Leading Literacy
We are pleased to partner with education charity Ambition Institute to deliver the NPQ in Leading Literacy.
Poor literacy skills are a significant barrier for young people in progressing in all aspects of their education.
In 12 months, participants will become an expert in literacy and leadership and enable young people to benefit from the curriculum to improve their chances of success.
Those doing the training will learn:
- Gain a National Profession Qualification (NPQ) in Leading Literacy
- Access the latest evidence-based learning in literacy development
- Support colleagues to champion literacy
- At a time and pace that suits their existing timetable.
Benefits for you
Make a real difference
This programme will help you to offer all children in your school access to high-quality literacy in their education.
Excel at literacy leadership
Become a true champion of literacy. You’ll develop a thorough understanding of how you can improve literacy in your subject, phase and school, using the latest evidence-based research.
Build a network
You’ll have the opportunity to connect with other literacy leaders, sharing your experiences and building a strong support network.
Learn at your own pace
This programme is designed to fit with your busy teaching role and can be completed in bite-size chunks around your existing schedule.
Tailor your training
The programme allows you to apply theory to your school context.
Benefits for your school
Build brighter futures
By expertly championing literacy leadership in your school, you can make sure that every young person has the literacy skills to succeed across all curriculum areas.
Improve literacy at all levels
Participants will work on applying learning and improving literacy across your school and different subject areas – and support colleagues to do this too.
Create a ‘golden thread’
The new NPQs are all aligned. Your literacy leaders will benefit from an evidence-based framework with a common language which they can pass on to their colleagues.
Put knowledge into practice
This programme gives literacy leaders a comprehensive and accessible evidence base. This allows them to bridge the gap between what they know and how to apply it effectively in your school, to improve literacy and outcomes for pupils.
Invest in your leaders
By aligning staff professional development with wider school improvement priorities, you can make sure all pupils have access to high quality literacy support in their education.
Why choose CET?
Ambition Institute has designed this ground-breaking NPQ to help you learn the essential knowledge and skills to successfully lead high quality, literacy development and teaching in your school.
Ambition’s approach uses the latest research to help you put your learning into practice. You’ll train alongside other literacy leaders with similar responsibilities.
This is a new National Professional Qualification (NPQ) developed by the Department for Education (DfE). Each of the new NPQs share the same common language and framework to help drive improvement across schools and other educational settings.
With no project work and minimal time out of school, this NPQ is designed to fit around your busy timetable.
Curriculum
What you will learn
This programme follows the Department for Education’s National Professional Qualification: Leading Literacy Framework.
You will:
- Learn how to support staff, of all subject specialisms, to develop pupils’ language and literacy skills
- Learn how pupils develop aspects of literacy, including:
- understanding how children learn to talk, and how developing effective spoken language supports literacy development at every age and stage
- understanding how children learn to become fluent readers and how teachers can help with this, from primary all the way through to secondary
- exploring the importance of subject-specific vocabulary and different strategies to teaching this
- knowing how to support pupils’ writing – whether learning to write in primary school, through to writing academically at key stage five
- Learn how to support, develop and teach pupils literacy using evidence-informed approaches
- Learn how to lead literacy through curriculum, culture and motivation
- Understand how effective literacy education can support your school
- Contribute to effective professional development for literacy, linking it to teaching, the curriculum and assessment across the school.
Note: programme content is subject to change.
How you will learn
Each of the six courses within the programme is taught through a combination of independent self-study modules, a facilitated live clinic, and a peer-led community session. The programme starts with a one-day live conference.
Note: programme content is subject to change.
Assessment
The assessment window starts at the end of the 12-month programme and runs for three months. During this time, participants will be given an eight-day window to sit an ‘open book’ style assessment in which they respond to a short case study.
There are two assessment windows every year, and participants can sit the assessment two times, if they need to.
You need to complete the course to qualify for the NPQ accreditation.
Ambition Institute will offer a webinar and live clinic in advance of the assessment window to support participants.
Cost
DfE-funded scholarships for this NPQ will target those teachers and leaders who work in the most challenging schools or educational settings, serving more disadvantaged communities.
For the NPQ in Leading Teaching, funded scholarships will be available for those who meet the following criteria:
- Have, or are aspiring to have, responsibilities for leading teaching in a subject, year group, key stage, or phase.
- Work in the 50% of schools with the highest proportion of students who attract pupil premium funding and 16 to 19 educational settings identified as having high disadvantage in England.
Check if you are eligible
If you’re unsure whether you will qualify for this ‘pupil premium’ based on funding, please use Ambition’s online eligibility check tool.
To secure your funded place ahead of cohort launch, apply now.
*Currently nurseries are not available yet on the tool. If you work in a nursery, please contact Ambition directly at npqadmissions@ambition.org.uk
If you do not work in an eligible school, the NPQ in Leading Literacy costs £899 plus VAT.
To apply, you must be leading, or aspiring to lead, literacy in any phase of education
Deadline for Online Applications:
Spring 2025
Contact npqs@cumbriaeducationtrust.org for further information
