The United Kingdom’s Department for Education (DfE) has outlined the priority subjects for foreign nationals seeking to come to the country through the Teaching Regulation Agency, beginning February 2023.
In June of 2022, the DfE announced plans to change the way they award qualified teacher status (QTS) to teachers from overseas. These changes aim to prioritize subjects that are in high demand in the UK and make the process of obtaining QTS more consistent and fair for all applicants.
Under the new legislation, a professional recognition service called “apply for qualified teacher status in England” will be introduced to set consistent standards for assessing the qualifications and experience of overseas teachers.
The service will eventually be open to qualified teachers from all countries outside of the UK, but starting on February 1, 2023, it will initially be available to applicants from countries such as Australia, Canada, the European Economic Area, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United States.
Additionally, applicants with a subject specialism in languages, mathematics, or science, and a teaching qualification to teach 11 to 16-year-olds from Ghana, Nigeria, Singapore, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, and India will be able to use the service to determine if they meet the requirements for QTS and apply.
DfE has stated that the priority subjects for obtaining QTS will be languages such as French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Russian, and Spanish. However, the department has also mentioned that there will be updates on other subject specialisms by May.
