
More than 50 teaching staff have taken the first steps to new professional qualifications at special launch events.
The teachers and school leaders are the inaugural intake for five National Professional Qualification courses being delivered by Cumbria Education Trust.
NPQs are prestigious professional qualifications, designed to support the professional development of teachers and school leaders at all levels, in the primary and secondary sector.
The current phase of courses is fully funded by the Department for Education and is being run by CET, Cumbria’s largest multi-academy trust, alongside its partners Ambition Institute and Three Rivers Teaching School Hub.
The new intake from 18 schools was welcomed at a series of induction events at Rheged Centre, near Penrith.
Nic Tweddle, CET assistant headteacher and leadership development manager, said: “We are delighted to welcome participants from across Cumbria and the North of England onto our NPQ programmes as they make the next step in their leadership journey. What they take from these courses will be put into action across classrooms and schools throughout Cumbria and ultimately be a benefit to all pupils and students.
“There has been a huge amount of interest in this first round of NPQs being delivered by experienced professionals from within the trust and with the support of renowned trainers.”