LLSE

National professional qualifications (NPQ) report

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LLSE Office 47, B940 Innovation Building, Popjak Road, Kent Science Park, Sittingbourne ME9 8PS

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Inspection judgements

National professional qualifications (NPQs) inspection Overall effectiveness Outstanding

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Inspection judgements

The quality of professional development and training Outstanding

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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 study a highly ambitious, expertly designed curriculum. From the very beginning of each NPQ, they learn the curriculum exceptionally well, leading to highly impactful self-reflection and professional development. For example, participants undertake precise initial self-assessments, alongside well-considered and regular formative assessment. This enables expert facilitators to meticulously pitch the programme to participants’ prior knowledge and understanding, wrapping the materials around the context and ensuring all participants flourish.

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

Participants’ workload and well-being are at the heart of leaders’ work. Participants benefit from highly attuned and astutely personalised support. For those with disabilities or additional needs, skilful adaptations lead to equity in learning opportunities. As a result of this excellent pastoral care and nurture, participants hone and enhance their leadership skills. They are expertly prepared for their current roles, as well as the next stage of their career and are overwhelmingly positive about the programmes they undertake.

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

Participants build strong networks with other participants, leaders, schools and wider educational establishments. They develop professional relationships which are pertinent, far reaching and collaborative. LLSE’s unwavering vision and approach to excellence ensures that participants are confident and highly competent to play their part in lasting change within the education sector.

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Information about this lead provider

◼ LLSE is a not-for-profit community interest company that has been delivering NPQs since 2011. ◼ At the time of the inspection, 2,769 NPQ participants were undertaking one of the lead provider’s seven NPQ programmes. ◼ The lead provider works with 13 delivery partners, geographically spread across England. Two new delivery partners joined the lead provider recently, delivering NPQ cohorts from February 2024. Delivery partners include teaching school hubs, multi-academy trusts, universities and other educational organisations. ◼ LLSE also provides direct delivery to 13 participants who are on the NPQ for executive leadership programme.

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Information about this inspection

◼ The inspection was carried out by seven of His Majesty’s Inspectors. Inspectors carried out in-person meetings, online meetings, on-site and online visits to delivery partners. ◼ Inspectors spoke with the lead provider’s representatives, including the executive director, the director of improvement, the director of programmes, the director of partnerships, the director of finance and business, the operations manager, the partnerships manager and partnership administrators. The lead inspector also met with representatives of governance, including the chair of the LLSE board of directors. ◼ Inspectors carried out focused reviews in these NPQ programmes: executive leadership, headship, senior leadership, leading behaviour and culture and leading teaching. In total, eight focused reviews were conducted. For each focused review, inspectors met with delivery partner leaders and facilitators, discussed professional

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Information about this inspection

development and training with groups of participants, met with headteachers, senior leaders and coaches from participants’ schools and educational settings, reviewed the exemplified training materials and scrutinised documentation. ◼ In addition, a focused review of the direct delivery for NPQ executive leadership was conducted. An inspector also visited an online live training delivery session. In total, inspectors visited eight delivery partners, either on-site or online. Inspectors also considered information from the lead provider’s other NPQ programmes as part of the inspection. ◼ The inspection team considered responses to Ofsted’s online surveys for NPQ participants, delivery partners and school leaders, including free-text responses.

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better?

Excellence permeates every aspect of LLSE’s work. Leaders’ shared values and a commonly agreed understanding of sustainable practice are at the forefront of this work. All stakeholders embody these values, enhancing the NPQ programmes through a sense of unity, collaboration and community. For example, the carefully selected delivery partners unanimously agree they feel well supported in their work. They value the professional, trusting partnerships, where actions are always strongly rooted in the will to provide the best learning experience.

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better?

Leaders are relentless in their commitment to providing high-quality professional development and training for every participant. Self-study resources, pre-webinar content and live learning opportunities are provided through high-quality, easily accessible materials. Leaders demonstrate an unwavering determination to contextualise and pitch their programmes to the needs of individual participants, which is fully realised. Training is meticulously designed, with careful consideration of participants’ phase, subject and leadership experience. For example, exemplification materials to support participants from specialist settings are high-quality. The curriculums maintain fidelity to NPQ frameworks, while intelligently and deliberately sequencing important knowledge to be repeated at key points during the programmes.

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better?

Leaders, including delivery partners, ensure that the recruitment of facilitators is robust. They receive high-quality induction, continuous professional development and supportive evaluation of their work. For instance, through ‘community of practice’ networks and events, leaders further support and nurture facilitators’ skills. As a result, facilitators have a deep understanding of the curriculum and routinely make links to earlier modules and research principles. This approach helps participants to solidify their learning and apply it to new tasks.

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better?

Leaders, in partnership with delivery partners, are rigorous and systematic in the checks they make to improve participants’ experiences and learning. Leaders’ culture of continuous improvement is deliberately planned to fully engage all stakeholders in enacting timely and meaningful enhancements to meet their exacting vision of quality.

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better?

Formative and summative assessments are methodically integrated into all NPQ curriculums. More recent enhancements, such as timely knowledge checkers, have strengthened this further. Thought-provoking meta questions challenge and inspire participants, as well as other stakeholders, to become reflective thinkers. Participants engage with pertinent research to justify their leadership behaviours and approaches. As a result of this work, leaders are fully aware of participants’ potential barriers to learning. They ensure that adjustments are in place, when needed. Facilitators further tailor teaching materials, regularly check in with participants and effectively signpost resources for additional support. Therefore, participants successfully learn the knowledge and skills they need to apply them in their professional practice confidently. They hold the lead provider in very high regard.

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better?

Leaders routinely extend well beyond their compliance and contractual requirements. For example, all participants benefit from a workplace coach. This coaching accelerates participants’ progress further and embeds their leadership skills effectively within their current roles. Leaders have established systems for stakeholders to raise concerns about safeguarding or equalities. Should any issues arise, they have full confidence that these would be dealt with comprehensively.

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Lead provider details

Unique reference number 2680066 Inspection number 10326102

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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 NPQ Date of previous inspection N/A

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Inspection team

Donna Briggs, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Eleanor Belfield His Majesty’s Inspector Harry Ingham His Majesty’s Inspector Caroline Poole His Majesty’s Inspector Sally Timmons 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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