National Professional Qualification for Leading Primary Mathematics (NPQLPM)

Our carefully sequenced and evidence informed NPQLPM will help you to develop a positive culture for maths teaching and embed effective approaches to teaching maths across your primary setting.

The Five Counties Teaching School Hubs Alliance and the Boolean Maths Hub are embarking on a unique partnership to jointly deliver the NPQLPM for our Five Counties / Boolean maths hub region on behalf of Ambition Institute, one of the country’s NPQ lead providers.

Who is this NPQ suitable for?

To apply, you must be a teacher who has, or is aspiring to have, responsibilities for primary leading teaching in mathematics, numeracy, curriculum, teaching and learning, phase or a primary classroom teacher aspiring to lead.

This course could be suitable if you’re a:

• Primary teacher and you’re already familiar with mastery approaches to teaching maths, but you want to improve your leadership skills in this area.
• Subject leader in a primary school which is already engaged in the Teaching for Mastery programme or a similar programme.
• Phase leader in an all-through school with responsibility for educating a primary aged key-stage or primary school

For example, you might be a:

• Local Leader of Mathematics Education (LLME)
• Primary Mathematics Lead
• Primary Curriculum Lead
• Primary Teaching and Learning Lead
• Primary Phase Lead
• Primary classroom teacher aspiring to lead mathematics.

NPQLPM participants are expected to have completed a minimum of 1 Year of the DfE’s Teaching for Mastery programme, delivered by the national network of Maths Hubs and co-ordinated by NCETM, or have secure mastery expertise from another equivalent programme.

Benefits for you

• Excel as a teacher
• Delve deeper into the nuts and bolts of what makes an effective primary maths teacher, what good maths teaching looks like, and how you can lead others so they can learn from you.
• Develop a positive maths culture
• Learn how to create a positive attitude to maths in your primary school. You’ll learn how to develop systems that help your pupils overcome any maths anxiety and build their resilience to solving maths problems.
• Design an effective maths curriculum. As a leader of maths, you’ll learn how to implement and lead an effective maths curriculum. You’ll be able to identify the maths knowledge that pupils need, identify gaps in their understanding and make changes to improve outcomes.
• Build on your existing mastery expertise: this NPQ will support you to embed mastery approaches to teaching maths in your school.
• Invest in your future: Ongoing professional development helps you to grow and thrive as a primary maths leader.
• You will follow an evidence-informed framework and gain a professional accreditation at the end of the programme.
• Learn to 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 primary maths teachers from similar school contexts. You can share your experiences and build a strong support network.

Benefits for your school

• Improve maths teaching: Your maths leaders will learn techniques to improve the teaching of maths across your school. This includes creating an effective school-wide teaching strategy through the careful sequencing of lessons as well as supporting teachers to understand and use evidence- informed approaches to maths teaching.
• Create a ‘golden thread’ – The new 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.
• Access the latest learning:  Teachers will bring evidence-based teaching and learning into classrooms, meaning high quality teaching and improved pupil outcomes.
• Identify future leaders: Competent and confident teachers who excel in their roles will be more likely to apply for middle or 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 maths, 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 who fully understand your needs

About the course

This programme follows the DfE’s National Professional Qualification (NPQ) Framework for Leading Primary Maths

The programme has been designed for teachers and leaders who are familiar with mastery approaches to teaching maths. Over 12-months you’ll build on your existing mastery expertise and learn how to embed this across your school whilst developing key aspects of your leadership .

On our programme, you will learn how to:

• Understand what good primary maths teaching practice is and how to implement it.
• Embed mastery approaches to teaching maths in your school.
• Lead your school to teach maths effectively, working collaboratively with senior leaders and teachers.
• Develop your ability and capacity to improve the provision of maths across your school.
• Equip staff to plan effective primary maths lessons and stimulate your pupils’ thinking.
• Help colleagues to adapt their maths teaching to meet different needs.
• Align your professional development with wider school improvement priorities.

Our carefully sequenced and evidence informed NPQLPM will help you to develop a positive culture for maths teaching and embed effective approaches to teaching maths across your primary setting. Throughout the programme, you’ll get access to the key research on areas of teaching and school leadership including instruction, curriculum, assessment, culture, professional development and implementation. All of this content will be delivered through a primary and maths specific lens.

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.

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 NPQLPM, 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
• Teachers who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading primary mathematics teaching across a school, key stage or phase.
• Be familiar with mastery approaches to teaching maths or be a subject leader in a primary school which is already engaged in the Teaching for Mastery programme or a similar programme.

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.