There is a shortage of qualified teachers the world over, and the UK is not exempt. The UK is now addressing its teacher shortage problem by recognizing teaching qualifications obtained from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. What this means is people who trained in these African countries can now apply for the Qualified Teacher Status.

If you’re thinking about seizing this opportunity you probably have a dozen questions. What are the minimum requirements? Is it an opportunity for teachers of all subjects? How do you go about it? In this article, I will answer these questions and many more.

How much does a Qualified teacher earn in the UK?

With current ongoing teacher strikes in the UK, asking how much an average teacher earns is a fair question. Teacher salaries are determined by a school’s governing board; the government sets the minimum – £28,000 per annum. 

The school board appraises you and determines whether you’re in the main pay scale or upper pay scale. If they establish that you’re in the main group, you’ll earn between £28,000 and £38,810 and if they put you in the upper group, you’ll get between £40,625 and £43,685. 

It’s important to note that within the main and upper pay scales, teachers are put into six or three different bands, respectively. Which band the school board places you will depend on an appraisal of your qualifications and experience. 

There’s roughly £1,700 average difference between consecutive bands. Notice the word average? Just because you’re in the same band with another teacher at the same school doesn’t mean you’ll earn the same. The school board can pay more or even less, as long as it is within the maximum and minimum of the pay scale. 

The upper pay scale isn’t the highest earning group, by the way. Experienced teachers can become lead practitioners and earn upto £67,685. Leader teachers are not necessarily heads of department. They are involved in training and mentoring other teachers, and have a demonstrable record of teaching excellence.

Now that we covered the money stuff, let’s look at teaching in the UK.

Who teaches in the UK classroom?

In the UK, not everyone who stands in front of the classroom and is paid for it is a teacher. 

Becoming a qualified teacher in the UK

First, there’s cover supervisors – they are not teachers in the strictest sense. Cover supervisors enter the classroom to cover for an absent teacher. They don’t teach, they just give the students the materials the teacher assigned for the day. Cover supervisors don’t need any qualifications.

Next up, there’s teaching assistants – unlike cover supervisors, teaching assistants can sometimes teach. But only under the supervision of a qualified teacher. Teaching assistants normally have a level 3 qualification – 3-6 month short courses. 

After gaining experience and a level 4 qualification, teaching assistants can become high level teaching assistants. Unlike teaching assistants, an HLTA has to demonstrate that they meet professional standards. Regional Providers of Assessment will come for a school visit to establish this. 

Now for teachers, there are two categories – unqualified teachers and qualified teachers. Unqualified teachers have lower salaries ranging from £19,460 to £30,172. But most schools prefer employing qualified teachers, that is teachers with a qualified teacher status (QTS). 

This is what the announcement by the British Government on teachers who qualified in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Zimbabwe was talking about. If you qualified in these aforementioned countries you can now directly apply for QTS. This will make it easier for you to apply for a teaching job in the UK, with your visa sponsored by your employer. 

Before we jump into how to apply for QTS, let’s first check who is currently accepted to apply for QTS.

Do you qualify for directly applying for QTS?

If you’re currently teaching in your country, you probably have a Diploma in Education or a Bachelor’s degree. But if you’re like me ten years ago, you only have your advanced level certificate. Is the UK considering QTS for all these teachers? Unfortunately, no. 

Only people who have a Level 6 qualification, that is a bachelor’s degree. The bachelor’s degree should be recognized in your country as a teaching qualification. Examples of such degrees include, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Science Education, and Bachelor of Technical Education.

It’s likely that a degree like a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Chemistry or Physics on its own without a PGCE or Diploma in Education might not be an adequate qualification for QTS. 

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Which subjects are being considered?

At the moment, there are few subjects that are being considered. 

The UK Department of Education has this to say, “We can only accept applications from teachers who are qualified to teach children aged 11-16 in one of the following subjects: Maths, Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish.”

But that’s not all.

“You’ll need to provide evidence that EITHER your teaching qualification specifically shows you can teach one of these subjects, OR at least 50% of your university degree was in one of them.”

What does that mean? If you have a Bachelor of Education degree majoring in Chemistry, then at least 50% of your total credits should be in chemistry. Alternatively, you can have a Postgraduate Certificate in Education majoring in Chemistry. This second qualification is a teaching qualification that states that you can teach Chemistry.

Additionally, you will need a document that states that your teaching qualification or university degree was taught exclusively in the English language. You can request this official document from the university you studied. Some universities call it a certificate of English proficiency. You don’t need to write IELTS. 

How will they know you were actually a qualified teacher?

You will need to get a Letter of Good Standing from your ministry of education. Only letters obtained from the ministry are recognized. But not only that, the letter should have the information listed below.

The letter should state that:

  • You completed a teaching qualification/teacher training – include the name of the qualification
  • You successfully completed a period of professional experience (i.e., teaching practice in Zimbabwe)
  • You taught children aged 11-16 and the specific subjects you taught and are qualified to teach. Teaching Biology when you’re qualified to teach Geography and Woodwork won’t help you with the QTS. 
  • You’re qualified to teach in government schools. 

In addition to the Letter of Good Standing, you will also need a referee who can confirm that you worked unsupervised with children aged between 11-16 years for at least 9 months. The referee should also confirm that you were responsible for all the teaching and assessment planning and execution for at least four students. 

How do you apply for qualified teacher status?

The process of application is simple. There is a government website dedicated to help you apply. I’ll post the link here and also at the end of this article. You can head to the government website if you’re confident on what to do.

When you get to the website, respond to the initial screening questions. After you have been deemed eligible you’ll then have to open an account. The process is simple, you don’t have to remember any passwords. You can finish the application in less than 20 minutes. 

After you’re deemed eligible, enter information about yourself and then upload your identity document. This can be your passport, driving license, identity card or birth certificate. 

After your personal information, you provide your qualifications. All the information you need for this will be on your degree postgraduate certificate/diploma transcripts. You’re then asked to enter the age groups you are trained to teach and/or taught. 

After that you pick the 3 subjects that you teach. Remember these subjects should be the ones on your Letter of Good Standing. 

Next up is providing proof of English proficiency. If your teaching qualification is not from the countries listed, you just select no until you get to the tab that asks you which proof you have. Select the top one that says: “Upload an official document that shows your teaching qualification or university degree was taught exclusively in the English language.”

The next two sections will be on your work history and uploading the Letter of Good Standing. These will be easy, as you just follow the prompts and answer the questions honestly. Do not put what cannot be supported by your Letter of Good Standing or referee. 

What do you need before applying?

You need the following in the order of the most difficult to get:

  • Scanned copy of Official Letter of Good Standing – ministry of primary and secondary education (free)
  • Scanned copy of Certificate of English Proficiency or Certificate of Medium of Instruction – university where you got your qualifications (paid)
  • Scanned copies of Transcripts and certificates – university where you got your qualifications (paid)
  • Referee – talk to someone trustworthy who is your line manager or more senior. The individual should be accessible through email or phone.
  • Scanned copy of an identity document – passport, ID card, driving license, or birth certificate.

If you have all the documents above, you can now head to the QTS application website. Good luck.

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Legal disclaimer 

The information and opinions I provided does not address your individual requirements and are for informational purposes only. They do not constitute any form of legal advice and should not be relied on or treated as a substitute for specific advice relevant to particular circumstances and is not intended to be relied upon by you in making (or refraining from making) any specific decisions.