The Current Requirements for QTS Assessment Only Route.

QTS Assessment Only Route is one of the several ways that an unqualified teacher with prior teaching experience and knowledge in one or more specialised subjects can attain QTS status in the United Kingdom. This assessment Route spans approximately 12 weeks and tests the potential teacher on their knowledge, skills and, unfortunately, their secondary school qualifications. The current eligibility requirements for the QTS Assessment Only Route are as follows (Requirements taken form the UCAS info page for QTS Status in June 2024: https://www.ucas.com/teaching-option/assessment-only-route-qualified-teacher-status-qts

– You’ll need to hold an undergraduate degree awarded by a UK higher education provider, or a recognised equivalent qualification.

– You’ll need to have achieved a standard equivalent to grade C/4, or above, in the GCSE examinations in English and mathematics.

– If you intend to train to teach pupils aged three to 11 (early years and primary), you must also have achieved a standard equivalent to a grade C/4, or above, in a GCSE science subject examination.

– You’ll need to show that you meet the Teachers’ Standards for your chosen teaching specialism, and have taught across two key stages in two schools.

– You must also meet some non-academic requirements, including a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, declaration of criminal convictions, and have completed a Fitness to Work assessment.

From the Get Into Teaching Government website page for QTS Status (https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/train-to-be-a-teacher/assessment-only-route-to-qts they also outline the following requirements in June 2024,

– to be able to show you meet the teachers’ standards without any more training

– to have worked in 2 or more schools

– a degree

– GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above in English and maths (and science if you want to teach primary)

The biggest barrier and pitfall for potential teachers is the requirement to have both GCSE qualifications in English and mathematics. If a potential teacher fails to have both, a potential teacher is forced to take the GCSE or an equivalency test for one or both subjects which can stall a potential teacher’s career prospects as well as presenting an unnecessary barrier for those who suffer from learning difficulties such as dyslexia and dyscalculia. This petition demands that the DfE only make one of the two GCSEs as a requirement depending on the subject specialism in which a potential teacher is already experienced.

 

How The Absurd GCSE Requirements Damage Teachers’ Career Progression

From the requirements above, a potential teacher must have worked in at least two schools and have a university degree. This would mean that the potential teacher would have already gained a subject specialism and have taught this subject at length, making the need for two very different GCSEs obsolete. If the subject specialism a potential teacher has roots in humanities, it would be considered that the use of Mathematics in any humanities subject is highly unlikely. The need for a humanities teacher to bear a GCSE in Mathematics is redundant.

The same is also true and equal for a potential teacher who would wish to teach (as examples) software development, engineering and business subjects. an emphasis on GCSE English is very unlikely. To further place this into context, The examinations of GCSE English require a student to read literary stories and identify language techniques, abstract ideas and to produce a formidable piece of creative writing. This academic level of English would not be required for the level of English needed to teach software development, engineering and business subjects.

In addition, a potential teacher who may have gained both GCSEs during their secondary education and spent over 5 years (leaving secondary school, two years college, three-four years at university, 1-3 years teaching at least two different schools) will most definitely be accepted for QTS Assessment only Route. However, if they have specialised in a subject that leans more to a mathematical or humanities-based subject, it is very likely that their knowledge of Maths or English would be diminished naturally. Therefore, potential teachers without one of the required GCSEs is still at the same academic level as a potential teacher who had gained both GCSESs during secondary school. This requirement for both GCSESs can now only be described as ‘Negative, Academic Bias’ and/or discrimination against potential teachers who are extremely passionate, skilled and knowledgeable within their specialised subject, yet are deemed unfit, incompetent and unqualified to take the Assessment only Route to Gain QTS Status although every other eligibility criteria may have been met by the potential teacher.

Now, by transforming these above findings into an absurdist situation: famous author, Neil Gaiman, is declared an unfit, unqualified and an incompetent teacher as outlined by the requirements the DfE have put in place to apply for QTS Assessment Only Route. Neil Gaiman is a professor at bard College in the US as well as teaching master classes on creating English Literature. Yet, as he has no visible background in Mathematics he would more than likely be denied entry to gain QTS Status by the DfE. Supposing Gaiman does have a qualification in mathematics and gained QTS status, it would be unreasonable that he could just instantly teach Trigonometry at a moment’s notice as his knowledge of Mathematics would not be as strong and/or advanced as his knowledge of English and English Philology. This absurd example exemplifies the even more absurd actions of the DfE and directly reveals why potential teachers are not able to gain QTS status.

This in turn can almost certainly damage a potential teacher’s career progression and mental health. A potential teacher would have to take time out of their working day to gain one or both GCSEs required which is never possible. Should a potential teacher decide to take the GCSE online, they must find this themselves which could cost over £1000.00 if both GCSEs need to be sat. The equivalency tests also come at a cost similar to that for funding the GCSEs. With the cost of living crisis presently in Britain, it is unfathomable to expect a potential teacher to save such money.

The sheer thought of this Assessment Only Route degrading an already experienced potential teacher with qualifications that already meet their prior teaching experience is mentally damaging. It discourages these would-be teachers from progressing their careers and life’s calling for some people. A potential teacher should not be penalised through a monetary value to gain an unnecessary qualification, or to be punished because they do not meet the unrealistic requirements of the DfE. If the potential teacher has prior knowledge and experience equal or greater to QTS status, it is ludicrous for the DfE to deem these potential teachers as unfit to be assessed for QTS Status based on their GCSE qualifications.

 

A Suggested Solution

The most direct solution to solve this negative bias against unqualified teachers is to categorise teaching subjects closest to the needs of either GCSE English or GCSE Mathematics. For example, specialist subjects such as teaching English, English Literature, History, Art & Design, Music, Heritage Studies and other humanities would require only GCSE English as a requirement to access the QTS Assessment Only Route. Specialist subjects such as Mathematics, Administration, Construction, Data, statistics, Software Development, Information Technology and Engineering would only require a Mathematics GCSE qualification. 

There will be rare cases that a certain subject may require both GCSEs such as Business studies, Law and Scientific branches; yet not all subjects will need requirements for both GCSEs. The requirements for both GCSEs would also be put into affect for primary teaching only as primary teachers must be able to teach a variety of subjects throughout the teaching week, which makes the GCSE Science qualification applicable in this specific situation. The final reason why both GCSEs are necessary is if the potential teacher has prior experience teaching multiple subjects that require both English and mathematics. 

This suggestion is only an example, and the subjects listed above would need to be discussed at great length should a solution such as this occur. Therefore, signing this petition does not guarantee the specific subjects listed above would be approved in this way, but there is the possibility that the DfE could use this solution as a foundation to make the entry requirements more realistic for us.

 

Overall, this petition aims to demand the DfE to reform the requirements for the QTS Assessment Only Route as right now, it is utterly bias and discriminative against potential teachers that meet all the requirements except for GCSE they will never need to use in their career. The education system in the United Kingdom is in desolation. Sign this petition to try and heal the damage that has been done because the DfE are clearly out of touch with reality and the realistic needs of potential teachers.