Why Small Schools are so important and why teachers in small schools Should Apply for NPQs 

Small schools are an integral part of the education system in England – in fact in 2018 there were over ¾ million children attending a small school, often making a significant contribution not only to the flourishing of their pupils but also to the families and local community. However, they often face unique challenges when it comes to resourcing, funding and most crucially, staff development which has meant that over half of smaller schools have not been able to access the free and high quality professional development opportunities that are the NPQs.

This is why the Church of England was the first to start addressing these challenges by creating an NPQ offer that is tailored specifically for small schools – our NPQSmall. There are over 300 participants on the NPQSmall this year.

We have an NPQSmall version available for all our courses to provide a structured and comprehensive approach to your leadership development, whilst making them accessible to small schools.

Leadership courses – NPQ Senior Leadership, NPQ Headship, NPQ Executive Leadership

Specialist courses – NPQ Leading Teaching, NPQ Leading Teacher Development, NPQ Leading Behaviour and Culture.

So how have we adapted the NPQs to suit small school settings?

1. Course content is all online so there is no travel – which can often be barrier for some rural schools.
2. You’ll still benefit from small group coaching – a hallmark of a Church of England NPQ.
3. We’ve scheduled over half of our sessions to run both in school time and then be repeated after school giving you the choice of when to attend. We know choice and flexibility is key for balancing cover and workload.
4. The course content has case studies, from small schools as well as other contexts, and the reflection questions are tailored to help you develop your leadership in small schools and beyond.

Teachers will gain the following benefits by doing an NPQSmall with us

1. Develop your leadership knowledge and skills in a range of areas including teaching, curriculum design, professional development and leading school culture.
2. Improve pupil outcomes by developing evidence informed practice in your school.
3. Transferrable qualification – whilst it is an NPQSmall this is still the full NPQ qualification which is recognised in schools across the country.
4. NPQs are an effective way of enhancing your leadership skills and career prospects.
5. Develop networks with fellow professionals to support you in your leadership development.

Want to find out more about how you and your school could benefit from NPQs contact npqsmall@churchofengland.org or come along to our NPQSmall webinars.