National Professional Qualifications
At The Olive Tree Primary school, we are proud to be a strategic lead delivery school for the National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) in partnership with The Alliance for Leading Learning (ALL) and Leadership Learning South East (LLSE) - which is a partnership of Teaching Schools and strategic partners working together to build capacity in the system for outstanding leadership. At The Olive Tree we are currently delivering the National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL). The link(s) below provide more information about participating in this NPQ.
Background Information.
At our school, our senior leaders have an established reputation for facilitating the development of school leaders through both the Department for Education's (DfE's) programme of leadership qualifications (NPQs), as well as hosting and delivering a fantastic range of training courses related to enhancing teaching and learning through our designation as a Regional Training Centre for Apple technology. Our training and facilitation involves teachers, support staff, Headteachers, aspirant Headteachers, Senior Leaders, Middle Leaders, new Leaders and Governors!
Gold Standard Leadership Learning with Impact
Through our strategic partnership with ALL and LLSE we are committed towards ensuring our local delivery has a proven life changing impact on children and young people.
In doing so, we continue to build on our established reputations by championing school improvement through high quality leadership development.
Our NPQ curriculum design is based on the best evidence about effective professional development, great teaching and inspiring leadership.
Our approach to learning through NPQs
1. Creating teachers and leaders that are invested in and excited about their learning by designing intriguing meta questions about which participants genuinely want to enquire during expertly facilitated sessions.
2. Making the learning relevant to the teachers' and leaders' contexts by using case studies and communities of practice to support the experiential learning process, which is vital to adult professional learning and development.
3. Developing teachers and leaders that are confident reflective thinkers who critically engage with research to justify their chosen strategies and approaches based on robust, triangulated evidence (Master's-level).
4. Nurturing teachers and leaders that can lead sustainable and lasting change by structuring learning around the four stages of implementation, so that participants will be able to grow into system leaders themselves.
5. Leading teachers and leaders to form new habits by helping them to question their assumptions, and to reflect on and improve their practice, focusing relentlessly on tangible improvements in teaching and pupil outcomes.
Our Facilitators.
Our training programmes are developed in conjunction with high-quality educational research, delivered by school leaders (facilitators) that have a track record of high quality, impact driven professional development.
Haroon Asghar, Lead Facilitator of leadership development.
Haroon Asghar is a well-seasoned teacher and senior leader, with experience of delivering high impact improvements to teaching and learning across the Foundation Stage and Key Stages 1 & 2. As the Executive Principal of a successful academy trust, he is frequently involved in the professional development of teachers and support staff, leading courses, conferences and workshops on a national level. With a key interest in research-based practice, Haroon possesses an MA in Educational Leadership and a specialism in leadership development. Haroon has been a lead facilitator for the delivery of the Department for Education's NPQ programme of qualifications for several years with experience of designing, facilitating and assessing at each stage of the NPQ programme up to and including the NPQH. Haroon holds a National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL).
Zainab Patel, Co-facilitator of leadership development.
Zainab is an experienced facilitator of CPD for middle and senior leaders through her involvement in the DfE's NPQ programmes for middle and senior leaders. As an Apple Distinguished Educator, she regularly engages with educators on a local, national and international level to share her expertise in using technology to help engage students through creativity and innovation. Through the school's designation as a Regional Training Centre for Apple, she also facilitates CPD through remote / blended learning approaches to include: effective lesson sequencing, digital feedback and assessment to name but a few! Zainab is currently the Acting Head of School at The Olive Tree Primary School and holds a National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH).
Additional co-facilitators of leadership development.
By working with additional teams of expert leaders and facilitators from our wider networks of schools, we work together to ensure that the NPQ programmes make a real difference to the quality of school leadership and impact directly on outcomes for children and young people.
Our Feedback.
As a high-quality provider of leadership development, we pride ourselves on the positive feedback we receive from our participants. Here are a few examples from our recent delivery:
‘Excellent manner from facilitators’
‘The facilitators have been brilliant at explaining and supporting us today. I am very excited about the journey going forwards!’
‘The course was very useful, with clear objectives and useful information/handouts’
‘I felt very comfortable in asking any questions I needed answers to. The course facilitators were very approachable and helpful. Thank you’
‘Again, great delivery, pace, venue and refreshments! Thank you!’
‘Very well presented and good provision of appropriate and relevant documents.’
‘Another informative day! Thanks for your hard work in the preparation of this session and resources! I feel more confident now to tackle various leadership issues’
