Returning to teaching

If you qualified to teach in England but have never taught in a school, or wish to return to teaching after time away from the profession, support is available to help make the transition.

Study level: Postgraduate
Course type: School-led
Application method: Direct to scheme
Classroom experience preferred: Yes

If you are returning to teaching, working as an unqualified teacher, qualified overseas, or have completed your training in another part of the UK, find out more about gaining QTS below. If you have not yet completed initial teacher training, find out more about becoming a teacher in England.

If you qualified to teach in England but have never taught in a school, or wish to return to teaching after time away from the profession, Get Into Teaching can offer advice to help you make the transition.

You can get up to speed with the latest Teachers’ Standards, behaviour management guidelines, or refresh your subject knowledge. There is additional support available for returning teachers of specific subjects, including modern foreign languages, maths, and physics. Register with Get Into Teaching to find out more.

Unqualified teachers

You can teach in independent schools, academies, and free schools in England without QTS, but it’s a definite advantage to have it. If you are working as an unqualified teacher, you could achieve QTS via the Assessment Only route. If you have a degree and substantial experience of working in a school, early years, or further education setting, this option allows you to gain QTS without undergoing a teacher training programme. For more information, visit Get Into Teaching.

UK qualified teacher

If you completed teacher training in Wales, QTS is awarded by the Education Workforce Council (EWC) which is automatically recognised in England.

If you hold a teaching qualification from a university in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you must apply for QTS to take up a teaching post in a maintained school or non-maintained special school in England. You may be able to gain QTS without any further training or assessment. For more information, visit the National College for Teaching & Leadership.

Overseas teachers

If you're qualified to teach in the EEA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the USA, you could gain QTS in England without further training. If you're not from these countries, you could be eligible to work in England as an unqualified teacher for up to four years while you achieve QTS. For more information, visit Get Into Teaching.