NPD - Excellence in Reception Teaching

Strengthen Reception teaching in your school

Excellence in Reception Teaching is a new Department for Education funded professional development programme for reception teachers.

Short, focused and practical, the programme consists of about 20 hours of learning over two school terms, combining flexible self-study with live facilitated sessions that fit around busy school life.

What is Excellence in Reception Teaching?

Excellence in Reception Teaching is a professional development programme for experienced Reception teachers who want to strengthen their practice and make a sustained difference to children’s learning, development and transition into school.

Reception is a vital stage in a child’s education. It is where children build the foundations for communication and language, early literacy, early mathematics, self regulation, relationships and confidence as learners.

The programme is designed to support teachers with the practical realities of Reception teaching. It focuses on the small but important decisions teachers make every day, including how they plan learning, respond to children’s needs, create effective routines, support inclusion, work with families and help children move successfully into Year 1.

Excellence in Reception Teaching uses a familiar professional development model, with structured learning, practical classroom application, formative assessment and mentor feedback. There is no summative assessment. Instead, participants are supported to apply evidence informed practice, evaluate impact and plan how improvements can be sustained in their setting.

What will you learn on the Excellence in Reception Teaching?

Excellence in Reception Teaching is designed to help teachers strengthen the knowledge, practice and confidence needed to deliver high quality Reception teaching.

The programme is organised across two terms.

Term 1 focuses on strengthening day to day Reception teaching. Participants explore child development, classroom practice, curriculum, literacy, numeracy, pedagogy and assessment.

Term 2 focuses on inclusion, transitions and sustained impact. Participants explore inclusive practice, effective partnerships, parent and carer engagement, multi agency working and transition into and beyond Reception.

The programme focuses on:

Child development
Classroom practice, pedagogy and assessment
Curriculum, early literacy and early mathematics
Inclusive practice
Effective partnerships with parents, carers, colleagues and other professionals
Transitions from nursery to Reception and from Reception to Year 1
Evaluating impact and sustaining improvements over time

Who should apply for Excellence in Reception Teaching?

Excellence in Reception Teaching is for experienced Reception teachers who want to refine and strengthen their practice.

It is particularly suitable for teachers who want to deepen their understanding of child development and apply this knowledge to support communication, language, personal, social and emotional development, physical development, self regulation and school readiness.

The programme is also suitable for teachers who want to improve classroom routines, interactions, curriculum planning, formative assessment, inclusion and partnership with parents and carers.

Participants may be working in a wide range of school contexts, including settings with high levels of disadvantage, SEND, EAL or varied levels of school readiness.

This programme is suitable for:

Experienced Reception teachers
Teachers who want to strengthen day to day Reception practice
Teachers supporting children with varied developmental needs
Teachers who want to improve inclusion and adaptive practice
Teachers who want to support smoother transitions into Reception and Year 1
Schools and trusts that want to build consistent, evidence informed Reception practice

Benefits for your School

Strengthen Reception practice
Support teachers to refine day to day Reception teaching in ways that improve children’s learning, development and inclusion.

Build evidence informed provision
Develop practice that is grounded in evidence, aligned with Reception priorities and focused on practical classroom application.

Support smoother transitions
Improve how Reception teachers support children’s transition into school and from Reception into Year 1.

Benefits for Reception Teachers

Develop your skills and knowledge
Deepen your understanding of child development, Reception pedagogy, curriculum, inclusion and effective partnerships

Apply learning directly in your classroom
Use structured reflection and classroom application weeks to make focused improvements to your own practice.

Personalised feedback and coaching
Develop your ability to identify needs early, adapt provision, support children with SEND and EAL and create inclusive routines, environments and interactions.

How is Excellence in Reception Teaching delivered?

Excellence in Reception Teaching is delivered through a blend of live online sessions, structured online learning, classroom application, formative assessment tasks, mentor feedback and professional dialogue.

The programme is structured over 20 weeks to create a clear rhythm of learning, application, feedback and refinement.

Participants complete two terms of learning.

Term 1 - Strengthening day to day Reception teaching

Term 1 begins with an induction webinar, introducing the programme, expectations, timeline, learning platform and the focus on evidence informed Reception pedagogy.

Participants then complete structured online learning across:

Child development
Classroom practice and pedagogy
Curriculum, literacy and numeracy

There are planned application weeks to help participants apply learning in their classroom without adding unnecessary workload. Participants also complete a mentor facilitated online reflection and begin Formative Assessment Task 1.

Term 2 - Inclusion, transitions and sustained impact

Term 2 focuses on inclusive practice and effective partnerships.

Participants complete structured online learning across:

Inclusive practice
Effective partnerships
Parent and carer engagement
Learning at home
Transitions
Multi agency working
Information sharing

Participants complete Formative Assessment Task 2, receive mentor feedback, take part in a Professional Learning Conversation and attend a final impact and sustainability session.

Funding eligibility

Funded places are available for participants working in most state funded settings, including academies.

Examples of settings where funding is not available include:

schools outside England
independent schools

If you are not eligible for funding, you can self fund, but you must still register with the DfE.

How to apply

To apply for this NPD, applicants must register their interest with Best Practice Network via the link below.

Applications open from 6th July 2026

Applications from schools within our hub region of Halton, Warrington and Wigan will automatically be allocated to us.