National Professional Qualification for SENCOs – NPQ for SENCOs

Our carefully sequenced and evidence informed NPQ is designed around the key problems you face. You’ll learn to implement tailored SEND strategies related to your school’s context.

Access the latest SEND research:  this includes core school leadership domains like teaching, behaviour and culture, alongside specialist SEND knowledge on topics like identifying need, running effective intervention and working within the law.

Become an expert leader of special educational needs and learn how you can build an inclusive culture in your school where all pupils can succeed.

• A new 18-month leadership qualification;
• Build on your existing SEND expertise;
• Flexible learning to suit your timetable;

Who is this NPQ suitable for?

The NPQ for SENCOs is mandatory for SENCOs. You will need to complete this qualification within the first three years in the role. If you have already obtained the NASENCO qualification you do not need to complete the NPQ for SENCOs.

To apply for the NPQ for SENCOs, you must be a current or aspiring SENCO, or a school leader such as a senior leader or headteacher.

The NPQ for SENCOs is also open to leaders in specialist or alternative provision. NPQs are not suitable for active Early Career Teachers.

Benefits for you

• Excel as a SENCO:  Learn how to become a strategic leader of SEND. You’ll discover what good SEND provision looks like and work with other staff to support your school to meet the needs of all pupils, whilst working confidently within statutory guidance.
• Establish a positive culture: you’ll lead on establishing and sustaining a positive, safe and supportive culture across your school for all pupils.
• Develop a strategic SEND provision:  learn how to contribute to and implement a strong and robust SEND strategy and support the delivery of effective provision, working with other agencies and specialists for pupils with SEND, and their families.
• Designed by SEND experts:  benefit from a programme which is designed and delivered by SEND specialists including current SENCOs and experts from across the sector.
• Invest in your future:  ongoing professional development helps you to grow and thrive as a SENCO. You will follow an evidence-informed framework and gain a professional accreditation at the end of the programme.
• Learn at your pace: this programme is designed to fit around your leadership role and much of the work can be completed in bite-size chunks around your existing work timetable.
• Connect with your peers:  you will train alongside other SENCOs from similar school contexts. You can share your experiences and build a strong support network

Benefits for your school or setting

• Develop your school’s SEND provision:  your SENCOs will learn strategies and solutions to implement a strong SEND provision
• across your school. This includes creating an effective school-wide culture and supporting the development of a positive, safe and supportive school environment where all pupils can thrive.
• Access the latest SEND learning:  teachers and leaders will bring more evidence-based teaching and learning into your classrooms, meaning high quality teaching and improved outcomes for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Create a ‘golden thread’ – the NPQs are all aligned. So, no matter what career stage your teachers are at, by joining this programme, they will benefit from an evidence-based framework. They will also share a common language with other NPQ participants that they can pass on to colleagues.
• Identify future leaders:  competent and confident leaders who excel in their roles will be more likely to apply for senior positions in your school when they arise.
• Retain your teaching talent:  by allowing teachers to develop and nurture their talents in specialist areas such as SEND, you are investing in their future. This will boost their confidence, making them feel supported and less likely to apply for jobs elsewhere.
• Tap into a network:  your teachers will train alongside peers from other schools with similar contexts, supported by facilitators that fully understand your school’s needs

About the course

This programme follows the Department for Education’s National Professional Qualification (NPQ): SENCO framework.

On this programme, you will learn how to:

• Contribute to establishing and sustaining a positive and supportive culture across the school for all pupils.
• Support senior leaders to ensure staff and governors enact statutory guidance.
• Support teachers and support staff to understand the importance of expert teaching for all pupils and to implement a graduated approach in the classroom, subject or domain effectively.
• Support the delivery of effective provision for pupils with SEND and their families, and be able to review, monitor, evaluate and improve the impact of SEND provision.
• Work with staff, specialists and other agencies to assist the school in meeting the needs of all pupils.
• Implement an efficient SEND identification process across the school which ensures that barriers to learning are identified and addressed at the earliest opportunity.
• Work with and equip fellow leaders with the skills to establish and sustain effective curriculum planning that enable teachers to plan, adapt and teach effectively for all pupils.
• Support the development of a positive, safe and supportive environment for pupils across the whole school.
• Ensure all pupils feel motivated in school with a supportive setting to enable them to reach their aspirations and potential

Our programme structure

Our ‘little and often’ approach means you can engage with our NPQs around your work schedule, with minimal time needed out of your setting: there is one face to face launch conference to introduce you to the programme, and a second conference in year 2 where you will meet with your fellow participants and your facilitators.  There are seven 2-hour online facilitated twilight sessions across the programme to reinforce your guided self-study online.  Your online study which can be done at a time to suit you and will take around 45 minutes to an hour each week.

Final assessment

Our NPQ courses no longer include a large project at the end. Instead, you’ll sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which you respond to a short case study.

The assessment window starts at the end of the 18-month programme.

During this time:

• You’ll be given an eight-day window to complete the case study.
• There are two assessment windows every year, and participants can sit the assessment twice, if they need to.
• You need to pass the assessment and engage with 90% of the course to qualify for the NPQ accreditation.
• We will offer two webinars and live clinic in advance of the assessment window to support you

Costs and scholarship funding

New funding arrangements for NPQs – applications open on 1st July 2024

The DfE have announced that NPQ funding from Autumn 2024 will be targeted to those teachers and leaders serving more disadvantaged communities.

There will now be a capped number of funded 10,000 places nationally. Funding for the April 2025 cohorts and beyond has not been confirmed.

Scholarship-funded places are extremely limited on each NPQ programme, so access to funding will be subject to availability. 

To have the best chance of claiming a funded place, please apply as soon as possible to the DfE AND Ambition Institute via our application process once applications open on 1st July 2024: participants from eligible schools identified below will be prioritised on a first come first served basis. Other places are available at a cost to schools and settings.

For the NPQ for SEND, funded scholarships will be prioritised on a first come first served basis for those who meet the following criteria:

• Work in the 50% of schools with the highest proportion of students who attract pupil premium funding or early years settings identified as having high disadvantage in England and is a current serving SENCO who has not completed their mandatory qualification.

Organisations eligible to access these limited scholarship funded places also include:

• independent special schools.
• virtual schools (Local Authority run organisations that support the education of children in care).
• hospital schools not already included in other categories of eligible organisations.
• young offender institutions.

If you’re unsure whether you will qualify for this ‘pupil premium’ based on funding, please use Ambition Institute’s online eligibility check tool.  Some nurseries are not available yet on the tool. If you work in a nursery and / or you cannot see your school or setting, please contact us directly at [email protected]

Scholarship-funded places are limited, so access to funding will be subject to availability. To have the best chance of claiming a funded place, please apply as soon as possible once applications open. 

Costs for others or those who do not meet this criteria is £1332 + VAT

How to apply

Applications close in early September in readiness for an October start.