Assessment only route to QTS

This assessment only route to QTS route is designed for experienced teachers who have not yet obtained Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). This route to qualifying requires no additional training, making it only suitable to you if you are able to prove you have the necessary teaching experience and do not require any additional training in order to meet the teachers' standards.

• Length: 12 weeks to build your portfolio on our online platform and complete all assessment activity.
• Qualification: Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
• Cost: £3250.
• Start date: Rolling.

This route is for unqualified teachers who can show they meet all the teachers' standards in full, without the need for further training.

You can apply if you:

• Have two years' teaching experience, across a minimum of two schools. This teaching experience must be across two consecutive key stages in the phase you are applying for (key stages 1 and 2 for Primary, or key stages 3 and 4 for Secondary).
• Can evidence whole class teaching with sole responsibility for planning, marking, assessing and reporting on pupils’ work.
• Can demonstrate that you meet all the teachers’ standards without needing further training.
• Hold an undergraduate bachelor’s degree.
• Have GCSEs at grade 4/C or above in English and maths, or equivalent. If you teach primary pupils, you will also need a GCSE at grade 4/C or above in science, or equivalent.

For more information about entry grades and equivalencies, read our eligibility blog here.

This route is not suitable if you:

• Have only worked as a cover supervisor.
• Are currently on, or have failed an initial teacher training programme previously.
• Are a teaching assistant whose experience is limited to supporting classroom teachers, delivering small group interventions or covered various teaching roles inconsistently.

If you are a teaching assistant who teaches whole classes independently and consistently, you may be eligible to apply, provided you have at least two years’ experience.

In order to be assessed for QTS, you must be able to work in a school in England for 12 weeks. You do not need to be formally employed by that school, but they must be able to host and support you for the duration of your assessment.

It is your responsibility to secure this employment or placement. This flexibility means you can find a setting that best supports you as you work towards QTS.

Our Assessment only route to QTS costs £3,250. This can be paid by you, as the participant or your school.

As part of your application process, you will attend an interview to assess your suitability for the route. Please note that before you attend the interview, we will take the first instalment of your payment, which is £150. If we assess that you are not a suitable candidate for the programme, you will not pay the second instalment of £3,100.

Be confident in your assessors
Our team of experts are passionate about high quality teaching practice. As a charity, we believe in the power of great teaching to transform lives. You can be confident that when you qualify with Ambition you are ready to make a positive impact in your setting.

Streamline your progress
With our fully integrated online platform, your journey to qualifying all happens in one place. The bespoke platform has been designed to make your experience clear and intuitive.

Qualify with England’s largest professional development provider
Ambition Institute is England’s largest professional development provider for schools. Last year, one in ten teachers and leaders in state-funded schools developed professionally with us.

Join our charitable mission
We train and develop teachers so that they can make an even bigger difference to children, especially the most disadvantaged, and enjoy a long and fulfilling career. When you choose Ambition, you partner with us to shape the future of education.

Applications open in September. In the meantime you can register your interest here.

The assessment only route to QTS takes 12 weeks to complete. You can apply and start at any time during the academic year. However, if you apply from April onwards, we will process your application when schools re-open in September. This is because your 12 week assessment must take place within a single academic year.

The online application will assess your eligibility for the assessment only route to QTS. If we think you are eligible, we will then assess your suitability for the route through an interview, where we’ll ask about your teaching practice and experience. Your interview will be online and we will be as flexible as we can to hold it at a time that works for you.