PATHWAYS INTO TEACHING IN ENGLAND
– APRIL 2010
The purpose of this document is to provide information about the various training
options available for the award of qualified teacher status.
Undergraduate QTS awards
On an undergraduate course you combine subject studies with professional
training over three or four years.
BA with QTS - Bachelor of Arts - arts degree-level ITT qualification leading to
Qualified Teacher Status. Geared towards secondary as they are single subjects,
but may be used in primary.
BSc with QTS - Bachelor of Science - science degree-level ITT qualification
leading to QTS. Geared towards secondary as they are single subjects, but may
be used in primary.
BEd with QTS - Bachelor of Education - Generally geared towards primary
teaching as it is a little of each subject. However, it can be used for secondary, if
any specialism is offered.
If you are looking to combine your degree - usually a BA or BSc - with gaining
Qualified Teacher Status, two basic choices are available to you:
- Full-time study: combine your subject and professional studies with schoolbased training of at least 24 weeks for three year courses and 32 weeks for four
year courses.
- Part-time study: certain ITT providers offer five year part-time courses. You will
need to check availability with the provider you are hoping to train with.
If you have already completed at least one year's full-time higher education, you
can apply for a two year course. This route is particularly suited to mature
trainees (over 21 years of age) and provides a thorough grounding in classroom
technique, with at least 18 weeks of school-based training built into a primary
course and at least 24 weeks into a secondary course.
For more information see:
The TDA website:
http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/thetrainingprocess/typesofcourse/
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The University and Colleges Admissions Service website:
http://www.ucas.com/
Postgraduate QTS awards
For entry to postgraduate Initial Teacher Training, you will need a relevant
degree or equivalent qualification. For primary teaching, it is often an advantage
to have a degree related to the National Curriculum. For those wishing to
specialise in early years teaching, a degree in early childhood studies can be a
suitable preparation for teaching. For secondary teaching most ITT providers
require a degree in the subject to be taught or a closely-related one.
It usually takes a year to complete a postgraduate ITT programme and to
achieve Qualified Teacher Status, although you may be able to extend or shorten
the length of your training to suit your particular needs and circumstances.
Generally, at least 18 weeks of the year are spent in school if you are pursuing
primary school teaching, or 24 weeks for secondary. In either case, you'll be
trained by both school-based and higher education tutors.
Usually, secondary teachers specialise in teaching the subject they have been
studying at university, but you can opt to take a short intensive subject support
course prior to the start of ITT to acquire the additional subject knowledge you
need. Some ITT providers may take the view that your degree contains enough
subject-based knowledge and will accept you onto the course on this basis. A
few ITT providers offer full-time ITT over two years to give you time to study
additional subjects - usually secondary subjects such as design and technology,
mathematics, modern foreign languages and science.
For more information see:
The TDA website:
http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/thetrainingprocess/typesofcourse/pgce.aspx
The Graduate Teacher Training Registry website:
http://www.gttr.ac.uk/
School-Centred Initial Teacher Training
You can decide to train in a school full-time. School Centred Initial Teacher
Training (SCITT) in England offers full-time school-based training through which
you acquire skills and knowledge in a classroom environment. The training is run
by the schools, sometimes with input from Higher Education institutions and
Local Authorities (LAs). In these programmes, your main base and tutors will be
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in a school, although on most SCITT programmes you will also have tutors from
the school’s partner Higher Education institution.
A School-Centred Initial Teacher Training group is made up of secondary and/or
primary schools (maintained or independent sectors) in England. Groups are
accredited by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) to run
courses of initial teacher training. All courses lead to Qualified Teacher Status for
students upon successful completion and may also lead to a PGCE validated by
an HE institution.
For more information see:
The TDA website:
http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/thetrainingprocess/typesofcourse/scitt.aspx
The Graduate Teacher Training Registry website:
http://www.gttr.ac.uk/
Flexible routes
Flexible ITT programmes are designed to enable people who are not able to train
full-time on a traditional postgraduate course to access training that matches
their individual needs and circumstances. The training takes account of your prior
learning and achievement. Courses have multiple start and finish dates. You may
wish to undertake modules in the evening or weekends, via distance-learning
packages, or alternatively you may wish to undertake an intensive full-time
programme over a short time. Those with significant teaching experience may
also be able to follow an assessment-only route to QTS.
Flexible routes are available to any eligible graduate - those in employment
looking for a change of career, graduate classroom assistants and experienced
teachers without QTS as well as recent graduates. Those with qualifications
acceptable for a Postgraduate Certificate of Education are eligible to apply for
this training. ITT providers may have additional selection criteria.
Those who already have teaching experience e.g. overseas as a teacher, worked
as a trainer in industry, or taught in the further education or independent sector
without gaining QTS, may already be able to demonstrate that they meet some of
the Standards for the Award of QTS, so their training programme may not need
to include training relating to these Standards. Consequently, their training
programme could be much shorter than other postgraduate ITT routes. Some
candidates may need no further training, and many of the training providers offer
an assessment-only route to QTS, allowing candidates to more quickly
demonstrate they meet the necessary Standards.
For more information see:
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The Graduate Teacher Training Registry website:
http://www.gttr.ac.uk/
The Graduate Teacher Programme
The Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) enables schools to employ people
who are not yet qualified to teach and train them through an individual training
programme leading to QTS. The programme is particularly popular with people
who want to change to a teaching career and need to continue earning while they
train. The training is tailored to suit individual needs.
The GTP involves one year of postgraduate training. You must have a first
degree to be eligible to apply. The school will pay you at the rate of a qualified or
unqualified teacher. The TDA pays a grant to cover the cost of your training and
may also pay the school a contribution towards your salary of up to £13,000 per
year. Entry to the GTP is highly competitive with places going to the best
applications in priority funding categories. You must be 24 years old or more to
apply for the Graduate or Registered Teacher Programmes, unless you have
already qualified as a teacher overseas.
For more information see:
The TDA website
http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/thetrainingprocess/typesofcourse/gtp.aspx
The Registered Teacher Programme
The Registered Teacher Programme (RTP) offers you a way to qualify as a
teacher while you work. When you have found a job in a school as an unqualified
teacher, you can follow an individual training programme leading to QTS. At the
same time you complete your degree. Once you have QTS, you can work as a
qualified teacher in any maintained school in England.
The programme suits people who want to change to a teaching career and need
to continue earning while they train. The training is tailored to suit your individual
needs. The RTP is a challenging route. It takes effort and commitment to work
and train in a school, and study for your degree at the same time.
To be eligible for the RTP, you must have successfully completed two years of
equivalent) in mathematics and English. For primary, you must have GCSE
grade C or above (or equivalent) in science. If your qualification is equivalent to
two years of higher education and a university would accept you on a top-up
degree programme you may be eligible for the RTP.
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The programme normally lasts two years. The minimum length of a programme
is twelve months.
For more information see:
The TDA website:
http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/thetrainingprocess/typesofcourse/rtp.aspx
The Overseas Trained Teacher Programme
If you are already qualified as a teacher in another country and want to work as a
qualified, permanent teacher in England or Wales, you need to have Qualified
Teacher Status (QTS) and be registered with the General Teaching Council for
England or Wales.
Teachers from within the European Economic Area (EEA) may have teaching
qualifications which are transferable, so you can gain QTS without further
training.
The Overseas Trained Teacher (OTT) Programme is available for those who
have overseas teaching qualifications which are not recognised in England.
Trainees follow an individual training programme designed to enable them to
meet the standards for the award of QTS, whilst at the same time working as an
unqualified teacher in a school.
Overseas teachers may work as a temporary teacher without QTS for up to four
years. This time period commences on the day you first worked as a teacher in
England and expires either four or two years later, regardless of any breaks in
teaching and irrespective of your immigration status. You may not continue
teaching after this period has expired if you have not obtained QTS.
For more information see:
The TDA website:
http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/thetrainingprocess/typesofcourse/ottp.aspx
Teachernet:
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachinginengland/
The National Academic Recognition Centre:
http://www.naric.org.uk/
Teach First
After being admitted to the programme, trainees complete one week of
observation in a school of their choice. They then attend a summer training
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programme, which commences in late June and lasts six weeks. Trainees are
placed in schools with approximately three other participants.
In their first year, trainees follow a programme which is very similar to the
Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP). They are employed as unqualified
teachers in the same way as GTP trainees. In addition to school-based mentors,
however, they receive support from Teach First tutors and mentors. At the end of
the first year, they are expected to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
The second year of the programme is the induction year. Participants are
expected to meet the Induction Standards by the end of the second year. They
will also receive tailored mentoring, training and internships with sponsors,
including training for a Foundations of Management certificate. Once they have
gained QTS (start of the second year), they are transferred to the qualified
teachers’ pay scale.
For more information see:
The TDA website:
http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/thetrainingprocess/typesofcourse/teachfirst.aspx
The Teach First website:
http://www.teachfirst.org.uk/
The Fast Track Scheme
From 1 September 2005 Fast Track was refocused as a leadership development
programme and no longer recruits teacher trainees. The programme now
concentrates on the professional development opportunities and support
available for Fast Track teachers, to ensure that Fast Track teachers achieve
senior leadership positions within four to five years.
For more information see:
The National College for School Leadership website:
http://www.ncsl.org.uk/programmes/fasttrack/
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