After submitting your NPQ Summative Assessment Task, results and certificates take several months due to a national quality-assurance process involving marking, moderation, benchmarking, and government ratification. Best Practice Network emails your result within two working days of receipt and certificate access instructions shortly after. Certificates are accessed via the Department for Education's platform using your Teacher Reference Number. For older NPQs or access issues, contact the Teaching Regulation Agency directly.
After completing your National Professional Qualification (NPQ) Summative Assessment Task (SAT), your final government-approved result and certificate can take several months. Best Practice Network will email your result when it is ready, followed by instructions for accessing your certificate through the Department for Education (DfE).
How long does it take after the Summative Assessment Task?
After you submit your NPQ Summative Assessment Task, your work goes through a national quality-assurance process that all NPQ providers must follow:
- Marking by the provider.
- Internal moderation.
- External moderation.
- Benchmarking against other NPQ providers.
- Final government ratification.
Because these stages involve multiple organisations, the process often takes months rather than weeks.
When will Best Practice Network contact me?
As soon as Best Practice Network receives your final NPQ result, we will:
- Email you within two working days to share your result.
- Follow up four to five working days later with instructions for accessing your NPQ certificate. At this point, we know that your certificate is live on the DfE platform.
- Let you know the next steps if you need support.
Best Practice Network does not delay releasing results or certificate instructions. The wait is due entirely to the national moderation and approval process and the time needed to publish certificates on the DfE website.
How do I access my NPQ certificate?
NPQ certificates are issued by the Department for Education, not by training providers. Access your certificate through your DfE Identity account using the Access your teaching qualifications service.
You will need your Teacher Reference Number (TRN) to sign in.
How to enter your Teacher Reference Number
When using your Teacher Reference Number to access your NPQ certificate:
- Enter only the seven numerical digits.
- Do not include letters such as “RP”.
- Do not include slashes or other characters.
If you do not know your TRN, use the DfE’s Find a lost TRN service.
How do I get a copy if I completed my NPQ years ago?
If you completed your NPQ several years ago, you can still access your certificate through the DfE Access your teaching qualifications service. Your certificate remains linked to your TRN.
If you have problems accessing your certificate or Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) record, contact the TRA directly. Training providers do not have access to this system.
How to contact the Teaching Regulation Agency
- For help accessing the Access your teaching qualifications service, or for missing Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), NPQ or induction certificates, email teaching.status@education.gov.uk.
- For NPQ certificate visibility or NPQ registration queries, email continuing-professional-development@digital.education.gov.uk.