NPQ
The Church of England NPQ programme
Welcome to our Church of England NPQ information page. Here you can find out information about the Church of England suite of NPQ programmes, from specialist NPQs to leadership NPQs, listed below:
Step 1
Register with the DfE
To confirm your eligibility to complete an NPQ, you should first complete the Department for Education online registration process.
To complete this form you will need to have your Teacher Reference Number (TRN) and School Unique Reference Number (URN) to hand.
Your TRN is a 7-digit number (formatted as xx/xxxxx) which can usually be found on your payslips, teachers’ pension documentation, and other teacher training records. The TRN has previously been known as a QTS, GTC, DfE, DfES or DCSF number.
Please refer to this Teacher Reference Number (TRN) guidance if you are undertaking an NPQ and:
- You know you have a TRN but are unsure/want to check what it is, or:
- You do not currently have a TRN and are working as a teacher/leader in England or living in England but not in a teaching leadership role at present.
Step 2
Complete your application form
Once you have been validated by the DfE, you will automatically receive your Church of England application form by email. Please check your spam/junk folder, in case it goes in there.
You can begin to complete the form as soon as you receive this. The form will be relatively straight forward, asking your personal details as well as details of your school. It is very important that these are accurate as we will use these to maintain contact with you.
Key areas to be mindful of;
- Please ensure that you use the same email throughout the process
- If your name changes during the application process, please contact the TRA to notify them of this. It is only once the TRA have confirmed this change, that we can then change it on our system. Please continue to use your old name until we have confirmed this change.
As well as your personal details, the application form will ask you 3 open questions:
- Why you have chosen to apply
- Your experience
- Why you have chosen the Church of England programme
Step 3
Sponsor Endorsement
On your application form, you will also be asked to input your sponsor’s details.
This is typically your headteacher (or governor, if you are a headteacher). Please let them know in advance that you have used their details – once you have submitted your form, they will receive the sponsor form to complete.
Once you submit your form, your part of the process is complete. The Church of England team will look over your application and you will hear from them in due course regarding the status of your application.