Education Development Trust

National professional qualifications (NPQ) report

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Education Development Trust Highbridge House, 16–18 Duke Street, Reading RG1 4RU

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Inspection judgements

National professional qualifications (NPQs) inspection

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Inspection judgements

The quality of professional development and training Good

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Inspection judgements

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection N/A

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What is it like to be an NPQ participant at this lead provider?

Participants benefit from a well taught and thoughtfully sequenced curriculum. They are well supported to hone their knowledge and skills. Participants feel that the Education Development Trust (EDT) understands their professional needs. This enables facilitators to contextualise learning so that activities purposefully link to participants’ contexts, phases and different starting points.

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What is it like to be an NPQ participant at this lead provider?

Knowledgeable facilitators skilfully deliver training that is rooted in pertinent research. Participants gain a deep understanding of how to apply this research confidently in their professional practice . They are taught how to lead improvement, and they benefit from learning how they can best ‘make change stick’. For instance, participants particularly value how the ‘micro implementation tasks’ enable them to put what they have learned into practice. Over time, participants know more and remember more. They are well equipped to be successful in their current roles and are adequately prepared for the next stages of their careers.

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What is it like to be an NPQ participant at this lead provider?

Participants are proud to study here. The effective partnership between delivery partners and leaders at EDT enables participants to succeed. Well-being is prioritised every step of the way. Participants are taught to manage their own workload efficiently, and they appreciate learning how to consider the well-being of other colleagues too.

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Information about this lead provider

◼ Currently, there are 3,110 participants undertaking the lead provider’s national professional qualification ( NPQ) programmes. ◼ EDT delivers all eight of the current NPQ programmes. Delivery of the leading primary mathematics programme is due to start shortly. ◼ The lead provider currently works with 18 delivery partners, who deliver training to the NPQ participants. However, there are a small number of participants completing their programmes with additional delivery partners that EDT has worked with previously. ◼ Delivery partners include seven teaching school hubs, five learning federations, one children’s centre, three multi-academy trusts and two specialist subject associations. ◼ EDT also provides direct delivery to 49 participants who are on the national profession qualification for executive leadership (NPQEL) programme.

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Information about this inspection

◼ The inspection was completed by seven of His Majesty’s inspectors. The inspection was carried out through in-person meetings, online meetings, on-site and online visits to delivery partners. ◼ Inspectors spoke with the lead provider’s representatives, including the UK director, the teacher development programme director, the NPQ programme delivery manager, the senior partnerships and recruitment manager, the continuous improvement manager, the senior operations manager, the senior education adviser, the NPQEL course director, the digital learning manager, the quality assurance lead and the corporate safeguarding lead. The lead inspector also met with representatives of governance, including the chair of the education impact committee. ◼ The inspection team carried out focused reviews in NPQs for executive leadership, headship, senior leadership, early years leadership, leading literacy and leading teaching. For each focused review, inspectors met with delivery

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Information about this inspection

partners and facilitators, discussed training with a group of NPQ participants, met with headteachers and other senior leaders and scrutinised documentation. Inspectors also attended live training events. ◼ Inspectors visited nine delivery partners on site and four remotely. A further delivery partner was spoken with as part of the inspection. ◼ The inspection team took account of responses to the Ofsted surveys for NPQ participants, delivery partners and school leaders when making their judgements.

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better?

EDT’s vision to equip participants with the knowledge and skills that they need to improve educational outcomes for pupils shines through. Across each NPQ programme, the lead provider has carefully crafted a curriculum that is rich in pertinent academic research. Each NPQ framework is embedded well. For each module, the different elements of training dovetail so that what is taught in face-to-face sessions supports learning in online training and self-study. Delivery partners work collaboratively with the lead provider to create a comprehensive range of materials to exemplify the curriculum further.

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better?

Facilitators are credible and highly knowledgeable in their field. This is because the lead provider ensures that the delivery partners select facilitators carefully, train them thoroughly, support them diligently and expect strong practice. Consequently, facilitators fully understand their role as expert colleagues with a sharp focus on building on participants’ theoretical knowledge to ‘learn how to’ in the field. Over time, participants deepen their knowledge and skills and can apply this systematically in their professional roles.

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better?

The lead provider is proud of their continuous improvement approach. They have clear systems to quality assure the impact of programmes. Clear and timely communication between the lead provider and delivery partners contributes significantly to how successfully the programme is delivered. Together, they use their shared expertise to evaluate the delivery of each NPQ programme. Roles and responsibilities are clearly understood by all. Stakeholders’ voices also play a central part in enabling EDT to review the effectiveness of the curriculum. As a result, the lead provider continues to make considered changes to develop and improve the training programmes.

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better?

Leaders are tenacious in checking that participants engage with the content of the curriculum. For participants on the NPQEL programme, the leader provider is adept at ensuring that each NPQ participant’s training programme is responsive to continuing formative assessments of strengths, gaps and needs. This also helps the facilitator and coaches gauge where participants might need additional support. However, across the other NPQ programmes, formative assessment is not used as well. This means that participants are not fully aware of how well they are building their knowledge of the curriculum over time.

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better?

The lead provider ensures that the NPQ programmes are compliant with all necessary legislation. Participants have clear systems in place to report concerns, including safeguarding or equalities.

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better?

Leaders take the workload and well-being of participants very seriously. They take all reasonable steps to ensure that participants receive appropriate and timely professional and pastoral support.

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(Information for the lead provider)

◼ In almost all NPQs, formative assessment is not used well. This means that participants are not fully aware of how well they are building their knowledge of the curriculum over time. The lead provider is aware that more work needs to be done to strengthen assessment in this area. They should ensure that formative assessment is fit for purpose and leads to effective support for all participants to deepen their knowledge, skills and leadership behaviours.

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Lead provider details

Unique reference number 2679917 Inspection number 10309976

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Lead provider details

This inspection was carried out by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) in accordance with early career framework (ECF) and national professional qualification (NPQ) framework and handbook .

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Lead provider details

The framework and handbook set out the statutory basis for ECF and NPQ inspections in England.

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Lead provider details

Lead provider programmes offered ECF and NPQ Date of previous inspection N/A

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Inspection team

Louise Walker, lead inspector Dale Burr Eve Morris Eleanor Overland Matthew Vellensworth Vic Wilkinson Marc White His Majesty’s Inspector His Majesty’s Inspector His Majesty’s Inspector His Majesty’s Inspector His Majesty’s Inspector His Majesty’s Inspector His Majesty’s Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-

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Inspection team

government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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