These requirements are imposed by the Secretary of State under the Education (School Teachers' Qualifications) (England) Regulations 2003, made under sections 132, 145 and 210 of the Education Act 2002. They have the same legal standing as, and replace Qualifying to Teach. They set out:

• the Secretary of State’s standards, which must be met by trainee teachers before they can be awarded qualified teacher status (QTS), and
• the requirements for training providers and those who make recommendations for the award of QTS.

Only those trainee teachers who have met all of the standards will be awarded QTS.

These standards are relevant to anyone involved in initial teacher training (ITT) - trainee teachers, teacher training providers, qualified teachers and those who employ and support newly qualified teachers. They will apply to most trainee teachers. For exceptions see the transitional arrangements page.

Guidance for the revised QTS standards and ITT requirements is available for training providers.

For enquiries regarding the QTS standards and ITT requirements e-mail: enquiries-itt@tda.gov.uk

ITT requirements consultation

Between April and July 2006 the TDA conducted a public consultation on the ITT requirements. The TDA commissioned an external consultant to report on the outcomes of the consultation. You can download the report from the downloads section of this page.