To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people (a) applied for and (b) completed the National Professional Qualification for Headship in financial years (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11, (iii) 2011-12, (iv) 2012-13 and (v) 2013-14.
Answered on
21 January 2015
a) In financial year 2009/10 1620 people applied for the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) and 1089 graduated from the programme.
b) In financial year 2010/11 1573 people applied for NPQH and 1345 graduated from the programme.
c) In financial year 2011/12 2591 people applied for NPQH and 1165 graduated from the programme
d) In financial year 2012/13 1532 people applied for NPQH and 120 graduated from the programme.
e) In financial year 2013/14 1262 people applied for NPQH and 194 graduated from the programme.
There are two NPQH application rounds per annum. NPQH has a learning journey of 12-18 months and therefore participants commencing during one financial year may not present for the final assessment for a further two financial years.
In order to commence NPQH applicants take part in a two-stage assessment process, where they are required to demonstrate a range of leadership competencies showing their readiness for headship. Those deemed not ready to progress onto the programme at first application, following the overall assessment, ranges between 10% and 25% (depending on the quality of applications during any one intake round).
NPQH is no longer mandatory for first time serving headteachers, as the mandatory status was withdrawn in February 2012, this allows multiple routes for senior school leaders to secure headteacher positions.
NPQH was last reviewed in 2012/13 following the government white paper ‘The importance of teaching’ 2012.