Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the level of take-up of national professional qualifications by teachers.

National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) were created using the latest evidence from across the education, with input from sector experts such as the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). Since autumn 2021, the Department has fully funded 51,518 qualifications for teachers, head teachers, and practitioners across the country. This is a significant increase in comparison to the 33,399 professionals who undertook a funded NPQ between 2017 and 2021. A recent evaluation of NPQs highlighted that almost all participants interviewed would recommend the qualification to others.

To increase take up, the Department has conducted a range of reviews over the past year to investigate barriers in applying and to recommend solutions. The reviews have involved extensive stakeholder engagement, including a comprehensive investigation of areas with low take up, engagement with executive leaders and NPQ participants. To address some of the challenges identified, especially around targeting and communications, the Department has launched a new NPQ prospectus and a dedicated website to assist prospective applicants. The Department is working closely with the lead providers of the qualifications to review delivery models and allow greater flexibility for participants.

The Department has launched the Target Support Fund to provide additional financial support to state funded schools and state funded 16 to 19 secondary schools in England with one to 600 pupils. These settings will be paid £200 for each teacher or head teacher employed who takes an NPQ to help professionals who may find it harder to engage with professional development.