Ofsted report – Teach First’s outstanding NPQs provision

The report graded our provision as outstanding in all areas. Inspectors found that:

• Participants gain exceptional professional development and training when completing an NPQ with Teach First. The curriculum meticulously supports participants to deepen their knowledge and develop their leadership skills in their chosen specialism. Throughout the NPQ programmes, participants flourish in confidence and competence when implementing and influencing positive change in their schools or settings.
• Leaders at Teach First work with an unwavering moral purpose. They use their NPQ programmes as a vehicle to tackle the barriers to educational equality in the schools that they work with. This core vision underpins all aspects of NPQ delivery.
• Leaders consider workload in all aspects of the NPQ delivery. Online materials are easy to access and simple to navigate. In addition, diagnostic self-assessments at the start of each online module enable participants to prioritise the learning material most suited to their prior knowledge. Teach First’s flexible approach to the timings of assessments, seminars and conferences also supports participants very well in managing their time.
• Delivery partners must not only demonstrate expertise in NPQ curriculum content, but also have the same unwavering commitment to challenging educational disadvantage and securing the best possible outcomes for vulnerable pupils. Relationships between Teach First and their delivery partners are exceptionally strong.
• Leaders have explicitly woven the principles of inclusion, diversity and equality through all NPQ programmes. This empowers participants to strive for the greatest possible impact on the achievement of disadvantaged pupils when applying what they have learned in school.