The International Schools Review Forum

Hi, I'm have 6 years experience in teaching which includes 2 years in international schools. Now to upgrade myself, I wanted to become a certified teacher. One of my colleague suggested about teachnow or PGCEI. Which option will be good one? My school is ready to help me wherever they can.
Thanks in advance for your valuable suggestions.

I take it you arent a US citizen, or from a western country (US/UK/AUS/CAN)? You dont write like a native English speaker?

The choices really depend on what access to a classroom you have for field experience, the options are basically:

1) Teach Now: Is a 12 week field placment, you need a cooperating IS to give you a classroom for 3 months, which can be difficult if you arent currently working in an IS/DS.

2) Teach Ready: Has a 5 day field experience which is much shorter and something easier to work out with an IS if you arent working for an IS. You however need to be a US citizen to qualify.

3) Assessment Only: This leads to QTS in England but you need to arrange for observations and assessment of your portfolio. Its the least expensive option.

4) PGCEi: This is a working credential in many lower tier ISs, but it does not result in QTS. You can potentially use it to get credentialed in the US. The advantage of this program is that it can be entirely academic, without any field work required. If you dont have a classroom or a cooperating IS this is the only viable option.

It sounds like you already have a placement and your current IS will cooperate with you. If so than both Teach Now and the AO-QTS are viable option for you. The Teach Now program once completed will allow you to apply for QTS fairly easily and quickly. Teach now costs about USD$6K and the AO-QTS route costs about £2K depending on the Uni or provider. There are some other differences but field experience is typically the deciding factor.

Hi Psyguy, can you please explain how to get QTS after completing the Teach-Now course? I'm finding it difficult to find solid information about it online or from the Teach-Now themselves. I am an Irish citizen with 5 years of teaching experience. I currently work in a lower tier International School in Asia. Thanks in advance.

@joannem87

When you complete the Teach Now program you will be recommended for and receive a DC standard credential. It is then a simple process of applying online with the TCL for QTS. Create a Teacher Services account, the application takes 15 minutes. You will need to request a letter of good standing from the DC OSSE prior to application. You can find the link here to begin the application:

https://teacherservices.education.gov.u ... ecognition

That will change with Teach Now, they are planning a campaign in the UK to recruit DTs in England into the Teach Now program and pitching it as a means of obtaining full QTS without an induction year (Full online QTS without induction or the cost of a PGCE). It will be interesting to see if it works.