QTS

[Claire926]

If you do a one year PGCE and pass does this automatically qualify you as a QTS? So for example someone could pass the PGCE, go travelling for a year and then when they come back could they be a teacher as they had a year out?

What does it mean when people don’t pass their NQT year, is that someone who has not done a PGCE? Thanks.

You do your PGCE and then you can get a job as a teacher. However in your first year as a teacher you are classed as an NQT. You need to pass this year to become a fully qualified teacher. However as an NQT you are still a teacher for all intents and purposes. You just have to have more observations and do extra training. I’m not sure whether there is a limit as to how long after getting your PGCE you have to pass your NQT year.

But yes you could do a year out and still get a teaching job! You’d then be an NQT :)

A PGCE and QTS are not inextricably linked. It's possible to get a PGCE (the academic bit) and not QTS, and vice versa.
You can take a year out between training and the NQT year (which is no longer - from September - either called that, or a year!)

@MrsHamlet If you did not get QTS from the PGCE is that because the assignments were passed but not the placement part?

That's good to know you can take a year out.

I thought once you got a PGCE you were qualified to teach and did not realise that you have to do NQT year to be allowed to teach.

That's correct: QTS is for the classroom.

2 years for induction from September.

Thanks for clarifying this. Forgive my ignorance but what does 2 years for induction mean? It takes another 2 years to be classified as a teacher or you have 2 years to complete the 1 year NQT?

Induction (which gets you completely qualified) currently takes one year. From September, the induction period is two years.
You're classified as a teacher once you gain QTS but if you don't pass induction, you don't get a second go.

Oh right, so now it is going to be two years to pass the induction and not the current one year. That sounds intense. I wonder why they brought that in.

Thanks for helping clarifying this. It's hard to find out this information online. People seem to be cagey about it.

I wonder what the pass rate is for NQT induction.

One year induction gives you a 10% remission from timetable. In the new second year, you'll get 5%, so it's theoretically less intense than going straight into a full timetable. I suspect it's to do with retention.

Anecdotally, I've never had an NQT not pass induction. I don't know what the figures are though.

When I did my PGCE a few years back, we were told that the NQT pass rate is close to 99%. However we were also told that most schools will let you know by February half term if they really think you are going to fail so that you can quit at Easter and come back to complete your NQT at a later time.

I'm not sure how that will change with the two year induction!