Government funding for national professional qualifications (NPQs) has been “crucial” to many participants, and only around one in 10 believe their school would have paid for them without the extra cash.
It comes after the previous government slashed funding for most of the qualifications, prompting warnings schools would scale back their use.
The report was one of dozens of evaluations and surveys commissioned by the Conservative administration that were released by the Department for Education at 4pm yesterday.
The onslaught comes ahead of the Conservative Party conference, which begins on Sunday.
Commissioned by government, CFE Research surveyed of thousands of participants in the qualifications after they were reformed in 2021 to include more options, such as qualifications for leading behaviour and culture and leading teacher development.
For three years, all schools were able to enrol staff for free under a £184 million Covid recovery package.
However, Schools Week revealed earlier this year the scholarships would be scaled back to cover only NPQs for heads, SENCOs and leading primary maths.
Just 12% believe their school would have paid
Of the participants who were aware their qualification was being funded, only 12 per cent stated that their setting “would have paid for their qualification in the absence of the national scholarship funding”.
Funding was “particularly important” for participants in the NPQ for early years leadership. Thirty-seven per cent said their setting would not have paid without the extra funding.
Availability of DfE funding was the “primary reason respondents chose to undertake an NPQ instead of other CPD”, cited by 51 per cent. Sixteen per cent said they only chose an NPQ over other qualifications because of the funding available.
The scholarship funding for NPQ participants “has been crucial to many participants”, the report concluded.
Capacity and time concerns
The research found 77 per cent of participants were satisfied with delivery of their NPQ, although the “lowest satisfaction levels were related to the balance between online and face-to-face delivery”.
Staff who chose not to undertake an NPQ and schools that did not use them were also interviewed, and the “main reason identified was a perception that NPQs were not relevant for them”.
Other barriers to engaging with the NPQs were “staff capacity within settings (e.g. cover), the perceived time to complete the NPQ alongside their ‘normal’ role, and budgets”.
“Instead of NPQs, these settings preferred to engage with bespoke CPD which they perceived as being more relevant and useful to their development needs.”
But NPQs raise staff aspirations
The research also shows the benefits of the qualifications. Sixty-five per cent of participants’ aspirations to move to a more senior role in future increased.
Of those who had achieved a promotion, 74 per cent said their NPQ had increased their aspirations.
As part of the NPQ reforms, the government also launched a early headship coaching offer. It can be taken alongside the NPQ for headship or by those who recently completed it.
But the survey found that only 16 per cent of eligible NPQH participants were accessing the support. Forty-five per cent said this was because they had a mentor or coach in school already, while 18 per cent were unaware of the support offer.
