GovWire

International qualified teacher status (iQTS) is a new, UK government-backed international teaching qualification which will be recognised by DfE as equivalent to English qualified teacher status (QTS) (via an amendment to regulations).

Read our policy paper, for more information about iQTS.

How the wider roll-out phase will work

iQTS will run in pilot from September 2022 to summer 2023. Six providers have been approved to deliver the pilot. DfE is now ready to approve additional providers for the first year of wider roll-out of iQTS, from September 2023. We aim to approve around 10 providers. There will be no cap on trainee numbers for wider roll-out, but providers must seek additional permission from DfE if they wish to recruit more than 200 trainees.

iQTS providers must deliver a training programme which meets:

• the needs of candidates and providers
• quality control standards set by English initial teacher training (ITT) providers and DfE
• the practical, logistical and financial requirements to scale the training

Timelines for wider roll-out training provider applications

Eligibility

To apply to join the wider roll-out of iQTS, you must already be a provider accredited by DfE to deliver initial teacher training leading to QTS in England. Approval to deliver iQTS is an extension of your ITT accreditation.

If you are an existing accredited ITT provider and have submitted an application for round 2 of accreditation as part of the ITT Market Reform, you can still apply for iQTS approval for delivery in 2023 to 2024.

We will only accept applications from accredited providers who have an inspection rating of 1 (outstanding) or 2 (good) for their primary and/or secondary QTS provision.

We are unable to accept applications from recently accredited ITT providers who have not been inspected.

iQTS providers who are taking part in the pilot year will not need to apply again for approval for wider roll-out. If these providers are not successful in the domestic re-accreditation process, they will no longer be able to deliver iQTS from academic year 2024 to 2025.

Apply to join the wider roll-out of iQTS

How we will select iQTS training providers

Your application to become an iQTS training provider needs to demonstrate that you have:

• a successful domestic ITT offer
• sufficient capacity to design and deliver a high quality iQTS programme in a limited time period (that is, in time to recruit candidates for courses beginning in September 2023)
• existing international relationships and/or partnerships to assist in the delivery of iQTS, or detail on how you propose to develop these

What you will need to provide

Approved iQTS providers must:

• create an iQTS programme incorporating the iQTS version of the Core Content Framework (CCF) which meets the requirements in the iQTS criteria and allows trainees to meet the iQTS Teachers Standards
• produce a vision or mission statement for your iQTS programme
• develop mentor training for in-school mentors to support trainees
• ensure trainees can feed back on the programme to raise any concerns, and share this information on successes and challenges with DfE
• award iQTS to all trainees who have met the iQTS Teachers Standards at the end of the course, and submit data accordingly to DfE

You can find more information about DfEs criteria for successful iQTS training providers in the application form (to be published on 11 July 2022).

Application marking scheme

Any part of your answer which exceeds the word limit for a particular question will not be considered.

If you score 2 or less on any question, your submission will automatically be removed from the process and will not be considered for approval for iQTS wider roll-out.

Question 2 is double weighted. This means we will double the score for this question, for example, if we score you 3 we will double that to 6.

The total potential score available is 35.

How applications will be scored

Well score your application using these assessment criteria.

View the original news story