The eligibility criteria for Advanced Teacher Status (ATS) have been changed, the Education and Training Foundation has announced.
Applicants already holding Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status or Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is no longer a prerequisite, said the ETF.
Advanced teachers and trainers who have held their initial teaching qualification at level five or above for at least five years - rather than the four required of QTLS and QTS holders - and who meet all of the other eligibility criteria relating to access to teaching and coaching, can now also apply. All applicants must be members of the Society for Education and Training (SET), which oversees ATS. Those awarded the status will continue to be awarded Chartered Teacher status, as all current ATS holders are.
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The ETF announced the change as it revealed 100 bursaries to help widen access to the ATS. They will be available to those joining the next cohort, which will begin in October 2020, and each will be worth £500, so that participants will have £250 left to pay.
Widening access to Advanced Teacher Status
Preference will be given to those applicants who present a strong case for requiring a bursary, the ETF said, and they can do so by making a statement explaining how a funded place will support both themselves and their organisation, focusing on three key areas of the ETF professional standards: values and attributes, knowledge and understanding and skills.
For those already working towards ATS, extra support, including a webinar, will be made available, according to the ETF.
Advanced Teacher Status was launched in 2017 and over 100 individuals have attained it. Those who are awarded ATS are additionally conferred with Chartered Teacher Status by the Chartered College of Teaching.
The window for applications for the next cohort of the ATS programme is open until 13 September 2020 and successful applicants will be offered places within two weeks of submitting their application, ready for a 1 October start.
Martin Reid, director of the SET, said: “We know from listening to our members that Advanced Teacher Status is seen as a highly-valued badge of professionalism that demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of teaching and learning. It is also an important aspect of the work we are doing to drive up the professionalism of the whole sector, with those who achieve ATS telling us that its positive impacts are not just on them personally, but also on colleagues and their institutions.
“These ETF-funded bursaries, alongside changes to the eligibility criteria, will make ATS accessible to a wider group of highly-skilled and experienced practitioners for whom financial barriers or a lack of opportunity to undertake QTLS early in their careers may be issues.
“Additionally, applicants who are accepted will benefit from enhanced support as they undertake what is a rigorous programme to achieve ATS. We hope that more people in the sector will now be able to embark on their journey to ATS and achieve Chartered Teacher status.”
