Teacher CV for schools in England: QTS from abroad, the application form and safeguarding

First step: check where your teacher training counts

Qualified teacher status (QTS) is the professional status teachers in England gain at the end of training. Before you write a line of the CV, find out which of the Department for Education's routes to QTS is open to you, because the answer decides what your CV must prove and which schools can appoint you.

The DfE's online service, Apply for QTS in England, only takes teachers trained in a list of countries. On 13 October 2026 that list was: Australia, Canada, the European Economic Area, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Jersey, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine and the USA. Türkiye is not on it. Ghana, India and Nigeria were removed on 9 September 2026.

1. Find the country where you completed teacher training, not the country where you teach now.
2. If it is on the list above, read the mandatory requirements of the online service in full.
3. If it is not, compare assessment only QTS, iQTS and teacher training in England in the table below.
4. Count your teaching experience after qualifying, in school years, and in how many separate schools.
5. Order a UK ENIC statement of comparability if a provider asks how your degree compares.

Teachers trained in Türkiye

A teacher trained in Türkiye cannot use the online service as of 13 October 2026. You can still work in England: the DfE says a teacher qualified outside the UK may teach for up to four years without QTS, and assessment only QTS and iQTS can be done without moving to the UK.

Routes to QTS from outside the UK

The DfE lists four routes for people who trained or taught outside the UK. The figures are the DfE's and Get Into Teaching's own, read on 13 October 2026.

The 4-year rule

A teacher who qualified outside the UK after a course recognised by that country's teacher regulator may teach in England for up to four years without QTS, even where QTS is normally a legal requirement. It does not apply in pupil referral units or alternative provision academies and free schools. Academies, free schools and private schools do not legally require QTS, but the DfE says they use it to judge candidates.

Mandatory requirements of the online service

• Training that leads to professional recognition, is delivered in the country where the provider is based, and is at least one year full-time equivalent at level 6.
• A postgraduate course with 75% pedagogical modules, or an undergraduate course with at least one year of pedagogy.
• At least one school year of teaching after qualifying, in mainstream compulsory education, unsupervised, planning and assessing for groups of at least 4 pupils.
• References the DfE can verify; it says it contacts referees about your work history.

The DfE assesses 90% of applications within 12 months. QTS does not come with a job or a visa: schools employ teachers, not the DfE.

Why the application form matters more than the CV

Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is the statutory guidance schools and colleges in England follow when they recruit; the September 2026 version is in force. Paragraph 295 says schools should only accept a CV alongside an application form, because a CV on its own does not give enough information. Paragraph 294 lists what the form must collect:

• Personal details, current and former names, current address and National Insurance number.
• Present or last employment and the reason for leaving.
• Full history since leaving school, covering education, employment and voluntary work, with reasons for any gaps.
• Qualifications with the awarding body and the date of award.
• Referees.
• A statement of the qualities and experience that match the person specification.

Every month accounted for

KCSIE tells shortlisters to look for inconsistencies and gaps in employment. The DfE's Teaching Vacancies guide says to list every job, relevant or not, and breaks such as travel or caring. Give your CV the same month and year dates as the form so the two read as one record.

The personal statement on the form

Teaching Vacancies says many schools expect a statement of about 1 to 2 pages, tailored to the school, with specific examples that meet the job description and, where useful, the Teachers' Standards. Keep the CV for the facts; put the argument in the statement. The UK cover letter page covers letters for jobs that ask for one.

Safeguarding checks to prepare for

KCSIE says staff who have lived or worked outside the UK must have the same checks as everyone else, including an enhanced DBS certificate, even if they have never been to the UK. Schools must add any further checks they think appropriate for time abroad. Self-declarations of criminal records are asked only after shortlisting, not on the form.

What to gather from Türkiye

• A criminal record certificate. The Home Office guide to overseas checks names the Turkish document as the Adli Sicil Kaydı and explains how applicants inside and outside Türkiye obtain it.
• A letter from the body that regulates teachers where you worked, confirming no sanctions or restrictions. KCSIE says this is often the ministry of education; Get Into Teaching suggests getting it before you apply.
• References from a senior person at your current school on an official school email address. KCSIE says schools should not accept open 'to whom it may concern' references.
• Degree certificate and transcript, with a UK ENIC statement if a provider or school asks for one.

Schools may also search your name online after shortlisting and must tell you they might. Check that public profiles match your CV.

Sample teaching experience block

The block below is for an invented maths teacher who trained and taught in Türkiye and is applying under the 4-year rule while pursuing assessment only QTS. Names in brackets are placeholders, and every number must be one you can show to an interviewer. Translate Turkish grade levels into pupils' ages and the English year groups using the national curriculum key stages: Year 7 to 9 is key stage 3 (ages 11 to 14) and Year 10 to 11 is key stage 4 (ages 14 to 16).

• Mathematics Teacher, [State secondary school], İzmir, Türkiye. 09/2021 to 06/2026. Full time, state school, mixed ability.
• Taught maths to pupils aged 11 to 14 (equivalent to Years 7 to 9, KS3): five classes of 28 to 34 pupils, 22 lessons a week.
• Planned the Year 8 equivalent sequence on ratio and proportion for four classes, shared with two colleagues and reused the following year.
• Set and marked termly common assessments; used the results to regroup pupils for weekly catch-up sessions.
• Adapted lessons for two pupils with an individual education plan and three new arrivals learning Turkish as an additional language.
• Form tutor for one class of 31 for three years; ran parent meetings each term.
• Completed the school child protection training each September; designated contact for the maths club trip register.

Words to avoid on a UK teaching CV

Avoid internal Turkish labels the reader cannot place, such as a school-type abbreviation with no explanation. Give the subject, the ages, the setting (state, private, international) and the curriculum taught. The routes guidance accepts experience from any type of school and a non-English curriculum.

Proof: the sources and the date we read them

All pages below were read on 13 October 2026. Teacher recognition rules are being changed this autumn, so check the linked DfE page on the day you apply.

Who this page is not for

• Teachers aiming at Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. QTS in England is a DfE process, and Get Into Teaching points to separate sites for the other three nations.
• Teachers whose qualification covers only pupils with special educational needs. The DfE says they cannot use the online service and can use assessment only or training in England.
• Anyone looking for visa sponsorship rules. The international applicants page covers the Skilled Worker route and sponsor licences.
• University lecturers. Higher education hiring follows each university's own process.

Next steps and other options

CitedCV writes only from the facts you give it and does not know your QTS status unless you add it. Exports to PDF, DOCX and TXT are free.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. DfE, Routes to qualified teacher status (QTS) for teachers and those with teaching experience outside the UKwww.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-for-qualified-teacher-status-qts-if-you-teach-outside-the-uk/routes-to-qualified-teacher-status-qts-for-teachers-and-those-with-teaching-experience-outside-the-uk
2. DfE, Overseas-trained teachers: apply for qualified teacher status in Englandwww.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-trained-teachers-apply-for-qualified-teacher-status-in-england/overseas-trained-teachers-apply-for-qualified-teacher-status-in-england
3. DfE, Keeping children safe in education 2026www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2
4. Get Into Teaching, International qualified teacher status (iQTS)getintoteaching.education.gov.uk/non-uk-teachers/international-qualified-teacher-status
5. Get Into Teaching, Teach in England if you trained outside the UKgetintoteaching.education.gov.uk/non-uk-teachers/teach-in-england-if-you-trained-overseas
6. Teaching Vacancies, Write a great teaching job application in 5 stepsteaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/jobseeker-guides/get-help-applying-for-your-teaching-role/write-a-great-teaching-job-application-in-five-steps
7. Teaching Vacancies, How to write a teacher personal statementteaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/jobseeker-guides/get-help-applying-for-your-teaching-role/how-to-write-teacher-personal-statement
8. DfE, Teachers' Standardswww.gov.uk/government/publications/teachers-standards
9. GOV.UK, The national curriculumwww.gov.uk/national-curriculum
10. Home Office, Criminal records checks for overseas applicants: countries Q to Zwww.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants/countries-q-z