New NPQ for SEND starting in autumn 2024
New SENCO National Professional Qualification
We are delighted that our Lead Provider, Ambition Institute have been selected as a provider of the new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) focused on special educational needs.
The Department for Education has announced that Ambition Institute is accredited to start delivering the new NPQ from September 2024. We will be running a local cohort of this NPQ from the autumn as part of our suite of NPQs for teachers and leaders in the Five Counties region
The 18-month course is for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs), or for teachers and school leaders interested in developing their expertise in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Improving provision for children with SEND is an area where teachers, schools and trusts regularly say they want support. This new qualification recognises that expertise in SEND is a vital part of school leadership. It draws on the latest evidence and is quality assured by the Education Endowment Foundation.
All mainstream schools are required to have a SENCO, who must be a qualified teacher working at the school, and the NPQ for SENCOs will be a mandatory requirement for SENCOs from September 2024, replacing the existing qualification.
We are proud to play a part in shaping the future of education to give every child the best start in life and are excited about the potential this new qualification brings to provide stronger support for children.
Hilary Spencer, chief executive of Ambition Institute, said: “SEND is crucially important, and this leadership-level qualification will help support SENCOs to be strategic leaders within their schools, strengthening inclusive teaching for all pupils.
“Bringing a SENCO qualification into the NPQ suite will help to create coherent progression routes, and evidence-based, practical training for SENCOs, aspiring SENCOs and school leaders.”