Write a great application for teacher training

Applying in England |  Course choices | Apply application form | Tips for applying | Applying for other teaching programmes | Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland 

Postgraduate teacher training applications in England are made through the DfE Apply for teacher training service. The application form is the same for:

• the university or college-led postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) and postgraduate diploma in education (PGDE)
• school-centred initial teacher training (SCITT)
• School Direct, salaried and unsalaried
• some programmes for further education or post-compulsory teacher training
• postgraduate teaching apprenticeship programmes.

Course choices

You can browse training courses commencing in autumn 2025 on Apply from 9.00am on 1 October. From 9.00am on 8 October, you will be able to submit your application. Courses remain open for applications until they are full. 

Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis, so make sure you have everything ready to apply as soon as possible. This is particularly important for popular courses to maximise your chance of getting the training place you want. 

Through Apply, you can apply to up to four training programmes at the same time. You can choose from any route, age group or subject. Select the combination that suits you best. For example, you could choose four different PGCE courses or a variety of routes, such as two PGCE courses and two SCITTs. Alternatively, you can make just one choice if you prefer. You can only apply to a training programme when it is open. You can amend and add to these choices at any time until you submit your application.

You should also use the Apply system to apply for postgraduate teaching apprenticeships and School Direct (salaried) programmes.

Apply application form

The Apply application form is split up into several main sections. You won’t be able to submit applications until you have completed all your details.

Personal information 

This covers personal details such as your name, date of birth and contact information, as well as your nationality and, if applicable, your immigration status and whether you have the right to work or study in the UK.

Qualifications

You will need to include information on your degree, GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and maths (and science for primary courses), and A levels or any other relevant qualifications.

If your qualifications are from outside the UK, you will need to get a statement of comparability from UK ENIC. Make sure you do this early on as it can take some time.

Work experience 

You should provide details of any paid employment since school (if applicable), explaining any gaps in your work history due to raising children, caring responsibilities, unemployment, voluntary work or illness, for example.

There is also a section where you can include any unpaid experience you have had working with children and other volunteering roles. This can include activities such as observing in a school, listening to children read in school, volunteering at a children’s club or being a school governor, as well as any other volunteering you’ve done. 

Check with individual providers to see how much work experience they expect and make sure you consider this when completing your application. Give details of any school experience you have, and ideally demonstrate a breadth of experience across different schools and ages. 

Personal statement 

The personal statement is your chance to demonstrate your teaching potential to training providers. You will need to provide evidence of why you want to teach, what school experience you have and why you are suitable for the programme you have chosen. You should write between 500 and 1000 words in this section.

Providers will be interested in the range of transferable skills you would bring to teaching, such as leadership and communication. You will usually use the same personal statement for each of the courses you apply to, so make sure it reflects the route or routes you have applied for. However, it is possible to tailor it to different courses if you want to, for example if you apply for a course to train to teach chemistry and another one to teach biology.

You can include:

• your interest in the subject (if applying for secondary teacher training) or age group you want to teach
• relevant details about your A level subjects, undergraduate degree and/or postgraduate degree(s)
• your thoughts on the demands and rewards of teaching
• why you want to teach and why you think teaching is important
• personal qualities that would make you a good teacher
• skills you have that would be relevant to teaching
• how you could contribute to a school outside of the classroom
• any experience you have working with children or young people, and what you learnt from it
• your thoughts on safeguarding, welfare and education.

Find out more about how to write your personal statement for teacher training.

Adjustments 

This section is divided into two sub-sections: 

Ask for support if you’re disabled: you might benefit from extra support if you are disabled, have a mental health condition or educational needs. If you choose to tell them you need support, they will let your training provider know. They can then make adjustments so you can attend an interview or do the training.

Examples of support could be:

• organising equipment, such as a hearing loop or an adapted keyboard
• putting you in touch with support staff if you have a mental health condition
• making sure classrooms are wheelchair accessible.

Interview availability: if you need flexibility for your interview, for example, if you have caring responsibilities, a job or are on holiday, you can tell them about it here. You have up to 200 words to give details of your interview availability.

Safeguarding 

You need to provide details of two people who can provide you with a suitable reference if you accept an offer. Ask your referees well in advance for their permission and make sure they understand your choices, motivations and the application process. They will be asked to state if they know any reason why you should not work with children.

Your choice of referees will depend on which training route you follow. For example, if you have graduated in the last five years, one of your referees must be someone from your university who can comment on your academic ability. If you are working in a school, one of your referees must be the headteacher. 

Teacher training providers should only collect references once you have accepted their offer. However, candidates must provide their referee details when they apply so that teacher training providers can check that the referees are suitable and meet their requirements.

Referees should not be family members, partners or friends.

In this section you must also declare any safeguarding issues, such as a criminal record or professional misconduct. 

The provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (which allow convictions for criminal offences to be regarded as 'spent' after a period of time) don't apply to the teaching profession. You're required to declare any previous convictions.

Equality and diversity 

This section invites you to answer a series of questions to prevent discrimination in teacher recruitment. Training providers will only see your answers to these questions if you accept an offer from them.

Literacy and numeracy skills

Initial teacher training (ITT) providers are responsible for ensuring that prospective teachers meet the required standards of literacy and numeracy in order to teach. Each provider will offer their own tests to ensure applicants have adequate skills in these areas. You will be benchmarked against a defined set of literacy and numeracy skills that you will be expected to have acquired by the end of your training. It is unlikely that this will be covered in your initial application, but you should be aware that it will be addressed further down the line.

After your form has been submitted

You can amend certain details on your application form after submitting your application. These include your personal details and contact information if they change, any support you would like if you’re disabled, your interview availability, and the equality and diversity information you have provided. When you amend these sections, the details will also be updated for any applications you have in progress.

You can also add new referee details at the point of accepting an offer as well as any time after accepting an offer.

Many providers contact candidates by email, so use a professional email address and regularly check your email. Mark emails from Apply for teacher training as 'safe' to ensure you receive all communication from them. 

If you don’t get a response to your application from a provider within 30 working days, you can apply to another course while you wait for a response. You will be notified if the provider has not responded in time.

You can withdraw an application at any time if you want to and apply to a different course.

POPULAR ADVICE FOR TEACHER TRAINING APPLICATIONS

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Tips for completing the application form

Competition for places on popular training programmes can be fierce, so take time over your application. Present the information in a clear and easy-to-read style and check for spelling and grammatical errors.

• You can log in and out of your application, so you do not have to fill in everything at once.
• Follow the step-by-step instructions carefully, making sure you don’t leave out any important information.
• Double check any dates you include and the spellings of the names of any organisations/people you refer to.
• Make sure you have two suitable referees ready (and that you have asked their permission to act as referees) as you’ll need to provide their details in your application.
• Take extra care when writing your personal statement and evidence your commitment to teaching by linking to your school experience as much as possible.
• Remember to include any unpaid/voluntary experience you have undertaken as these experiences are as valuable as paid experience. (And make sure you put the paid and unpaid work experience in the correct sections.)
• Remember to include details of any times you aren’t available for interview.
• Once you have filled in your form, click on the check and submit your application button to go through everything you have written. Make sure you do this carefully as it is your last chance to correct any errors.

Applications for other teaching programmes

Early years initial teacher training

You can train to be an early years teacher either as a postgraduate, if you already have a degree, or as part of an undergraduate degree. Applicants to early years initial teacher training (EYITT) programmes must have a minimum Grade 4(C) in GCSE maths, English and science (or equivalent). Applications are usually made directly to the provider. See Early years initial teacher training (ITT): accredited providers for a list of training providers.

Application processes vary but generally include a personal statement section, where you must give details of your previous relevant experiences and explain why you think you would be suitable for the programme. 

Completing an EYITT programme awards ‘early years teacher status’, which allows you to specialise in working with children up to five years old in a nursery or early years setting only. It does not provide QTS, which allows you to teaching in a primary school, including reception, or a secondary school. 

Teach First

Applications for the Teach First Training Programme are made online through their website. Recruitment is carried out on a rolling basis with vacancies being filled as soon as suitable candidates are found. The application form includes sections on academic qualifications (at pre-university and university level), competency-based questions and a situational judgement test. As part of the programme, you will undertake a two-year PGDE, which gives double the number of credits of a PGCE.

The Brilliant Club

The Brilliant Club is a university access charity that recruits postgraduate researchers as paid tutors to help state school pupils develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to progress to the most competitive universities. The charity recruits, trains and places PhD students and graduates in partner schools across the UK through The Scholars Programme. They deliver rigorous programmes linked to their own research with small groups of pupils aged 8-18. Applications are made via The Brilliant Club website and you will need to include details of your academic history, the experience and skills you will bring to the role, and your motivation for wanting to be a Scholars Programme tutor. 

Assessment Only (AO)

Experienced but unqualified teachers who are already working in schools can complete the Assessment Only route to qualified teacher status (QTS) by applying directly to an accredited and approved provider. You must have the support of your school before applying and complete an application form giving detailed evidence of your skills, as well as copies of all the required supporting documentation. 

This way of achieving QTS is only available to unqualified teachers who have taught in at least two schools, early years and/or further education settings. Usually, they will also have teaching experience across two key stages in their chosen age range: either primary (ages 3-11), middle (ages 7-14) or secondary (ages 11-19). Applicants must hold a degree (or equivalent qualification) and a minimum standard equivalent to a Grade 4/C in English and maths, plus a GCSE science subject if they intend to teach pupils aged 3-11.

Overseas trained teachers (OTTs) taking the AO route to QTS will need to attach copies of their teaching qualifications, UK ENIC confirmation of their qualifications, their passport and their work permit. The original versions of these documents will need to be seen at interview. In addition to the AO route, there are other routes for OTTs to gain QTS, with eligibility for each depending on where you qualified and your level of teaching experience. See the DfE guidance on Routes to qualified teacher status (QTS) for teachers and those with teaching experience outside the UK.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Applications for most Scottish and Welsh courses are made through the UCAS undergraduate application system, and you can make up to five choices. Alternatively, if you want to take the salaried PGCE route available in Wales, you should apply directly to The Open University.

If you want to teach in Northern Ireland, contact PGCE providers directly for an application form.

For more information on teacher training in other areas of the UK, see training to teach in Wales, training to teach in Scotland and training to teach in Northern Ireland.

Written by John Parkin, Anglia Ruskin University, July 2024  

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