About the UK Education System
You should become familiar with the UK Education system before landing here to teach.
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) for Teachers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US
From 1 April 2012, teachers who qualified in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America (USA) are now recognised as qualified teachers and awarded Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England without being required to undertake any further training or assessment.
For more information on applying for QTS click here.
National Curriculum
Education is based around the National Curriculum which sets out the study programme and attainment level targets for all subjects for the 4 key stages.
All government maintained schools in England must follow the National Curriculum.
In recent years, the National Curriculum has undergone changes with the majority being introduced in September 2014. The exceptions are as follows:
| Age | Year | Key stage | Assessment | Average level of attainment |
| 3 to 4 | Nursery | Early Years | ||
| 4 to 5 | Reception | Early Years | ||
| 5 to 6 | Year 1 | KS1 | Phonics screening check | |
| 6 to 7 | Year 2 | KS1 | Teacher assessments in English, maths and science (Sats) | 2 |
| 7 to 8 | Year 3 | KS2 | ||
| 8 to 9 | Year 4 | KS2 | ||
| 9 to 10 | Year 5 | KS2 | ||
| 10 to 11 | Year 6 | KS2 | National tests and teacher assessments in English, maths and science (Sats) | 4 |
| 11 to 12 | Year 7 | KS3 | Teacher assessments | |
| 12 to 13 | Year 8 | KS3 | Teacher assessments | |
| 13 to 14 | Year 9 | KS3 | Teacher assessments | 5/6 |
| 14 to 15 | Year 10 | KS4 | Some children take GCSEs | |
| 15 to 16 | Year 11 | KS4 | Most children take GCSEs or other national qualifications | |
| 17 to 18 | Year 12 & 13 (Sixth Form) | KS5 | A-Levels |
Source: GOV.UK (www.gov.uk/national-curriculum)