Eligibility criteria  

To be eligible it is essential that applicants need to:

  • be a current member of ETF
  • hold a Level 5 or above initial teacher education qualification, on our eligible ITE list, for a minimum of four years (if holding QTS or QTLS status) or a minimum of five years (if you do not hold QTLS or QTS status) **
  • hold a Level 3 or above equivalent qualification in the main subject that you will be teaching for the period of the ATS programme **
  • hold an eligible Level 2 English and Level 2 maths qualification, or Level 3 if you teach discrete English and/or maths subjects **
  • be a teacher/trainer with at least 4 years-experience post Initial Teacher Education if you are delivering teacher training programmes
  • be teaching groups of learners (5 or more)* in a post-14 further education and skills setting for a minimum of 320 hours over (eg approximately 8hr per week for 40 weeks) 
  • be in a position to formally coach/mentor qualified colleagues in a teaching position as part of your role, and evidence the impact your interventions have had on the practice of your coachee
  • be able to undertake a small research project that has impact within your organisation at a departmental, middle or strategic level and results in improvement and increased quality in teaching and learning
  • be able to influence departmental, middle or senior level teaching and learning strategies within your organisation and evidence the outcome/impact
  • lead, support or engage in activities with colleagues beyond your classroom, e.g. delivering CPD for colleagues, resourcing teaching and learning, etc
  • be able to get an endorsement from a senior leader in your organisation. 

 

*In exceptional circumstances applicants may be able to start the developmental process leading to ATS with groups that have fewer than five learners. To do this the applicant must: 

  • Meet all standard ATS eligibility criteria. 
  • Provide an employer agreement signed by a senior leader in the organisation and upload it in the application portfolio. The employer agreement will evidence the following:
    • Your organisation's support for you to access teaching and learning with groups over five or more learners during your developmental process. 
    • You may be teaching, co-teaching, or observing. This may be inside your own organisation, or in another FE and skills organisation. 
    • Complete an additional reflective validation activity during your developmental process leading to ATS, once you have received your ATS portfolio (not at application stage).  

 

 **If you have achieved any of your qualifications overseas an accompanying UK ENIC (formerly NARIC) statement of compatibility will be required.   

 

If you feel that you are already in a position to demonstrate meeting these criteria or will be in a position next academic year, please submit an application.