National Professional Qualification for Leading Behaviour and Culture – NPQLBC

National Professional Qualifications National Professional Qualification for Leading Behaviour and Culture – NPQLBC

In 12 months, this programme will support you to develop expertise in behaviour management and discover how to create a culture where staff and pupils can thrive.  Our carefully sequenced and evidence informed NPQ is designed around the key problems you face. You’ll learn to develop a culture of high expectations which has a positive impact on school outcomes.

Access the latest research on motivating classrooms, enabling conditions for good behaviour and supporting pupils who need more intensive support:

  • A 12-month specialist qualification
  • Create a positive culture in your school
  • Flexible learning to suit your timetable
  • Fully funded for those from the highest 50% of disadvantaged schools, £899 + VAT for those not in an eligible school
National Professional Qualification for Leading Behaviour and Culture – NPQLBC
How to apply

Who is this NPQ suitable for?

Must be a member of staff who has, or is aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading behaviour and/or supporting pupil wellbeing in your school.

Participants do not have to be in a teaching role or a qualified teacher to do this NPQ.  NPQs are not suitable for ECTs.

Example roles include: Pastoral lead | Head of behaviour | Assistant/deputy head | Headteacher | SENDCO | Head of Year | Safeguarding Lead | Head of House | Class teacher

Benefits for you

  • Become an expert: no matter what your ultimate career goal, the NPQLBC offers continuous professional
  • development and a chance to develop specific expertise with tailored feedback and support.
  • Drive meaningful change: develop your knowledge in leading behaviour and culture and apply it in practice across your school to engage and motivate staff and pupils and reduce disruption in classrooms.
  • Create a positive school culture: learn to think beyond managing individual classrooms and develop school-wide systems and processes to support pupils and get the best out of them.
  • Designed by experts: benefit from a programme which is designed and delivered by pupil behaviour and school culture specialists and experts from across the sector.
  • Invest in your future: ongoing professional development helps you to grow and thrive as a leader. 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 busy teaching role. Much of the work can be completed in short bursts around your existing schedule.
  • Connect with your peers:  you will train alongside other leaders of behaviour and school culture from similar school contexts. You can share your experiences and build a strong support network

Benefits for your school

  • Improve pupil outcomes:  Pupils are more likely to thrive in a positive and encouraging school environment driven by model behaviour and a consistent approach to rules and rewards.
  • Build a positive culture:  Investing in your teachers’ development will make them feel supported and more satisfied in their work. This will filter down to the classroom, creating happier, more motivated pupils.
  • Highly flexible delivery: our NPQs are designed to fit around your teachers’ existing working timetables and are delivered in short, sharp bursts of learning. Your participants can complete weekly, online units, at a time that suits them.
  • 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.
  • Retain your teaching talent: by allowing teachers to develop and nurture their talents in specialist areas such as school culture 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 needs.

About the course

This programme follows Department of Education’s National Professional Qualification (NPQ): Leading Behaviour and Culture Framework.

On this programme, you will learn how to:

  • create a culture of high expectations across your school
  • support the development of a positive, predictable and safe environment for pupils
  • assist pupils with complex behavioural needs
  • nurture improvement through evidence-based professional development
  • put new approaches to leading behaviour and culture into practice in your school setting.

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 school: there is one face to face launch conference to introduce you to the programme, your fellow participants and to meet your facilitators.  There are six 2-hour online facilitated twilight sessions across the year 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.

National Professional Qualification for Leading Behaviour and Culture – NPQLBC

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 12-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 NPQLBC, funded scholarships will be available 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

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, such as those in independent schools or those who do not meet this criteria is £899 + VAT

How to apply

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

How to apply

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