Teachers working in the capital are now able to apply for Chartered London Teacher status.

The initiative, originally the brainchild of Tim Brighouse, London schools’ chief advisor, aims to re-establish the sense that working in London is the peak of a teacher’s professional career.

All teachers working in Greater London are eligible for the status, which builds on existing good practice through the observation of other teachers and sharing experience with colleagues.

The status, which comes with a one-off pound;1,000 payment, will normally take five years to achieve from entry to the profession or two years for teachers already beyond the threshold.

Critics have said that chartered teacher status should be available nationally and that pound;1,000 is a poor reward for the work involved.

But the Department for Education and Skills said the scheme will be managed through existing school performance management systems and that there will be no need to collect separate evidence.

Stephen Twigg, education junior minister, launched the scheme, part of the London Challenge programme, yesterday at Southfields secondary in Wandsworth. He said it would help ensure that London teachers were recognised as being among the best.

He also used his visit to publicise the Government’s key worker living scheme which began in April and allows teachers working in the capital to apply for interest-free loans toward the cost of buying a home.