Teacher training explained

If you want to teach in state primary or secondary schools in England, Wales or Scotland, you need to complete one of the following types of course successfully:

  • An initial teacher training (ITT) course in England or Wales that gives you Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

  • An initial teacher education (ITE) course in Scotland the gives you the Teaching Qualification (TQ).

If you are not a graduate, you can apply through UCAS. for 3 or 4-year undergraduate degree courses that provide QTS or the TQ.

If you are a graduate or expect to have a degree by September 2010, you can apply through the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) for Professional Graduate or Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses in England and Wales and for Professional Graduate Diploma of Education (PGDE) courses in Scotland. Most of these courses are full-time and last one academic year, but the Course types section provides information about the different kinds of course provision.

If you successfully complete a primary, middle years or secondary teaching course in the GTTR scheme, you will have the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) which you need to teach in state schools in England and Wales or the Teaching Qualification (TQ) which is required to teach in Scottish schools. Many schools in the independent sector will also require you to have QTS or the TQ, even though this is not a government requirement.

In England you can take a PGCE course based at a university or college, or take a school-based course run by groups of schools that have formed school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT) consortia.

University and college courses normally incude lectures at the institution and school-based training in at least two of their partnership schools. Primary teaching courses include at least 18 weeks of school-based training and if you are taking a secondary teaching course, you will spend a minimum of 24 weeks training in schools.

adviser helping student

SCITT consortia run their courses almost entirely within their member schools. Each consortium will offer training in primary or secondary schools. You will usually be based in the 'lead school' and undertake teaching placements at other schools within the consortium. Teachers in the schools act as mentors to organise and monitor your training. Most SCITT consortia run courses that have been validated by a university or college for the award of their PGCE. You may be required to attend some lectures at this university or college as part of your school-based course.

There are currently no SCITT consortia in Wales or Scotland, but some consortia in England may use schools in Wales to deliver their training.

All PGCE courses in Wales and PGDE courses in Scotland are based in universities or colleges of higher education.

We refer to universities, colleges and schools' consortia that offer teacher training courses as 'training providers' on this website.

The GTTR does not receive applications for teacher training courses in Northern Ireland. For information about these courses, please visit the Department for Education in Northern Ireland's website.