NPQH with British Schools in the Middle East cancellation policy

This information sets out the National College's policy for National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) with British Schools in the Middle East withdrawals and deferrals, as well as the cancellation fees that may be invoked if you withdraw or defer from the programme without an acceptable reason.

Withdrawals and deferrals are expected to take place under exceptional circumstances only.

1. Withdrawal

1.1 Withdrawal requests

If you decide that you are no longer aiming for headship, you may wish to withdraw from NPQH.

If you are an applicant or trainee headteacher and decide to withdraw, you should contact npqh-bsme@nationalcollege.org.uk to discuss the situation. Should withdrawal remain your preferred option, you will be asked to complete a brief withdrawal form.

1.2 Centre withdrawals

Under certain circumstances, the National College may withdraw a trainee headteacher from NPQH. This may take place if:

you fail to attend the entry assessment and development event, introductory day or graduation board without a valid reason for deferral
you fail to complete NPQH within the maximum 12-month timeframe without a valid reason for deferral
you do not respond to more than three contact attempts by the College

In such cases, we will document the withdrawal.

1.3 Re-application after withdrawal

If you have previously withdrawn, or been withdrawn from NPQH, you will need to reapply in order to re-gain a place on the programme.

2. Deferral

2.1 Medium to long-term deferrals

Deferral within NPQH should only take place under exceptional circumstances. Valid reasons for deferral are as follows:

you are taking maternity leave
you are experiencing long-term sickness, which makes you unable to complete the programme within the maximum 12-month time limit
you are experiencing family sickness or bereavement, which requires you to take time off work, and makes you unable to complete the programme within the maximum 12-month time limit

If you request a deferral due to one of the above the reasons, you should contact the National College. We will arrange for you and a College representative to discuss the situation. Should a deferral be appropriate, you will be asked to complete a brief deferral form and to provide a medical certificate if appropriate. This will then be submitted for approval. We will discuss and agree with you a suitable time to return to NPQH. We may agree to provide you with additional support at the time of rejoining – for example, the opportunity for a 'return' discussion with a leader or coach.

If you are on the development stage, your 12-month timeline will be halted at the point of deferral and will resume when you rejoin the programme. For example, if you have been on NPQH for five months at the point of deferral, you would have a maximum 7 months after rejoining NPQH in which to complete the programme. If this situation were to occur you would need to discuss it with us. A second cohort is not yet confirmed so we would need to agree the most suitable approach for you to complete the programme.

2.2 Short-term deferrals

In addition to the above, there will be some exceptional circumstances in which you may request (or the College may need to enact) a short-term deferral within the programme. Valid reasons for short term deferrals are as follows:

a short-notice inspection, which prevents you from attending the two-day entry event, the introductory day or the graduation board
an illness or family bereavement, which prevents you from attending the two-day entry assessment and development event, the introductory day or the graduation board

If you require a deferral due to one of the above reasons, you should contact the College to discuss the situation.

2.3 Invalid reasons for deferral

NPQH is flexible and personalised, and allows you to schedule the majority of activity to suit your circumstances. In addition, it is a relatively short programme, with trainee heads completing it within 4 to 12 months. For these reasons, deferrals are expected to take place only in exceptional circumstances.

The following are not considered to be valid reasons for deferral:

inspections or short-term sickness at any time other than the two-day entry event, the introductory day or the graduation board
a change of role or employer
your level of workload in current role

If an individual has an invalid reason for not attending a key programme event, cancellation fees may be invoked.

2.4 Deferral reasons not covered in this policy

If your reasons for deferral are not covered by this policy, you should contact the College to discuss the circumstances.

3. Capability issues

You must inform the College of any change in circumstance that might disqualify you from becoming a headteacher, or of any capability issues or disciplinary actions of which you are the subject. If you fail to do this, your progress on NPQH may be halted.

4. Retakes

If you are unsuccessful at the entry event or graduation board, and you wish to retake that element of the programme, an opportunity for this retake will be scheduled at a later date. In these circumstances, following provision of feedback, we will contact you to discuss an appropriate time for the retake.

You may only take the entry event or the graduation board a maximum of three times (ie the first attempt and two retakes). If you are not successful after three attempts, you will be withdrawn from the programme. Should you wish to undertake the programme again at a later point, you would need to reapply for NPQH.

5. Cancellation of coaching time

If you have booked time with your NPQH coach and subsequently cancel the session without a valid reason, this session may not be rescheduled and you will lose this coaching time from your 7-hour allocation.

Valid reasons for cancelling coaching sessions are as follows:

a short-notice inspection, which prevents you from attending the coaching session
an illness or family bereavement, which prevents you from attending the coaching session – you may be asked to provide a medical certificate if appropriate