Assessment Only Route

a route for those with considerable experience of working as an unqualified teacher

A 12-week assessment period to demonstrate that you already meet all the standards for achieving QTS without the need for further training.

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gain Qualified Teacher Status in 12 Weeks.

If you’re an experienced teacher with a degree, the Barr Beacon SCITT employment-based Assessment Only Route to Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) could be right for you. The route will follow a 12-week assessment period to demonstrate that you already meet all the standards for achieving QTS without the need for further training.

Barr Beacon SCITT is the accredited provider responsible for delivering the Assessment Only programme on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE) and recommends successful applicants for QTS to the Department for Education.

Who is it for?

Assessment Only (AO) provides a route for those with considerable experience of working as an unqualified teacher in schools or colleges to gain Qualified Teacher Status. Assessment Only is a distinctive route to QTS and is appropriate for graduates who have a minimum of two years (FTE) relevant and successful teaching experience. It is not intended for those who need a teacher training programme. The maximum period for the Assessment Only route is 12 weeks (3 calendared months from the date of registration) and is not suitable for candidates who require training in order to meet the Teachers’ Standards. Candidates who require training are advised to consider the alternative primary or secondary SCITT programmes offered by Barr Beacon SCITT.

Candidates should have a breadth, depth and variety of experience in at least two schools, early years and/or further education settings. The time spent in a second setting has to have enabled you to demonstrate and evidence your impact on the planning, delivering and assessing of teaching and learning. Candidates will need to provide documentary evidence of their second school experience. They will have taught children and young people from a range of different backgrounds, across the age and ability range in their chosen age range.

Candidates for this route will normally be working as an unqualified teacher in one of the following settings: a mainstream school or academy, free school, independent school, PRU or in Special Education. You will require the support of your current Headteacher as part of the application process and your school will be required to agree to the terms of our Partnership Agreement, which sets out the roles and responsibilities of each partner in working together to assess candidates against the Teachers’ Standards.

Selection Process

In order to express your interest in the Barr Beacon SCITT Assessment Only Route, you should e-mail info@bbscitt.co.uk. We will return to you a checklist and an expression of interest form for you to complete.

What We Assess:

  • your suitability to teach.
  • your ability to demonstrate meeting all of the Teachers’ Standards without the need for any further training.
  • your suitability for the Assessment Only Route.

The selection process includes:

  • Completion of an application form with a supporting statement from your school’s headteacher.
  • Submission of an initial portfolio of evidence against the Teachers’ Standards.
  • A formal interview.
  • Confirmation of relevant employment, enhanced disclosure and barring service, health and physical capacity to teach and other background checks.

Who is it for?

Assessment Only (AO) provides a route for those with considerable experience of working as an unqualified teacher in schools or colleges to gain Qualified Teacher Status. Assessment Only is a distinctive route to QTS and is appropriate for graduates who have a minimum of two years (FTE) relevant and successful teaching experience. It is not intended for those who need a teacher training programme. The maximum period for the Assessment Only route is 12 weeks (3 calendared months from the date of registration) and is not suitable for candidates who require training in order to meet the Teachers’ Standards. Candidates who require training are advised to consider the alternative primary or secondary SCITT programmes offered by Barr Beacon SCITT.

Candidates should have a breadth, depth and variety of experience in at least two schools, early years and/or further education settings. The time spent in a second setting has to have enabled you to demonstrate and evidence your impact on the planning, delivering and assessing of teaching and learning. Candidates will need to provide documentary evidence of their second school experience. They will have taught children and young people from a range of different backgrounds, across the age and ability range in their chosen age range.

Candidates for this route will normally be working as an unqualified teacher in one of the following settings: a mainstream school or academy, free school, independent school, PRU or in Special Education. You will require the support of your current Headteacher as part of the application process and your school will be required to agree to the terms of our Partnership Agreement, which sets out the roles and responsibilities of each partner in working together to assess candidates against the Teachers’ Standards.

Selection Process

In order to express your interest in the Barr Beacon SCITT Assessment Only Route, you should e-mail info@bbscitt.co.uk. We will return to you a checklist and an expression of interest form for you to complete.

What We Access

  • your suitability to teach.
  • your ability to demonstrate meeting all of the Teachers’ Standards without the need for any further training.
  • your suitability for the Assessment Only Route.

The selection process includes:

  • Completion of an application form with a supporting statement from your school’s headteacher.
  • Submission of an initial portfolio of evidence against the Teachers’ Standards.
  • A formal interview.
  • Confirmation of relevant employment, enhanced disclosure and barring service, health and physical capacity to teach and other background checks.

Apply Now

Email info@bbscitt.co.uk to start your application. We will send you all the relevant documents you need to complete.

If you have any questions or don’t know whether you are eligible, please contact send us an email.

Successful applicants will normally start the route at the beginning of a school term. The deadline for receiving your application is three working weeks prior to the start date (excluding school and public holidays).

Hold a Degree

hold a first degree granted by a United Kingdom higher education institute or equivalent qualification. This is to ensure the graduate status of teaching. There is no statutory requirement for primary applicants to have a degree in a National Curriculum subject nor is there a requirement for secondary candidates to have a degree in a specified subject as long as they meet all of the standards for QTS including those which relate to subject and curriculum knowledge;

Have the relevant qualifications

have achieved a standard equivalent to a grade C/4 or above in the GCSE examinations in English and mathematics or equivalent qualification. For primary teaching, candidates also need GCSE grade C/4 or above in a science subject or equivalent qualification.

Have a successful observation

have already been successfully observed teaching by their sponsoring school;

Have a DBS

have been subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check as well as full employment, prohibition, right to work and background checks. Your current employing school will be asked to provide evidence of these; Barr Beacon SCITT will conduct interviews and assessment prior to the route to ensure that the candidate has the appropriate intellectual and academic capabilities and personal qualities, attitudes, ethics and values to meet the Teachers’ Standards.

Have recent experience

be able to demonstrate that they have experience teaching in two or more schools/colleges including the school they are currently working in. The experience should be relevant and recent (within the last 5 years) and across two consecutive age phases. The nature and extent of the experiences must prepared the candidate to have already met the Teachers’ Standards in full. The minimum teaching time requirement across the two or more schools is 2 years (FTE);

Have the support of a school

have the active support of a school willing to provide an appropriate assessed placement environment and mentor support. The Headteacher of this school must support the application. The school in which you completed the second teaching experience will also be asked to provide a reference.

Have the relevant skills, knowledge and academic background

Candidates should ensure that they are able to communicate effectively and that they have the relevant English and mathematics knowledge. This is defined by the DfE as: (drop down menu): ITT providers must assure that candidates demonstrate competence in the following areas.

Speaking, listening and communicating are fundamental to a teacher’s role. Teachers should use standard English grammar, clear pronunciation and vocabulary relevant to the situation to convey instructions, questions, information, concepts and ideas with clarity. Teachers should read fluently and with good understanding.

Writing by teachers will be seen by colleagues, pupils and parents and, as such, it is important that a teacher’s writing reflects the high standards of accuracy their professional role demands. They should write clearly, accurately, legibly and coherently using correct spelling and punctuation.

Teachers should use data and graphs to interpret information, identify patterns and trends and draw appropriate conclusions. They need to interpret pupil data and understand statistics and graphs in the news, academic reports and relevant papers. Teachers should be able to complete mathematical calculations fluently with whole numbers, fractions, decimals and percentages. They should be able to solve mathematical problems using a variety of methods and approaches.

A candidate’s competence in these areas will be audited at interview and, if successful in joining the AO route, a targeted plan will be drawn up for the route. It is the candidate’s responsibility to secure these fundamental skills by the end of the route in order to be awarded QTS.

The AO route takes place across a 12-week assessment period.

We have broken this down into 8 phases:

  • Enquiry: Send an initial enquiry e-mail to info@bbscitt.co.uk. Complete and return the documents that are sent to you.
  • Applicant: If you are successful at stage 1 we will be in touch to process with the formal application to the route. Your Headteacher will support your application.
  • Portfolio: You will collate a portfolio of evidence to show that you have met the Teachers’ Standards.
  • Initial Assessment Visit: If you are successful, you will be invited to interview. We will also ask to view your portfolio, your original certificates for your degree and GCSEs and we will complete all DBS and background checks. You will also complete the health and physical capacity to teach questionnaire and undergo ID checks. You will demonstrate your Fundamental English and mathematics skills. References from your second placement school will be called for.
  • Commence AO Route: If you are successful at Stage 4 you will begin the route at an agreed start and end date. The route will be completed in no longer than 3 calendar months from the registered start date.

  • Assessment Period: You will be assessed and reviewed at week 6 of your assessment period.

  • Final Presentation: You will be assessed and reviewed at week 12 of your assessment period. You will present a final presentation along with the required documentation to support this. This is the final assessment and is graded pass/fail.

  • Recommendation: If you are successful at stage 7, you will be recommended to the DfE for QTS.

Applicant Cost:

£2,495

A fee of £2,495 is payable by the applicant or their sponsor.

Payment will be in two instalments: The first payment of £500 followingthe Initial Assessment Visit – this is non-refundable even if it is agreed that the applicant is not suitable for the Assessment-Only Route to QTS. £1995 following the final assessment.