Funding for national professional qualifications (NPQs)
Funding for courses and educational settings to help teachers and leaders take NPQs for their professional development.
Applies to England
National professional qualifications (NPQs) are flexible professional development courses for teachers and leaders to improve skills, progress careers and deliver improved outcomes for schools.
You may be able to get your NPQ course fees paid for by the Department for Education (DfE). This is called scholarship funding. You do not need to apply for it.
When you register for an NPQ, DfE will tell you if you are eligible for funding.
Scholarship funding for spring 2025
From spring 2025, scholarship funding to cover the full NPQ course cost will be available to teachers and leaders from:
- schools: the top 50% of state funded schools in England that have the highest proportion of students attracting pupil premium, as set out in the eligibility lists
- 16-19 settings: the top 50% of state funded settings in England that have the highest proportion of students eligible for disadvantage funding
For the early years leadership NPQ, highly disadvantaged early years settings will also be eligible.
You will only be eligible for scholarship funding for the spring 2025 cohort if your setting is on one of the eligible disadvantaged settings lists and you are taking one of the following NPQs:
- leading teacher development
- leading teaching
- leading behaviour and culture
- leading literacy
- senior leadership
- executive leadership
- early years leadership
Eligibility lists for the spring cohort will be made available in early 2025.
Leading teacher development NPQ
For the leading teacher development NPQ, scholarship funding is available if you are taking on the role of lead mentor for an initial teacher training (ITT) provider accredited to deliver ITT from September 2024.
Early headship coaching offer
For the early headship coaching offer, funding to cover the course fees will be available if you are in your first 5 years of headship in England in a state-funded school or state-funded 16 to 19 organisation. You should also be doing or have done the headship NPQ.
Scholarships will continue to be available to teachers and leaders from publicly funded schools and 16 to 19 educational organisations for the following NPQs:
- leading primary mathematics
- special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO)
- headship
Funding for these 3 NPQs will also be available to:
- hospital schools
- young offender institutions
- local authority virtual school head teachers and staff in direct teaching roles (local-authority-run organisations that support the education of children in care)
- other local authority staff in a direct teaching role (for example, local authority supply or peripatetic teachers)
Check if your setting is eligible for scholarship funding
Recruitment for the current cohort has now closed. Eligibility lists for the spring cohort will be made available in early 2025.
Eligibility for scholarship funding does not guarantee a place on a funded NPQ course.
Check if you are eligible for the course
You should check the course criteria with your chosen course provider before you register. You may meet the funding criteria but not the course suitability requirements.
Learn about NPQs and the early headship coaching offer.
Funding restrictions
You can only receive scholarship funding for each NPQ once.
If you receive scholarship funding but then withdraw from or fail your programme, you cannot receive scholarship funding for the same NPQ again.
Being eligible for an NPQ scholarship does not guarantee either suitability for the course or that a funded course place is available. NPQ providers are responsible for determining suitability through their application process.
The amount of NPQ scholarship funding available nationally is limited. This means some teachers and leaders who are eligible for a scholarship may not be able to access a funded place.
NPQ providers manage the application process for the courses they deliver and may need to prioritise applications to manage the number of funded places they have available. For example, NPQ providers will need to prioritise applications for NPQ for SENCOs places to support those needing to take the qualification to meet statutory requirements.
If funded places are not available with your chosen NPQ provider, you can:
- approach a different NPQ provider to enquire about the availability of funded course places
- choose to join your chosen providers waiting list
- choose to pay for a course place
NPQ courses provides more information about NPQ providers.
Legacy NPQs
If you received scholarship funding for a legacy NPQ (before November 2021) and withdrew from the programme, you’re still eligible for scholarship funding for the current NPQs.
Updates to this page
Published 22 June 2023Last updated 16 December 2024 + show all updates
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Updated information about funding for 2025.
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Updated to clarify NPQ scholarship criteria.
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Updated information about funding for autumn 2024 and added a 'Settings eligible for scholarship funding' section.
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Updated with details of scholarship funding for autumn 2024.
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First published.