National Professional Qualifications

NPQ Programmes

National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) are flexible professional development courses for teachers and leaders to improve skills, progress careers and deliver improved outcomes for schools.

For Cohort 5 (starting in November 2025), Saffron Teaching School Hub will be continuing our longstanding partnership with Teach First and will also be partnering with the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) to deliver some of our NPQ programmes. Saffron will be partnering with the NIoT for our NPQ Headship and NPQ Leading Teaching programmes; all other Specialist and Leadership programmes will be delivered through Teach First.

A full list of our NPQ programmes is available here.

Cohort 5 Funding Briefings

Join Saffron Teaching School Hub at one of our NPQ Briefings to find out more about scholarship funding, eligibility, programme structures and start dates. Choose from one of the following options:

Afternoon Briefing – Wednesday 17th September, 3:30pm: Register Here
Morning Briefing – Friday 19th September, 8:30am: Register Here

Apply now for NPQ Cohort 5 (starting November 2025)

We are now taking applications for the next NPQ cohort (Cohort 5) starting in November 2025.

How to Apply:

NPQ application is a  two-step process.

Step 1 – Complete your application form:

For our NPQ LBC, LL, LPM, LTD, EYL, SL, EL and SENCO programmes, complete the Saffron NPQ Cohort 5 Application Form
For our NPQH and NPQLT programmes, complete the NIoT Application Form.  When applying via NIoT, please select Saffron Teaching School Hub as the Campus.

Step 2 - Register for your NPQ with the DfE

For NPQ LBC, LL, LPM, LTD, EYL, SL, EL and SENCO - please select Teach First as your Lead Provider
For NPQH and NPQLT - please select National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) as your Lead Provider

If you have any questions, please contact Erica Carver at ecarver@saffron.academy.

NPQ Costs and Funding

You may be able to get your NPQ course fees paid for by the Department for Education (DfE). This is called scholarship funding. You do not need to apply for it.

Funding and scholarship eligibility criteria for the Autumn 2025 NPQ cohort (Cohort 5) has now been confirmed by the DfE.

Fully Funded NPQs – Available to All Publicly Funded Schools

The following NPQs remain fully funded for all teachers and leaders working in publicly funded schools (including maintained nursery schools) and 16–19 educational institutions in England:

NPQ for Headship
NPQ for SENCOs

Additional NPQ Funding – Targeted Support for Priority Schools

Teachers and leaders working in state-funded schools or academies in England are eligible for fully funded places on a wider range of NPQs if their setting meets the following criteria:

Schools in the top 50% nationally for pupil premium levels: DfE Eligibility Lists
Schools identified as part of the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) programme

Eligible NPQs:

NPQ Leading Teaching
NPQ Leading Behaviour and Culture
NPQ Leading Teacher Development
NPQ Leading Literacy
NPQ Leading Primary Mathematics
NPQ Early Years Leadership
NPQ Senior Leadership
NPQ Executive Leadership

Note: funding eligibility for Early Years settings will be confirmed and added in September 2025.

Limited Places: scholarship places for NPQ programmes are limited by the DfE, and eligibility is not a guarantee of funding.

Further Information: for full details, please refer to the official DfE guidance: Funding for NPQs – Autumn 2025