others)?

As mentioned, I am currently completing the NPQLT: focusing on driving positive outcomes for our young people by discussing, reflecting and refining our approaches in the classroom to ensure high quality teaching. I was motivated to complete the NPQ due to the opportunity to collaborate with other colleagues meaning that I can share and receive best practice from a variety of individuals, working in a variety of settings. I was lucky to have been offered to complete the NPQ by my school and had the freedom to choose which I was most interested in. I decided to do the NPQLT due to my curriculum leadership responsibilities and master being in teaching in learning-it seems to fit perfectly with my prior and current experience.

Completing a NPQ gives you the opportunity to engage in pedagogical studies alongside your teaching responsibilities as the majority of the learning and assessments is online. Of course, the opportunity to collaborate (for me this is once a term) is face-to-face at a local teaching school hub.

What are the pros and cons?

I have found the two biggest benefit of completing the NPQ to be the face-to-face sessions and the ability to apply learning to my own school’s context. The face-to-face meetings provide the opportunity to meet lots of colleague interested in the same discussions the qualification you have decided to specialise in. The ability to apply my learning to my setting means that I can drive positive change in terms of experience and outcomes for students in the classroom.

To help balance the tasks and demands of the NPQ, I have found that using the time at the face-to-face event productively saves time in the future. By that I mean saving progress with any tasks and making notes throughout the day in a ‘safe place’ means that completing the assignments are easier as in my experience have tended to be based on the foci of the session.

If you’re a teacher reading this, you’ll know how difficult it can be to find time to invest in your personal development after the school day. Therefore, the flexibility I have found takes away this barrier. Completing anything alongside our other commitments can be difficult. Nonetheless,  keeping to the deadlines and putting dedicated time aside helps to stay organised. In addition, I have found the course to be pretty flexible and the support of your in school mentor and tutor is the best way to stay on track. In addition, you may also find that some of the in person events clash with formal exams, trips or other dates. The best way to navigate this has been to contact the provider and teaching hub delivering the session to change to alternate dates; there are recorded versions of the sessions and so it usually not a problem if you do find yourself struggling to attend. The only thing to be careful of is that you do need to engage with the qualification for a certain percentage so anything missed does need to be caught up on, but the courses are flexible to suit.

How to make the most of the face to face sessions? 

Firstly (and practically), when attending the face-to-face sessions be sure to take a charged laptop. I have found that throughout the day, there is the opportunity to complete activities online and its always awkward having to ask for the extension lead (we’ve all been there)! Practicalities aside, I have found it useful to sit on a table with peers from a variety of settings and subjects: this has exposed me to a range of ‘how we do things around here’ discussions . Although this sometimes means that you may miss out on subject specifics, I have found this to be an enriching experience as its surprising how the different subject’s experience the same pedagogical challenges (how to support students’ retention, motivating your Team etc.)

Also, I’ve not yet mentioned that lunch has been provided at every face-to-face (very important detail) so make sure that you are front of the que for ‘the good stuff’!

Balancing the NPQ with other commitments

Our jobs are demanding. However, investing in you own development is an investment in your students and team’s as the knowledge you learn is relevant to your setting. I believe it is important for all educators to have the opportunity to collaborate in this way-whether it is by completing an NPQ or something else. If you’re considering completing an NPQ, it is a good idea to speak to colleagues in your setting who may have completed it to hear how they benefitted. In addition, speaking to the member of staff responsible for staff development in your school may be a great way to start. Wishing you the best of luck, whatever you decide!

You can read more articles by Oli Aston here.