The role of the NPQ External Moderator (NPQEM)

This Department for Education contract started in May 2022, for an initial four year tenure, to deliver a robust system for the external moderation of NPQ summative assessments.

The NPQEM role is to determine and consider whether each Lead Provider’s assessment of participant submissions in response to an open book case study are accurate, or otherwise.

What are NPQs?

• Accredited professional development for school teachers and leaders in every phase of education​
• Fully funded Department for Education programmes​ (until Autumn 2024, when funding is scholarship based for teachers working in the top 50% of schools with highest proportion of disadvantaged pupils nationally)
• Focus on practical, evidence-based school improvement​
• 10 programmes (5 specialist; 5 leadership)​
• Delivered by nine Lead Providers, each with their own system for summative assessment​
• Assessment design overseen by the DfE​

The ‘Specialist’ NPQs are:​

NPQLT – Leading Teaching​

NPQLTD – Leading Teacher Development​

NPQLBC – Leading Behaviour and Culture​

NPQLL – Leading Literacy​

NPQLPM – Leading Primary Mathematics​

The ‘Leadership’ NPQs are:​

NPQSL – Senior Leadership​

NPQH – Headship​

NPQEL – Executive Leadership​

NPQEYL – Early Years Leadership​

NPQSENCo – Special Needs Coordinators​

Assessment models

Lead Providers are the arbiters of their own assessment model, including case study development and associated mark schemes.

The External Moderation role ensures that the robustness of assessment and the final outcomes for NPQ participants are upheld to the standards required.

Key people/roles involved:

Project Director (Strategic Lead): Provides Leadership and Management of the NPQEM Team including the QA Leads, DFE Contract and deliverables (including monitoring and reporting of all KPIs), management of the end-to-end external moderation process, and project quality assurance.

Senior Business Support Officer: Provides coordination of operational tasks and administration across the project. To include ensuring work deliverables and KPIs are met, strong relationships with external and internal stakeholders are maintained, management of the CRM system, and support to the BSO in meeting all needs of the projects including the end-to-end business support of the external moderation process.

Project Coordinator: Provides Leadership and Management to the Business Support Officer, reporting and status management, maintenance of PMO tools, monitoring and management of internal documentation, project risk and project management, management of moderator contracts, internal governance and social value.

Business Support Officer: Administrative and business support to all needs of the projects, including the end-to-end business support of the external moderation process, and acting POC of all moderators.

Quality Assurance Leads: Quality assure moderations following external moderation, partnership working with the NPQ moderators to provide guidance regarding identified submissions that require additional input and expertise, as well as provide input and value to training provided to moderators’ post moderation window.

Moderators: Undertake moderations of identified samples of NPQ summative assessments as well as working collaboratively to contribute to the continual evolving moderation process.

Our Values

Additional to our contractual obligations, the NPQEM team prides itself on the following values:

Partnership working

During the course of our work, we interact with multiple stakeholders from varied sectors, primarily the DFE, Lead Providers and assessment partners.

Continuous improvement

We work on the principal of continuous improvement as we move through each moderation window.

Fairness, openness and transparency

In tandem with the previous values, we weave through them with fairness, openness, and transparency.

Endorsements

“It’s been a real pleasure working with you [NPQEM Team], firstly on the legacy NPQ suite and now in the reformed NPQ… it has been brilliant working with you and learning from your insight in all things NPQ”.

“Thank you to [redacted] for your help in 'onboarding' [moderator] and [moderator] onto the project. The clarity of the communication is much appreciated”

“Finally a huge thank you for your time and collaboration over the last few years both in new and legacy assessment worlds. It has been a pleasure working alongside you”.

“Just a thank you note from me before I hand over to [redacted], it’s been a pleasure to work with you and the team on the assessment side of the NPQs”.

“I really appreciate the support, feedback and professional conversations throughout this specialist window”.

Project KPIs

The project consists of 7 contractual KPIs that are reported on at key milestones of the year to the DfE. These include:

Participant sampling (a & b)

Moderation Activity

Conflict of Interest

Appeals

Data Accuracy

Social Value