/ Directorate for Children and Commissioning Services
ManchesterTown Hall
PO Box 532
Manchester
M60 2LA
Circular letter
To: All Headteachers and Principals of schools including Academies / To reply please contact:
Nick Paul
Tel: / 07903559677
Email: /
Date: / 15 September 2014

Circular Category/s:

Policy / Procedure / Guidance / Event
Training / Finance / General
Circular no: / 0800
Title: / Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
Alert status: / RED
Summary: / Reminder to all schools regarding NQT Induction and QTA
Previous papers: / None
Action required: / Ensure QTS status of all NQT’s
Contact officers: / Nick Paul
Attachments: / None

Dear Colleague,

I would like to remind all schools about the importance of ensuring that Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT’s) have QTS before confirming appointments.A teacher without QTS is not an NQT and therefore cannot undergo NQT Induction – no exceptions.

As you will be aware our secure online system (NQT Manager) carries out an automatic QTS check when schools register an NQT, however it is important that this check is also carried out by the school as part of your pre-employment checks. Offers of employment for NQT posts should be made on the premise that QTS can be verified.

So far this academic year some 17 schools have discovered on attempting to register their NQT’s for induction that they do not have QTS. In some cases this has turned out to be an error by mistakenly inputting the wrong data onto the online registration but there are a worrying number of instances where the NQT is found not to have QTS.

Checks for QTS and induction status including for teacherswho have sanctions or restrictions can and should be made with the DfE NCTL via the Secure Access system which replaces the old Employer Access system. For further details and how to gain access, please visit their website:

I would also like to remind colleagues that those trained to teach in the FE sector and therefore possessing QTLS (Qualified Teacher of Learning and Skills) and who are members of the Institute for Learning(IfL) are deemed to have the equivalent of QTS and are therefore able to teach pupils of statutory school age. They are not eligible or required to complete a statutory induction period and are therefore exempt. There is currently in train a move of the assets of the Institute for Learning to the Education and Training Foundation and more details can be found by following this link:

Teachers who have been awarded Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS) are eligible to teach 0-5 year olds but they too are not eligible or required to complete a statutory induction period and are therefore exempt. Full details can be found by following this link:

Yours sincerely,

Nick Paul

Strategic Lead