The Julian TSH is delighted to be partnering with Ambition Institute to deliver our NPQs from Spring 2025 onwards.

 

 

Scholarship funding for autumn 2025

Scholarship funding is available for teachers and leaders in publicly funded schools (including maintained nursery schools) and 16 to 19 educational settings in England for the following NPQs:

• Special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs)
• Headship

Funding for these courses is also available to:

• Schools eligible for targeted regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) intervention.
• Hospital schools.
• Young offender institutions.
• Local authority virtual school headteachers, staff in a defined deputy headteacher role and staff in direct teaching roles.
• Other local authority staff in direct teaching roles – for example, local authority supply or peripatetic teachers.

Scholarship funding is also available for the following NPQs based on disadvantage criteria:

• Leading teaching
• Leading behaviour and culture
• Leading literacy
• Leading primary mathematics
• Senior leadership
• Executive leadership
• Early years leadership
• Leading teacher development

For these NPQs, scholarship funding to cover the full NPQ course cost will be available to teachers and leaders from eligible schools and 16 to 19 settings that have high levels of disadvantage. 

For the NPQ in early years leadership, highly disadvantaged early years settings and maintained nursery schools will also be eligible. 

For the NPQ in leading teacher development, scholarship funding is also available if you’re taking on the role of lead mentor for an initial teacher training (ITT) provider accredited to deliver ITT from September 2024.

To be eligible, your school or setting must be on one of the disadvantage eligibility lists. Please note: the list currently published on the DfE page is incorrect as at 24/07/2025 as it lists all schools. 

Funding restrictions 

You can only receive scholarship funding for each NPQ once.

If you receive scholarship funding but then withdraw from or fail a course, you cannot get scholarship funding for the same NPQ again.

Being eligible for an NPQ scholarship does not guarantee that:

• The course is suitable for you.
• A funded course place will be available.

NPQ providers determine suitability through their application processes.

The total amount of scholarship funding is limited, so some eligible teachers and leaders may not secure a funded place. Check with your provider before you register to see if a funded place is available.

NPQ providers manage applications for the courses they deliver and may prioritise applications according to the number of funded places they have available. For example, priority will be given to applications for the NPQ for SENCOs to those needing to take the NPQ as a mandatory qualification for their role as a SENCO.

If a funded place is not available

If funded places are not available with your chosen NPQ provider, you can:

• Contact another provider to enquire about funded places.
• Join your provider’s waiting list.
• Self-fund your course place.

How do I apply?

You can apply now via Ambition Institute's website. Please be aware that even if the Julian TSH approves your application, you cannot take up a place until you have registered with DfE for your NPQ, even if you’re not eligible for scholarship funding. This is so that DfE can keep your professional record up to date, check and allocate NPQ funding, and issue NPQ certificates. We anticipate that the DfE NPQ portal will open in September.

Why Ambition Institute?

We are excited to expand our partnership with Ambition Institute, having worked with them as a delivery partner since the early roll-out of the ECF-based induction programme in 2020. Ambition Institute is a charity with one purpose: "to help educators serving children from disadvantaged backgrounds to keep getting better". Their mission is to support teachers and school leaders at every stage of their careers, helping them to keep getting better.

Why NPQs?

NPQs complete the DfE’s golden thread, running from initial teacher training through to school leadership, rooting teacher and school leader development in the best available evidence and collective wisdom of the profession. You can read more about Ambition Institute's NPQs here.

How will I learn?

Every NPQ is delivered through a blend of online sessions, face to face workshops, and self-guided learning accessed through Ambition Institute's learning portal, StepLab. This allows you to structure your learning flexibly and to suit your lifestyle.

How are NPQs assessed?

At the end of your course, you will sit an open-book assessment in which you respond to a short case study. You will have an eight-day window in which to complete the assessment.

We have not yet finalised which NPQs we will be offering in autumn 2025. We'd like to find out what your priorities for NPQs will be next year. Please complete this form to let us know!