You can apply to train to teach in England if you:
- live outside the UK
- live in the UK but are a non-UK citizen
Before you apply, you must check your eligibility to train to teach in England.
If you are unsure about your qualifications or eligibility, you can get help and support online or over the phone.
If you want a job that you will love and you will feel wanted, where you can develop and progress, I’d definitely say to consider teaching in the UK.
Qualifying to teach in England
You will need qualified teacher status (QTS) to teach in most schools in England.
If you do not want to come to England to study, you can gain international qualified teacher status (iQTS) where you live or work, with no need to visit the UK. If you get iQTS, you automatically get QTS as well.
If you are already a qualified teacher, find out how you can teach in England if you completed your teacher training outside the UK.
The value of gaining a transferable qualification through training to teach in England is that you can go anywhere in the world and you can teach.
Get experience in an English school
Having experience in an English school can help you:
- decide if you want to train to be a teacher
- discover if you’d like to teach in a primary or secondary school
- build a relationship with a school you might want to work for later
You will need to have the right to work in the UK to get either paid or unpaid school experience.
If you have the right to work in the UK, you can:
- ask for unpaid classroom experience using the Get school experience service
- apply for a paid teaching internship if you are in your second, third or final year of an undergraduate degree, or studying towards a master’s degree in chemistry, computing, design and technology, languages, maths or physics
Find more ideas for getting experience
You do not need classroom experience to train to teach in England.
Fees and financial support
Fee-paying teacher training courses
A fee-paying teacher training course means you pay tuition fees for your training. Tuition fees are set by providers and cost £15,000 on average per year.
You may be able to get financial support for fee-paying courses, depending on your immigration status.
The financial support you get will depend on your immigration status or the visa you are on.
The support that I received when I applied for my training course was tremendous. I was supported at every step, right from the very beginning.
Salaried teacher training courses
A salaried teacher training course means you are paid to work in a school while you train to teach. Some salaried courses also have tuition fees.
Salaried teacher training courses are limited in number and very competitive. You will also need a visa or immigration status allowing you to work in the UK.
Apply for a postgraduate teacher training course
You can search for postgraduate teacher training courses that lead to qualified teacher status (QTS).
Postgraduate teacher training usually takes 9 months full-time, or 18 to 24 months part-time. Most teacher training courses start in September, with a small number of courses starting on other dates throughout the year.
Find guidance on applying for teacher training courses
Apply for your visa
If you do not have the right to study or work in the UK, you will need a visa. Your visa will need to be sponsored by a course provider.
Before you apply for your visa, you must have a confirmed offer of a training place on a course offering Student or Skilled Worker visa sponsorship.
Find out more about applying for a visa to train to teach in England
The information on the UK Border Agency’s website was comprehensive and my school and training provider were knowledgeable, so I had people holding my hand from start to finish.
Train to teach in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland
To find out about teaching in other areas of the UK, visit the:
Get help
You may be eligible for personalised support from a teacher training adviser. They can help with your application to a training provider or school.
To check if you are eligible for an adviser, you can call us on +44 800 389 2500. Calls will be charged at your country’s standard rate. Or you can contact us using the live chat service at the bottom of this page.
If you have general questions about the information on this page, you can email us at teach.inengland@education.gov.uk.