Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding the list of non-EEA countries that are recognised for the purposes of awarding Qualified Teacher Status in England.

The Department for Education recognises the valuable contribution made to schools in England by overseas-trained teachers. Teachers from the non-EEA countries Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA may apply to have their Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) automatically recognised, as these countries are considered to have education systems suitably similar to that of England. The decision on which non-EEA countries are eligible to apply for QTS automatically is based upon a comprehensive comparative analysis of international initial teacher training systems, conducted by the UK National Academic Recognition Information Centre (NARIC). This assessment concluded that there were no other countries with teacher training systems sufficiently similar to England’s to allow their teachers to apply directly without further training or conditions. However, if teachers from non-EEA countries have significant teaching experience, they may be able to undergo a school-based assessment of their abilities, known as the ‘Assessment Only’ route, which can lead to the award of QTS.