Eligibility explained

Qualification certificates

You will be required to evidence all qualifications achieved by submitting relevant certificates.* Certificates must be dated before the application portfolio submission deadline: 29 September 2026 for the October 2026 cohort or 26 October 2026 for the January 2027 cohort. 

If your qualification was awarded outside the UK, the UK ENIC statement of comparability  is required, in addition to the qualification certificate, transcript and certified translation.  

All qualifications must be fully accredited and Ofqual-regulated. 

*Official statement of results from an awarding body can be submitted in lieu of certificate. An official statement of results must include a ULN (unique learner number).

Last updated May 2026.
The criteria on this page is applicable to the October 2026 and January 2027 cohort application window only.

eLIGIBILITY CRITERIA

To be in a suitable position to apply, you need to:

Be a current member of the EDUCATION TRAINING FOUNDATION (ETF)

• Your membership grade must be MSET (Member) or FSET (Fellow)
• If you are not yet a member, find out more and join today.
• Professional formation leading to QTLS is only open to individuals with ETF Membership.

Be employed in a salaried capacity in a FE and Skills setting teaching groups of post-14 learners

Eligible setting examples (as defined by Ofsted): 

• General further education colleges 
• Independent training providers 
• Adult education providers 
• Offender learning 
• Sixth form colleges (excludes where sixth forms are part of a secondary school) 
• MoD/Armed Services training providers 
• NHS training providers 

SEND settings (FE and skills and secondary schools):

• All eligibility criteria also apply to SEND settings.
• If you are teaching groups with fewer than five learners in any SEND setting, either in FE and skills or secondary schools, please refer to the exceptional circumstances for group size.  
• If you are teaching in a SEND setting in a school you also need to meet the exceptional circumstances related to technical/vocational subjects taught. This means that the subject you are teaching must be on this list, you must be teaching learners of the specified age for that subject, and your teaching should be leading to a technical qualification in that subject.

Settings and roles not eligible: 

• Primary schools – you should undertake QTS, as this is specifically designed for teachers in schools 
• Secondary schools – you should undertake QTS, as this is specifically designed for teachers in schools **
• Sixth forms as part of a secondary school – you should undertake QTS, as this is specifically designed for teachers in schools** 
• Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) **
• Voluntary teaching placements 
• Higher Education Institutes  
• Teaching assistant roles* 
• Cover supervisor roles 
• Private tutoring 

*If you are in the main role of classroom teacher, but are formally employed under a job title other than teacher, lecturer, or manager (eg: HLTA, TA, etc.), you can apply and will need to provide a signed letter from your organisation confirming that you are in the role of main classroom teacher to support your application.

**These settings may be eligible if you meet the entirety of the criteria plus the exceptional circumstances for teachers working in schools. 

Which setting?

• When an organisation operates across multiple settings, ETF (within the application review process) will review the Ofsted report and the information provided on the organisation’s website to identify whether the setting falls within the FE and skills sector or under the school's remit. Please note we are unable to provide advice outside the application process. 

Exceptional circumstances: 

• Secondary school settings where you teach one or more accepted technical subjects for a minimum of 230 hours across the 6-month professional formation period. This will need to be taught to post-14 or post-16 learners depending on the subject taught. Please refer to our list of eligible technical subjects for school settings.

Be teaching/training groups of five or more* post-14 learners for a minimum of 230 hours over 6 months  

• You must be in regular teaching practice for the duration of the professional formation period.  
• You need to be in the role of main classroom teacher/trainer with all the responsibilities of planning, delivery, assessment and classroom management.
• Voluntary teaching hours and tutorial sessions, including group tutorial sessions, cannot be accepted as part of the 230 teaching hours.  
• In exceptional circumstances applicants may be able to start professional formation leading to QTLS with groups that have fewer than five learners.

To do this the applicant must: 

1. Meet and achieve all standard QTLS eligibility criteria.
2. Provide an employer agreement signed by a senior leader in the organisation in the application portfolio. The employer agreement will evidence the following:
   • Your organisation's support for you to access teaching and learning with groups over five or more learners during your professional formation. (You may be teaching, co-teaching, or observing. This may be inside your own organisation, or in another organisation in FE and skills.)
3. Complete an additional reflective validation activity during your professional formation programme.

Have identified a suitable qualified supporter

Your supporter should be appropriately qualified to pass judgements on the evidence you collate, for example, a line manager or head of department. Your supporter should be a qualified and experienced teacher.

Ideally, your supporter should be a member of ETF, but this may not be possible in all cases. Find out more about who can be your supporter. 

Hold an accepted FE and Skills teaching qualification at Level 5 or above

• View the list of accepted ITE qualifications. 
• The official teacher training certificate and all other certificates must be dated before 29 September 2026 for the October 2026 cohort; and 26 October 2026 for the January 2027 cohort.
• If you have not received your official teacher training certificate before the application submission deadline, we will accept your transcript/Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) report on the basis that you can provide the official certificate. We will review your application and will invite you to supply the certificate (and any other incomplete or missing evidence as part of the resubmission window). 

• • For the QTLS-Oct26 cohort, the resubmission deadline is 5pm, Thursday 15 October 2026.
  • For the QTLS-Jan27 cohort, the resubmission deadline is 5pm, Tuesday 5 January 2027.

• If your ITE qualification is a Diploma or a DET awarded in 2026, you will also need to provide either:
  • A transcript which confirms the start date of your ITE qualification
    OR
  • A letter from the ITE provider which confirms the start date of your DET.

Hold an accepted Level 2 maths qualification  

• View list of accepted Level 2 and higher maths qualifications. 
• If you have studied maths as part of a wider qualification, the transcript will be required.  
• Level 2 Adult Numeracy Certificates are not accepted.
• All certificates must be dated before application deadline. 

Hold an accepted Level 2 English qualification  

• View list of accepted Level 2 and higher English qualifications. 
• If you have studied English as part of a wider qualification, the transcript will be required.  
• Level 2 Adult Literacy Certificates are not accepted.
• All certificates must be dated before application deadline. 

Hold a Level 3+ qualification in subjects that you teach for five or more hours per week

In terms of subject qualifications, ETF cannot endorse any specific qualifications. However, we can provide some guidance on what the reviewers will be looking for when checking subject qualifications: 

• The qualification must cover the full breadth of the subject(s) taught - you can evidence this by providing your transcript with the breakdown of units/modules 
• The qualification must be regulated (RQF) and fully accredited - CPD events, endorsed and customised qualifications will not provide sufficient evidence 
• The qualification must be level 3 or above. As general guidance, in terms of the level required, AS Levels, A Levels, Diplomas and Degrees in the subjects you teach usually provide sufficient evidence. 
• All qualifications must be fully accredited and Ofqual-regulated. 

Please note: 

• If you teach all your subjects for fewer than five hours per week, at least one Level 3 or above subject-specific qualification is required. This must be in one of the subjects you are teaching.   
• If you deliver teacher training programmes for five or more hours per week, in addition to a subject specific qualification, you must also demonstrate that you have a minimum of five years' teaching experience within FE and skills, evidenced via a current CV.     
• If you teach in a SEND setting within FE and skills, you must evidence a minimum of a Level 3 or above subject specific qualification in any subject. A regulated level 3+ SEND qualification may be acceptable. During professional formation, you will be required to develop Professional Standard 11 (PS11) as part of your professional development plan and CPD activities.  
• If you teach in a SEND setting in an organisation formally designated by Ofsted as a "school", the exceptional circumstances for teachers working in schools apply. 
• If you are teaching in a technical/vocational setting, we may accept a level 2 qualification if you have significant vocational experience in industry (five or more years) prior to teaching, evidenced via a current CV.