Do you have considerable experience working in education but still need to achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)? We offer a flexible, convenient pathway to help you realise your ambitions and progress your teaching career.
Our Assessment Only Route to QTS could be ideal if you are:
- Working as an unqualified teacher – paid or unpaid in a primary or secondary setting
- A cover supervisor, Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) or supply teacher
- An experienced Further Education lecturer now working in a school and keen to gain QTS
- An overseas trained teacher who does not automatically qualify for QTS or who did not gain QTS within the four-year limit
- The Assessment Only Route is open to colleagues in Independent Schools, Academies, Special Schools, PRUs
Formalise your teaching skills and open up your career prospects. If you are an experienced teacher with a degree, this route is your chance to demonstrate that you already meet all the standards for QTS – without the need for further training.
A fast-track route to qualification
The Assessment Only Route enables you to become formally qualified within a short space of time while you continue to teach. It takes up to 12 weeks of assessment to secure QTS and you can start on any of the start dates shown below.
You are required to demonstrate that you are a reflective practitioner who has met the Teachers’ Standards and can apply your skills, knowledge and understanding effectively in a wide range of school settings. In addition, you need to show that you can relate theory to practice and to evaluate critically the fundamental aims and values of education. You will be required to demonstrate competency towards the Teachers’ Standards prior to applying for the course. Candidates and schools need to provide evidence towards the Teachers’ Standards both at application stage and whilst being assessed on the route.
In-school assessments
As part of your journey to QTS, we will work in partnership with your school to assess your ability to demonstrate the Teachers’ Standards. You will be assessed while you are teaching by staff from both your school and the University.
International candidates will have 2 observations of their teaching from university assessors using a live online platform, along with weekly mentor feedback during the duration of the route, to ensure that the assessment is securely moderated, and the process is rigorous and robust.
During the assessment period, your supporting school will need to ensure that you have sufficient opportunity to develop and demonstrate the Teachers' Standards. These are recorded on an electronic portfolio which forms part of your final professional discussion with your assessor.
Support and inspiration
We have a rich heritage in training and assessing successful, confident and forward-thinking teachers. Your University assessor will come from our highly competent, experienced team and will work alongside your school-appointed mentor to offer you personalised support at every stage of the Assessment Only Route.
The maximum period for the Assessment Only Route is 12 weeks.
You will enrol on one of the following modules to enable you to upload your portfolios and documents for assessment:
- 6QT575 Assessment Only Route to QTS (home candidates)
- 6QT581 Assessment Only Route to QTS International (international candidates)
This module is undertaken entirely in your respective educational setting and is underpinned by the Teachers’ Standards for recommendation for the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The school-based learning will enable you to confirm attainment of QTS by demonstrating both your understanding of the professional identities of the teacher and evidencing your own professional accountability. Continuous formative feedback throughout the placement will support your progress. This is finalised through a summative assessment (Viva Voce). Throughout the module you will be challenged to articulate and justify your educational philosophies and pedagogies through robust defence of your practice.
The Assessment Only Route is not suitable for candidates who require training in order to develop and demonstrate Teachers’ Standards. Candidates who require training are advised to consider the Level 6 Teacher Apprenticeship with QTS, PGCE Primary, Primary (Provider-Led, School-based) with Qualified Teacher Status PGCE or Secondary (Provider-Led, School-based) with Qualified Teacher Status PGCE routes.
Supporting schools need to provide candidates with sufficient opportunity to further prove and evidence how they are meeting the Teachers’ Standards during the 12 weeks of assessment.
Please note that our modules are subject to change - we review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects.
Although there is no formal training linked to the Assessment Only Route, it is expected that you will continue to develop professionally as a teacher and further develop your subject knowledge and teaching skills during the assessment period. You will have a school-appointed, professional mentor in school who will meet with you on a regular basis and also co-ordinate regular lesson observations with formative and constructive feedback, which is, in turn, moderated by your assessor.
How you are assessed
During the assessment period you will need to:
- Be observed successfully teaching by your sponsoring school, as well as by University staff. Your teaching must regularly show competency against the standards
- Produce a portfolio of supporting examples measured against the Teachers’ Standards
- Provide a variety of high-quality evidence to demonstrate that you have consistently and competently met the Teachers’ Standards across two or more consecutive age ranges, and also evidence of having taught in two schools
- Undertake a subject knowledge assessment
- Undertake a final viva voce (oral examination)
With Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), you will be able to advance in one of the most satisfying and important careers of all. The qualification opens doors to greater responsibilities, more senior roles and progression up the pay scale.
You could also consider taking your skills and knowledge to the next level. Our MA Education is an excellent option, especially if you have your sights set on more senior roles such as middle and senior leadership roles.
“The Assessment Only Route was the perfect route for me to gain my qualification. From the very start, I felt well supported by the University. I found the course to be really flexible in terms of timings of observation and interviews. This was invaluable to me because of my role in school. My assessor offered me excellent advice and resources to support the development of my teaching practice and my school-based mentor was involved at every stage of the process.”
Karen Hayes
You will need to:
- Hold a degree from a United Kingdom institution or an equivalent qualification. We will ask to view the original certificates to validate your degree status.
- Hold GCSE grade 4 or above in Mathematics and English or equivalent and evidence with official certification. Information on replacement certificates can be found on the UK Gov website.
- If you intend to train to teach pupils aged 3 to 11, you additionally need to have achieved a standard equivalent to a grade 4 in the GCSE examination in a science subject and can evidence this with official certification.
- The European Network of Information Centres in the European Region (ENIC) provides advice on the equivalence of overseas qualifications.
- Please note that Key Skills qualifications and OCR Level 2 Adult Literacy and Numeracy are not acceptable alternatives. Equivalency tests are only accepted from A Star Equivalency.
To check your qualifications meet the appropriate qualification standard from a UK institution, refer to UK ENIC. You must provide a statement of comparability alongside the original certificates.
Teaching experience
Typical applications to this route include people who have taught for more than two years in the UK or overseas. The Assessment Only Route to QTS is also possible if you wish to be assessed while teaching overseas.
You must be at a school that runs the English National Curriculum, or a school that runs a recognised international curriculum (such as IB. IPC, Cambridge, etc).
Your teaching experience must:
- Consist of time spent teaching (as opposed to other responsibilities in a school)
- Have taken place in two separate schools (not 2 classes within the same school or two school sites within the same organisation)
- Demonstrate you’ve taught young people from a range of backgrounds
- Show familiarity with different approaches to teaching, learning, and school management
- Be divided between 2 school settings, as long as you have 2 years teaching experience in total
Your teaching experience can have been:
- Gained in any type of school - for example, international schools, schools teaching the International Baccalaureate, and state-maintained schools outside of the UK
- Spent teaching a non-English curriculum (though you may need to show you have knowledge of the subjects taught in the English curriculum)
British International School Organisations
It is not a requirement to gain teaching experience at a British international school. However, British international schools provide suitable experience for teachers wishing to apply for assessment-only QTS.
Reputable British international school organisations include:
Suitability
Safeguarding for safer recruitment
We are committed to safer recruitment, meaning that we consider a candidate's suitability to work with children and people in several ways during the application process. We ensure that all Assessors are trained in the principles of "Safer Recruitment" to make sure all applicants to our programmes are suitable to work with children and young people.
The Safeguarding checks during the application process include:
1. Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
- All applicants will be subject to appropriate preselection checks. This includes obtaining and considering Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks and children's barred list information for UK nationals.
2. Prohibition checks
- Applicants must not be subject to a prohibition order issued by the Secretary of State.
3. Overseas police checks
- As DBS checks only cover UK police records for convictions and cautions, if you have spent any time living or working abroad, you must arrange for evidence of your good conduct from the country/countries where you were living or working
- If you have worked outside of the UK in the last ten years you will need to provide a Certificate of Good Conduct for any country you have been resident in for more than six months
- If you are a UK national currently working abroad, but have worked in the UK within the last ten years, you will need to provide an ICPC
4. Disqualification from childcare declaration - if working with children age 8 or under
5. Health and physical capacity to train to teach
- Successful applicants may be asked to declare fitness to teach before starting on the programme.
For candidates based in the UK, fees are based on the location from the University of Derby, DE22 1GB:
- Up to 50 miles - £2525
- 51-74 miles - £2645 (which includes two visits at £60 per visit)
- 75-100 miles - £2765 (which includes two visits at £120 per visit)
- 100+ Please contact askadmissions@derby.ac.uk to discuss
The fees are below for all candidates based outside of the UK:
The cost of the route is £3325 per candidate.
Applications are now open for entry in September 2025, October 2025, January 2026, February 2026 and April 2026.
Course updates
The information provided on this page is correct at the time of publication but course content, costs and other individual course details do change from time to time and are updated as often as possible, so please do check these pages again when making your final decision to apply for a course. Any updated course details will also be confirmed to you at application, enrolment and in your offer letter.
If you are thinking about transferring onto this course (into the second year for example), you should contact the programme leader for the relevant course information as modules may vary from those shown on this page.
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