UCL Institute of Education

National professional qualifications (NPQ) report

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UCL Institute of Education University College London, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL

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Inspection judgements

National professional qualifications (NPQs) inspection

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of professional development and training Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection N/A

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

UCL Institute of Education (UCL IOE) provides participants with a professional development experience that goes above and beyond. The relentless focus on bridging the gap between research and practice ensures that all participants on NPQ programmes go on a journey of self-discovery. The programmes enable participants to lead and embed change in their workplaces and support them in the next stages of their careers exceptionally well.

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

Participants speak extremely highly about how the programmes have shaped, and are shaping, their professional practice. Learning is not an onerous ‘add-on’ to their workload. Rather, it strengthens participants’ skills to reflect on and improve their leadership practices. Participants are committed to effecting lasting change. UCL IOE supports participants remarkably well to do this.

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

Facilitators deliver the NPQ programmes to an exceptionally high standard. As experts in their field, they contribute to the co-production of a curriculum that draws on well-founded and relevant educational research and practice. This is highly valued by participants.

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

Concerns for well-being and workload are deeply embedded within the course. The programmes are highly ambitious, with the courses skilfully tailored around what participants are already doing in school. The quality of the materials, delivery, communication and user platforms give participants outstanding support for their well- being.

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Information about this lead provider

◼ Currently, there are 10,317 participants undertaking, or have recently completed, the lead provider’s NPQ programmes. ◼ UCL delivers all 10 of the current NPQ programmes. ◼ The lead provider currently works with 26 delivery partners, who deliver training to the NPQ participants. ◼ Delivery partners include 17 teaching school hubs. The remainder are city/borough-wide partnerships and former teaching school alliances. ◼ UCL also provides direct delivery to 356 participants who are on, or have recently completed, the National Profession Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL) programme.

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Information about this inspection

◼ The inspection was completed by eight of His Majesty’s inspectors. The inspection was carried out through in-person meetings, online meetings and on- site and online visits to delivery partners. ◼ Inspectors spoke with the lead provider’s representatives, including the dean, the centre director, the director for professional development, the NPQs overall programme design lead, the specialist programmes lead, the delivery partner relationship manager lead, continuous quality improvement lead, central delivery lead, early years specialist and the assessment lead. The lead inspector also met with representatives of governance, including the vice-chair of the NPQ governing board. ◼ The inspection team carried out focused reviews in NPQs for leading behaviour and culture, early years leadership, headship, senior leadership, leading teaching, executive leadership, leading teacher development and leading literacy.

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Information about this inspection

For each focused review, inspectors met with delivery partners and facilitators, discussed training with a group of NPQ participants, met with headteachers and other senior leaders and scrutinised documentation. An inspector also attended a live training event. ◼ Inspectors visited seven delivery partners on site and six remotely. ◼ The inspection team took account of responses to the Ofsted surveys for NPQ participants, delivery partners and school leaders.

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better?

The UCL IOE’s leadership of the NPQ programmes is driven by a strong commitment to work for, and with, the profession to lead research-informed professional learning and development. All work is keenly focused on making a positive difference to pupils’ learning and achievement. Expert strategic leadership is of the highest quality and there are exceptional opportunities to broaden the sphere of influence of participants on the courses.

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better?

There is complete synergy in the values and vision between the lead provider and delivery partners. Leaders have fostered a culture that embodies a commitment to excellence through working in a mutually collaborative way. This is deeply underpinned by values of research-informed and evidence-based practice. Across delivery partners, facilitators and participants, experiences of working with UCL IOE on the programmes are totally consistent and of an exceptional quality. Delivery partners are effusive in their praise of UCL IOE, and rightly so.

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better?

The careful thought and consideration regarding the curriculum are highly evident. Informed by a spiral curriculum of teaching and learning, programmes are designed and delivered with teachers’ and school leaders’ concerns for workload and well-being at the forefront. The peer learning groups and implementation projects in particular enable participants to deepen their knowledge and understanding of leadership by applying the programme learning in their work contexts. The lead provider is crystal clear with delivery partners about the importance of maintaining fidelity to the programmes. The materials provided by UCL IOE are of a very high quality and allow facilitators to contextualise the learning with careful oversight from UCL IOE. Facilitators say that this is a real strength of the course design.

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better?

The programmes are skilfully designed to accelerate participants’ aspirations and career progress. The structure, implementation and success of the programmes enable participants to flourish, develop and grow. This has been consistently confirmed by the participants spoken to, many of whom cite their NPQ as one of the key factors in their subsequent promotions.

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better?

Participants benefit from highly effective formative assessment processes. Audits and group sessions all allow for prior experience to be taken into account and for the facilitators to shape the learning accordingly. School leaders say they can see tangible changes in the professional behaviours of participants and explain how these are having a positive impact on the staff they work closely with. Participants cite behaviours such as ‘thinking like a leader’ as particularly impactful on their leadership journey.

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better?

Leaders at UCL IOE are highly responsive to feedback, and there are robust systems to check on the quality of provision at delivery partners. There are also opportunities through the operations and governance boards for delivery partner leads to impact the strategic development of the programme. Delivery partners wholeheartedly consider the feedback loops to be exceptionally effective and two-way. UCL IOE leaves no stone unturned when looking for ways to further improve their programmes. It pinpoints precise development points, as well as securing input and feedback from school leaders to ensure that the direction of travel aligns with current developments in education both locally and nationally. Systems are truly collaborative and seen as a shared responsibility. All voices are important and valued and everyone benefits from this relationship.

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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/ECF

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Inspection team

Emma Gater, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector Alison Aitchison His Majesty’s Inspector Steve Battersby His Majesty’s Inspector Linda Culling His Majesty’s Inspector Jane Dennis His Majesty’s Inspector Bessie Owen His Majesty’s Inspector Lisa Strong His Majesty’s Inspector Matthew Vellensworth 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

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Inspection team

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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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