Autumn 2024 – Partial closure of the registration service

Posted on

Background

We closed the service between 2 April to 1 July 2024 due to eligibility changes and to make key updates to the NPQ registration service and GOV.UK guidance.

Closing the service also gave us the opportunity to review registrations that were in the system. We asked course providers to confirm which registrations had not ‘started’ so that we can update the service. This meant that old registrations that had not started a NPQ course would not progress using the old eligibility rules.

Changes we made

We already had an approach to how we would close the service completely (in case of any required service maintenance). However, we’ve never needed to present the service as partially closed.

Partial closure meant that users could:

  • not register for a NPQ unless they had permission to complete a late registration

  • still sign in to their DfE Identity account and review NPQs they’d previously registered for

  • request email updates about the status of the registration service

  • express an interest in completing the new SENCO NPQ

Guidance pages

We removed the registration link from all individual course pages but kept that link in the ‘Apply’ and ‘Funding’ guidance pages. This was to create a linear journey where the user is encouraged to choose the NPQ course and course provider before registering and applying for the NPQ.

Register service (start page)

We notified users that the registration service had ‘closed temporarily’.

We also gave them the opportunity to request an email to notify them of when the service is open again and to register their interest in the new SENCO NPQ course.

For those who requested email notifications, it was important to highlight that by doing so they are once again, agreeing to the terms in our privacy policy. Line added: ‘By requesting email updates, you agree to our privacy notice.’

The privacy notice link explains the type of data we will collect and how we will use it.

For those users who answered, ‘yes’ to the question ‘Do you want to register for the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) NPQ when registration opens?’- we used that information to help us gain an understanding of how many users would be interested in completing the SENCO course.

Although most users were unable to register for a NPQ, they were still able to check on existing registrations by signing into their DfE Identity account.

Register for a NPQ start page:

The partial closed service start page. Content tells users that registrations are closed. They can sign up to receive email updates about reopening. Or, they can sign in to view past registrations.

Request email updates flow

  1. If a user wants to receive an email to tell them when the service is open to make a registration, they can select the ‘Request email updates’ button on the closed version of the Register start page.

  2. The service will ask them to sign in to their DfE Identity account.

  3. Whilst choosing to receive email updates, we also ask ‘Do you want to register for the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) NPQ when registration opens?’ This helps us understand how many people want to complete the SENCO NPQ and later create tailored email comms to inform them that the service is open - so those with a mandatory need to do the course get access to the funded places. Read about all the changes made when adding the SENCO course to the service.

  4. Users can choose either ‘Yes’ or ‘No, I want to do a different NPQ’ and then ‘Request email updates’ button to continue. We have a confirmation page to tell the user that the emails have been set up, which is followed by a confirmation email. Those who opt in are added to an 'Email subscription list’ in the admin panel.

  5. In the ‘Get help’ section of the email updates, we have a link ‘Unsubscribe from email updates’ that allows users to opt out of receiving any further email updates.

We built a section within our admin panel which captures the email address of those who signed up to our email updates and their interest in registering for the SENCO NPQ. This has allowed us to:

  • update our policy teams with the number of those who have shown interest in completing the new SENCO course

  • send follow up emails that support users to register for NPQs when the service reopens

Screenshot of the admin tool, showing a list of users who have signed up to receive email updates about the service reopening. It shows the number of people signed up, a button to download all or download all who are interested in the SENCO NPQ and a list of the people signed up. The list gives the persons email address, their answer to whether they are interested in the SENCO NPQ and a unsubscribe link.

Request email updates and register an interest in SENCO NPQ:

Screenshot of the question asked when signing up to receive email updates about the registration service reopening. The questions reads: "Request email updates about registration opening. Do you want to register for the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) NPQ when registration opens?". There are 2 radio buttons, with the option of 'Yes' or 'No, I want to do a different NPQ'.

Confirmation page once the emails have been set up:

Screenshot of the confirmation page shown after a user successfully signs up for email updates. It reads: "Your email request has been set up. What happens next. We'll send email updates to example@email.gov.uk about registration opening. This is usually in the summer. When registration opens use this service to register for a NPQ or the early headship coaching offer starting before November 2024."

Email confirmation that users have signed up to email updates:

Email a user receives after successfully signing up for email updates. It reads: "You’ve signed up for national professional qualification (NPQ) emails. You requested email updates about when the NPQ registration service will open. Check your existing registrations. You can still sign in to your DfE Identity account to check your: registration details, if you already registered.Course outcome, if you have completed your course. Get help Email: continuing-professional-development@digital.education.gov.uk Unsubscribe from email updates"

Email confirmation that the registration service has reopened:

Email a user receives when registration reopens. It reads: "The 'Register for a national professional qualification (NPQ)' service is now open. Your are now able to register for an NPQ".

Late registration

Despite the service being closed, a small number of users were given access to register for a NPQ if they:

  • have been delayed in getting their teaching reference number (TRN) or

  • were taking the early headship coaching offer or

  • made an error in their initial registration and needed to submit a new one.

How users were able to make a late registration:

  1. Providers send DfE a list of who needs to make a registration before the service reopens.

  2. The provider engagement team add the user’s email address to the admin panel and inform the course provider that the user has been added.

  3. The provider then sends a link to the user that allows them to access our service to make a late registration. (link only accessible to those granted permission in the admin panel).

  4. Users access this link by signing into their DfE Identity account using the same email address shared with the provider engagement team. If the email address does not match, the user is shown an error message.

  5. Users are given general information about NPQ course start dates and asked ‘Do you want to start a course before November 2024?’

    If the user answered:

    • ‘Yes’- they proceeded to register for a NPQ using the service as usual

    • ‘No, I want to start later’- they were told to return later in the year to register

Late registration start page:

The start page for late registrations. This is very similar to the normal start page, but at the top it has the heading "Register late for a national professional qualification (NPQ)" followed by "You’ve been given access to make a late registration for a NPQ whilst the service is closed. You will also need to apply separately with your training provider, if you have not done so already."

Adding a user in the admin panel:

Screenshot of the admin tool where a user can be added to make a late registration. There is a form to enter the persons email address and an 'Add user' button. Below this is a list of the added users, showing their email address, whether they have a DfE identity account, the date of their most recently submitted registration and a link to remove access.

Future considerations

Perhaps we could think about how we reduce the need for users to make a late NPQ registration. If it is a necessary feature when closing the service, maybe we could automate the process rather than managing late registrations manually.