Overseas Trained Teachers

At Link Education we advise all overseas teachers to gain some voluntary work in schools to experience the classroom and gain an insight into the classroom management that is needed as well the structure of a school day. Some countries such as Australia and New Zealand are very similar likewise is the curriculum but others are culturally and pedagogically very different.

If you qualified as a teacher inside the European Union, mobility laws apply. This means you can access teaching positions in the same way as home trained teachers.

If you qualified as a teacher overseas, and outside the European Economic Area (EEA), you may be eligible to work in England as a temporary, unqualified teacher for up to four years while you achieve qualified teacher status (QTS). Currently, this programme is only available in England.

When you have found a teaching position in a school, the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme (OTTP) will provide you with an individual training and assessment programme. This will ultimately lead to your qualification to teach in England permanently. The length of the programme depends on how much additional training you need. However, the longest amount of time you can spend on the programme is one year full-time. If you feel your skills and experience meet all the QTS standards without further training, you may apply for QTS assessment only.

What qualifications do you need?
You must be qualified as a teacher overseas and working as an unqualified teacher in a school in England. In addition, if you qualified outside the European Economic Area (EEA), you will need:

a qualification equivalent to a UK bachelors degree
to demonstrate that you meet a standard equivalent to GCSE grade C or above in mathematics and English, and
if you intend to teach primary or key stage 2/3 (ages 7-14), you must also demonstrate

If you qualified as a teacher in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, another country in the EEA or Switzerland, you may be eligible for qualified teacher status (QTS) without further assessment. You will need to contact the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) to have your qualifications assessed.

Is there any additional funding available?
If you need to undertake a programme of additional training the TDA will cover the costs (up to a value of £1,750) as well as for your final assessment against the QTS standards. Your school will continue to pay your salary as an unqualified or qualified teacher... As at April 2009.

How do you apply?
When you have a teaching post and you have established that you have all the necessary qualifications, you should apply directly to an EBITT provider in your area. They will assess and approve your application, discussing your training needs with you as necessary.

Trainees must fulfill the home office's requirements for a work permit (applicable if you are not a national of the European Economic Area)

OTTP four-year rule
The four-year rule for overseas trained teachers (OTTs) states that you can teach for up to four years before you have to be awarded QTS. If you have not achieved QTS in this time, you can no longer teach. The four years start from the first day that you teach in a mainstream school in England, and includes any time out of service. If the four-year rule applies to you, you will need to complete a programme such as a flexible PGCE to gain QTS, or gain employment in an independent school to continue teaching.

Information from www.tda.gov.uk

To have your qualification compared to a British degree ‘UK Naric’ will do a comparison for you. All employers will want to see your certificate to see your degree equivalent. Contact Naric on 0871 330 7033 or www.naric.org.uk