Teachers and leaders in schools across the region could have the full costs of their national leadership qualifications paid for out of new government funding.

A £10 million scholarship fund has been launched for schools in areas with the lowest rates of social mobility in England.

That includes the government’s 12 designated ‘opportunity areas’, a category which Fenland falls into.

Tarun Kapur, of Outstanding Leaders Partnership (OLP), said: “This opportunity for scholarships will help schools across the area secure, retain and develop more excellent teachers and leaders, who are making a difference to the prospects of children in these schools.

“Knowing how hard teachers work, OLP has adopted a flexible learning approach, with local face to face days plus online materials.

“The new funding is excellent news as the full costs of the courses are covered. This is on a first-come, first-served basis.”

Opportunity areas were created by the government in 2016 and are defined as having the greatest need and the lowest rates of social mobility in England.

Funding will be released for people who:

• Are working in a school in an Opportunity Area (OA) or a Category 5 or 6 area.

• Do not already hold the NPQ for which they are applying.

• Have not previously dropped out of the NPQ for which they are applying.

Category five and six areas are groups of local authorities where children are making the least progress and have the poorest access to high-quality schools.