Eligibility of teachers qualified outside Scotland

Teaching qualifications required

An applicant must have either:

completed teacher education equivalent to:
- one academic year of full-time study or
- part-time study of 3 years of less or
‍‍if academic and teacher education has been undertaken at the same time (e.g. a Bachelor of Education), have completed:
- full-time study of 3 or more years or
- part-time study of 7 years or less

Teaching qualifications must:

be awarded by a higher education institution which is listed by the UK ENIC as being recognised by the appropriate authorities in the country/countries in which it operates

bear academic credit that extends to Scottish Credit Qualification Framework (SCQF) Level 9 or above

relate to either the primary (3-12) or secondary (12-18) age range

include professional/pedagogic studies

include appropriate subject studies (for Primary Education these need to reflect the full range of the Scottish primary school curriculum)

include school-based teaching experience which is observed and assessed by the higher education institution

Please note that we do not accept employment-based routes to Qualified Teacher Status which do not bear academic credit (e.g. Graduate Teacher Programme, Assessment Only route, Schools Direct (salaried).

Where such a route has been completed at the same time as a PGCE or PGDE programme that programme will only be accepted if it includes all the above – e.g. if all teaching experience was observed and assessed by the employment-based route provider (e.g. SCITT, Teach First) then the PGCE/PGDE will not meet our requirements.

Academic qualifications required

An applicant must hold a UK degree or an equivalent academic qualification. An academic qualification will be regarded as equivalent to a UK degree if it either:

is recognised as such by the UK National Information Centre (UK ENIC); or
includes the equivalent of:
- 120 credit points at SCQF Level 7 (or above)
- 120 credit points at SCQF Level 8 (or above) and
- 120 credit points at SCQF Level 9 (or above)

For registration in Secondary Education, an applicant must have:

minimum of 80 SCQF credit points at SCQF level 7 (or above) relating to the subject in which their teacher education is held

40 of which must be at SCQF level 8 (or above)

Some secondary education subjects have specific academic requirements find out more

Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework

Find out more about the SCQF credit system on their website.

Provisional (Conditional) Registration

Applicants who do not meet all the relevant teaching qualification and/or academic requirements may still be considered for Provisional (Conditional) Registration.

Learn more about this and the minimum criteria for this route on the page below.

Provisional (Conditional) Registration for teachers

Modern Foreign Languages teachers

Teachers of modern foreign languages in Scotland are required to meet a foreign residency requirement. Learn more on our dedicated page below.

Residency requirements for Modern Foreign Languages

Additional Support Needs (ASN) Registration

To apply for registration in Additional Support Needs, you must first be eligible for registration in either the Primary Education category or one of the Secondary Education registration categories and hold an appropriate ASN award. Find out more about ASN registration in our Knowledge Base below.

Additional Support Needs Registration

Employment based routes to QTS

If you have gained QTS elsewhere in the UK via an employment-based route, and have not completed an initial teacher education programme that meets the requirements set out above, you will not meet our requirements for registration.

Apply as a teacher