TDT National Professional Qualifications (NPQs)
Develop > Qualify > Progress
New, prestigious, nationally recognised qualifications, completely reformed from 2021, to support the professional development of teachers and leaders at all levels, and deliver improved outcomes for young people.
Flexible, blended-learning qualifications for you and your staff, rooted in the art, the craft and the science of School Improvement through People Development. Our evidence-informed curriculum design connects you to the latest research and best practice, and is delivered in a way that suits the busy working lives of teachers.
There are four, brand-new Specialist qualifications and career routes for teachers and leaders who want to develop their expertise in specialist areas of teaching practice
Lead the development of other staff in your school, through coaching, mentoring and designing the highest quality CPD programmes through the NPQLTD
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Lead the improvement of pupil wellbeing, create calm classrooms, great pupil behaviour and a warm whole-school culture through the NPQLBC
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Become a skilful and research-informed professional who can lead the improvement of literacy teaching through the NPQLL
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Lead great quality teaching & curriculum, whether in a subject, year-group, key stage or phase through the NPQLT
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And, four completely reformed and new Leadership qualifications for school, early years and system leadership
Gain school-wide, senior leadership responsibilities and bring staff with you on the journey with the NPQSL
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Lead effective, school-wide change through the art, craft and science of people development with the NPQH
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Lead successful improvement and change in your early years setting with the NPQEYL
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Take your leadership to new levels, working across multiple schools with the NPQEL
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Full scholarship funding for any staff in state-funded schools or state-funded 16 to 19 organisation in England is available for all eight NPQs
The Early Headship Coaching Offer is a 12-month programme which provides targeted support to new headteachers to help you achieve success while early in the role. It is also available for all those who are within the first five years of their headship when they begin. Find out more.
Apply now for our NPQs starting in Autumn 2023
Register Now for our NPQs starting in 2023-24
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any questions about our NPQs please take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions page, or email NPQ@tdtrust.org
The Application Process
When applying for an NPQ course with the Teacher Development Trust your application will go through various stages. Full details here:
Being a Sponsor
The NPQ course sponsor provides the NPQ course applicant with support throughout their NPQ course. The sponsor should be the applicant’s direct line manager, usually their head of school or another member of the senior leadership team. Find out more here:
Testimonials from our NPQ facilitators and participants
The course material is utterly brilliant. Such high quality and carefully crafted. The spirit and ethos of TDT is forefront.””
…inspirational and purposeful, enjoyable and thought-provoking.
Boy, have TDT got it just right!”
Testimonials from our other courses:
One of the most powerful things about it has been that I feel empowered, by knowledge by understanding and to enact change […] crucially, ensuring a shared purpose with a strong focus on student outcomes must be central, to provide colleagues with the same empowered feeling”
Key Areas of Learning
Effective communication and teamwork
Leadership clarity & team alignment
Change management & implementation
Professional learning & growth
Self management & awareness
Course Structure & Approach
Our four specialist NPQs have one year of study followed by an assessment period.
Our four leadership NPQs have 18 months of study followed by an assessment period.
All our NPQs are a blend of flexible, high quality, online learning, online discussion, virtual workshops and face to face workshops, for a few hours study each week. This is followed by an assessment window where you will complete a 1500-word case study assessment to demonstrate your understanding of real leadership and change. You will be fully supported throughout by your course leader.
Delivery of our NPQ curriculum is grounded in TDT’s values of:
SMART – we think about what the evidence tells us, but we also really care about how things are done.
HEART – it’s not just taking the evidence base and implementing it any old way, it needs to be done in the right way if you want to have that sustainable impact
HUMBLE – we recognise that there is no single perfect answer to any situation – participants will come from different environments, different schools, different contexts – and we need to understand the limits of what the evidence tells us at times and use our judgement
Key Activities
Hold a mirror up to your current setting, studying how it works
Get a window into other types of schools – different phases, specialities, localities
Courses designed for participants from a variety of backgrounds & schools
Be properly prepared to deal with the most common real-life leadership
challenges
Learn from detailed interviews with great leaders – not just what they do but how they think
Experience repeated opportunities to practise real
change
and
implementation
Our Delivery Partner Network
Our carefully selected network of 19 Delivery Partners deliver our courses across over 21 locations in England, Guernsey and the United Arab Emirates. Some Delivery Partners deliver in more than one region, so please ensure you are able to travel to your chosen local delivery location.
Please use our interactive map and list of courses below to see where our partners are based and what courses they are offering. Please note, our online NPQ is only available to international participants.
October '23 Cohort
BTSA
Church of England
Education Durham
States of Guernsey
LEAD Teaching School Hub
Learners First Schools Partnership
London Early Years Foundation (LEYF)
London South Teaching School Hub
The National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT)
Oxfordshire Teaching School Hub
Prince Henry's Teaching School Hub
Teacher Development Trust
Thames South Teaching School Hub
The Julian Teaching School Hub
The Shared Learning Trust
TKAT
Tudor Grange Teaching School Hub
Unity Teaching School Hub
Windsor Academy Trust
Zen PD / UAE Research Schools Network
February '24 Cohort
BTSA
Church of England
Education Durham
States of Guernsey
LEAD Teaching School Hub
Learners First Schools Partnership
London Early Years Foundation (LEYF)
London South Teaching School Hub
The National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT)
Oxfordshire Teaching School Hub
Prince Henry's Teaching School Hub
Teacher Development Trust
Thames South Teaching School Hub
The Julian Teaching School Hub
The Shared Learning Trust
TKAT
Tudor Grange Teaching School Hub
Unity Teaching School Hub
Windsor Academy Trust
Zen PD / UAE Research Schools Network
Funding and Cost Details
TDT NPQs are available for participation for October 2023 and February 2024. Course prices are for 2023/24 academic year
UK Price if not eligible for scholarship
Leading Teacher Development - NPQLTD
Leading Teaching - NPQLT
Leading Behaviour & Culture - NPQLBC
Leading Literacy - NPQLL
Early Years Leadership - NPQEYL
Senior Leaders - NPQSL
Headteachers - NPQH
Executive Leaders -NPQEL
Government scholarships - available for staff who meet suitability criteria
Leading Teacher Development - NPQLTD
Leading Teaching - NPQLT
Leading Behaviour & Culture - NPQLBC
Leading Literacy - NPQLL
Early Years Leadership - NPQEYL
Senior Leaders - NPQSL
Headteachers - NPQH
Executive Leaders -NPQEL
All prices quoted include VAT at the current rate.
About Us
The Teacher Development is the national charity for effective professional development in schools and colleges. Founded in 2012 by teachers and school leaders, our mission is powerful professional development in every school & college so that teachers thrive and children succeed.
Our work and evidence base
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Our Blog
My NPQ for Leading Teaching journey with TDT
NPQLT graduate Daniel Dowson, Shirley Heath Junior School, reflects of his NPQ journey with TDT and shares the impact this has had on his professional practice and the learning outcomes of his pupils How has participating in the NPQ benefited you? The National...
Why become a trustee at TDT?
We here at the Teacher Development Trust are currently recruiting for new trustees. As Co-CEO I am obviously biased and am convinced we really are a fantastic organisation to work with, but why should you be interested? I would like to suggest two key...
5 Tips from the NPQ for Leading Literacy
TDT’s Curriculum Designer, Ariana Wells, looks at five stand-out recommendations from TDT’s NPQLL that may support literacy leaders in beginning their leadership journey. “Literacy is fundamental for success in school and later life. Students who cannot read, write...
Smart, Heart, and Humble: How our values inspire us to look up
The urgency of taking climate change action cannot be overstated. In their recent report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2023) has warned that human induced climate change has caused a significant and irreversible impact on the Earth - with...
Embracing co-leadership at TDT: announcing two Co-CEOs
We’re excited to share some news that marks a new era for the Teacher Development Trust. We’re proud to announce that Gareth Conyard, formerly Director of Education at the TDT, has been appointed as Co-CEO (Impact & Delivery) while David Weston will become Co-CEO...
Five ways to avoid ineffective ‘instructional coaching’
The instructional coaching approach is being misunderstood in some schools leading to ineffective support for teachers. TDT CEO, David Weston explains why and considers what we should be doing. The word “instruction” in “instructional coaching” is still leading to...
Voices from the TDT Network: Jane Kennedy, Education Durham
TDT spoke with Jane Kennedy, Senior Specialist Advisor for Education Durham about her experience of working with the Teacher Development Trust. Hi Jane, what were some of the challenges that your schools were facing which prompted you to seek support from the Teacher...
What you need to know about the new NPQEYL
Gareth Conyard, Director of Education at Teacher Development Trust speaks about the importance of the new qualification available for the sector. Just over a decade ago I was lucky enough to work with Professor Cathy Nutbrown on her review of early years...
Coaching in Schools: Voices from the TDT Network Webinar video
Find out more about coaching in schools in our webinar video. Hosted by TDT Expert Advisors, Sharon Ealing and Concettina Johnson, with Assistant Associate Headteacher of Cheltenham Bournside School, Paul Lockyer. https://vimeo.com/781558943/a1c03fa569 ...