International National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH)
Starts: November 2025
Duration: 18 Months
Time: 1.5 – 2.5 hours per week
Fees: £1975 + VAT
Designed for school/college leaders who are, or aspire to be, a headteacher, principal, head of school/college with responsibility for leading a school/college.
Four Modules:
1. An exploration of the characteristics of effective teaching
2. Behaviour, additional and special educational needs and disabilities
3. Organisational management, working in partnership and governance and accountability
4. Effective professional development for improving teaching
Key Topics Covered
Through the lens of a headteacher:
• School / college culture
• Teaching
• Curriculum and assessment
• Behaviour
• Additional and special educational needs and disabilities
• Professional development
• Organisational management
• Implementation
• Working in partnership
• Governance and accountability
What will I be studying?
The course is comprised of four modules, each takes 12 weeks to complete.
During each module, you will undertake:
• Undertake some online study (approximately 2 hours per week of the 12 weeks)
• Participate in two live interactive webinars (90 minutes each),
• Attend a face-to-face online session (half day).
You will engage with relevant research and evidence, learn how leaders in other schools carry out their role and participate in discussion forum activities with NPQH peers.
You will build a personal online learning journal to record your progress, help your reflection on the new knowledge, understanding and skills you are acquiring.
You will be expertly guided through your modules with support from your facilitator and your coach.
Assessment
Formative assessment takes place throughout the programme, helping you to understand the progress you are making. There are two overall criteria to achieving the qualification:
• Engagement with a minimum of 90% of the course
• Successful completion of the summative assessment
Summative assessment comprises a 2,500 word case-study response, completed in an 8-day window. This provides you an opportunity to demonstrate how you would deploy knowledge, skills and understanding gained through the NPQ to lead and implement a specific aspect of change. Two additional sessions with an Executive Coach, selected from our LLSE pool listed on our website will be provided to you in addition to your school coach.
Apply
Please click the link below to apply and select:
Delivery Partner: Forest Learning Alliance
Cluster: Wellington College International
Organisation: Wellington College
Click here to apply for November 2025
Invoicing:
School
If your school is funding your NPQ, please email thebridge@wellingtoncollege.org.uk with:
- Your name
- Name of school
- School postal address
- School contact email address (to send the invoice to)
- The school contact who has authorised the use of school funds for your NPQ
- Purchase order number (if applicable)
Self-funded
If you are self-funding your NPQ, please email thebridge@wellingtoncollege.org.uk with:
- Your name
- Postal address
- Your email address (to send the invoice to)
- Your job title
- Name of your school
- School email address (if different from the email address you would like us to send the invoice to)