Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship with QTS and PGCE

The University of Buckingham the largest provider of the apprenticeship route to Qualified Teacher Status in England. Our next cohorts will start in January 2026 and then September 2026. They will be from Primary Schools, Prep Schools and Secondary schools, state and independent. All our trainees must have a teaching job is a school.

The course is free-of-charge because it is paid for by the apprenticeship levy. It is aimed at three groups:

1. Schools wanting to find good teachers who appoint unqualified potential teachers with a degree, allow them to work for you for a year and do the PGTA course, and then extend their contract if they are good.
2. Teaching assistants who have a degree, who work in schools and seem good potential teachers. This course will turn them into qualified teachers.
3. Teachers in schools who need QTS.

The apprenticeship-levy funded course allows schools to take on a teacher for 10 months at limited cost to the school.

When asked, 98% of students (who graduated from their Postgraduate Teacher Apprenticeship with PGCE*) said they either would or already have recommended The University of Buckingham’s Teacher Apprenticeship to a colleague. *June 2021

The achievement and retention rates published for 2024/25 were 96.8% and the pass rate at EPA is 100% well above national trends. The Teacher Apprenticeship provides an employer levy funded, salaried route for graduates to enter the teaching profession whilst also gaining Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in 10 months, allowing apprentices to earn while they learn.

There will be 10 months of direct training.  The results of the course will be ratified by an external moderator immediately after that (this is called the End Point Assessment).

We have been delivering teacher training to the next generation of teachers at The University of Buckingham for 20 years and have excellent levels of success.

We offer two routes:

Route 1 – Teacher Apprenticeship with QTS + PGCE (level 7)

This is funded by the employer levy account for the Apprenticeship and QTS element, with an additional assessment charge for the PGCE qualification of £1,000. Please note the additional charge for the PGCE qualification must be funded by the employing school or trainee but cannot be paid through the apprenticeship levy fund. If you complete Route 1 successfully you will achieve:

• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
• Teacher Apprenticeship (Level 6)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE, Level 7)

Route 2 – Teacher Apprenticeship + QTS (level 6)

This is fully funded by the employer levy account for the Apprenticeship and QTS, there is no PGCE qualification gained through this route*. If you complete Route 2 successfully you will achieve:

• Qualified Teacher Status
• Teacher Apprenticeship (Level 6)

*Please note you cannot transfer from route 2 to route 1 once you have started the course.

Why choose a Teacher Apprenticeship?

• The tuition fees for the apprentice undertaking the apprenticeship with QTS are zero as they are funded through the employer and the apprenticeship levy.
• Grants are paid to schools to cover all or part of the cost of the teacher’s salary.
• Learning on the job has been shown to be the best way to train to be a teacher. You earn while you learn.
• The University of Buckingham is the biggest provider of this course in England.
• The course is online.

“The course is structured fantastically well with lots of support from the University lecturers and tutors. My Tutor is available anytime for support and guidance. I was amazed at how dedicated the tutors are in their respective role, my tutor travelled up to Birmingham from Devon to carry out my termly review. I have been looking to qualify for 5 years but having a young family I could not take time away from work to do this, The University of Buckingham’s PGTA was the perfect solution, the on-the-job training has allowed me to qualify whilst maintaining an income.”  Suhail Tariq, apprentice teacher

“Leaders have developed an ambitious, coherent and challenging ITE curriculum. Based around five curriculum themes, the well-structured course is informed by the core content framework and underpinned by a wealth of pertinent academic research. Together, heads of cohort, subject leads and mentors ensure that trainees foster a deep subject knowledge and rich range of pedagogical skills. Trainees typically become very well-informed and highly reflective practitioners.” Ofsted, 2021

The QTS course is delivered in six ways:

1. Every week for twenty weeks you attend a one-hour online talk about a weekly theme.
2. At the same time you are sent accompanying reading and films.
3. You then discuss the theme with your mentor and practice elements of it (such as behaviour management).
4. The following week you teach a lesson demonstrating that you have grasped how to implement what you have learnt in the classroom. You will receive feedback on this.
   These four steps are called Intensive Training and Practice.
5. Every month your tutor either visits you and the mentor or does a call. In these ways the tutor will regularly help make progress.
6. Every week you will receive an email reminding you what you should be doing and advertising additional, optional online talks.

How are you assessed on the QTS course?

Throughout the course you are given formative feedback based on the ITTECF (initial teacher training early career framework) syllabus. The aim is to ensure that by the end of the course you are able to show that you understand the Teachers’ Standards and the ITTECF syllabus and can implement them in the classroom.

Every week your mentor assesses your grasp of the Intensive Training and Practice topic and assesses your teaching.
Every term your tutor visits you school and does the same.
You regularly upload information about your progress on our platform.

Why consider the additional PGCE aspect?

A PGCE qualification adds an academic layer to your qualification. It is evidence of your further engagement with research and the ability to synthesise and reflect on matters in education in extended academic writing. For many employers it is therefore an attractive qualification.

If you do choose to complete the PGCE alongside your Apprenticeship with QTS, you will need to submit three essays based on the advice you have been given, the lectures you have attended and your reading.

Successfully passing these assignments alongside your Apprenticeship with QTS will result in you being awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Education from The University of Buckingham.

Information for the School

Employers that pay into the apprenticeship levy (employers in the UK with an annual pay bill over £3 million) will be able to use up to £9,000 of funding from their apprenticeship service account to cover the cost of training and assessing the apprentice.

Employers that do not pay the levy, or who have insufficient funds in their digital account, can access funding to support the training and assessment of an apprentice. The government will pay 95% of the costs of training and assessment for the apprenticeship and the employer will pay the remaining 5% which equates to a maximum charge of £450 (this excludes the PGCE additional cost which must be funded by the employer or apprentice).

You must know whether your school is a levy or non-levy payer.

More detail:

The Apprenticeship Levy is an amount paid at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s annual wage bill and will be paid through Pay as you Earn (PAYE)

The school will be paying the Apprenticeship Levy each month if it:

• has an annual pay bill of more than £3 million
• is connected to any companies or charities for Employment Allowance purposes and has a combined annual pay bill of more than £3 million.

If the school does not fall into the above categories, it would be classed as a non-levy company. This does not mean it cannot apply for the funding. All non-levy payers can get 95% funded by the Apprenticeship Levy. As the employer your school will just pay 5% of the total cost of the Apprenticeship (currently £450 in total, not including the cost of the PGCE), for a qualification that costs significantly more.

Employers that have insufficient funds in their digital account can also access the levy funding in the same way. The government will still pay 95% of the costs of training and assessment for the apprenticeship and the employer will pay the remaining 5% which equates to a maximum charge of £450 (this excludes the PGCE additional cost). In every case the school will need to apply/create a digital account which can be done via the UK Gov website. This will no doubt be done by a business manager within your school so please ensure this is done before applying.

Before setting up your apprenticeship service account the school will need:

• an email address
• the Government Gateway login for your organisation (or you can use the accounts office reference number and employer PAYE scheme reference number if your annual pay bill is less than £3 million)
• authority to add PAYE schemes to the account
• authority to accept the employer agreement on behalf of your organisation

It requires information and sign-off from various departments within the school, such as finance and HR, so ensure these departments are open. This is one reason for NOT applying at the start of the summer holidays.

A trainee reference from the school will be required at the outset so an interview can be arranged.

Read the Postgraduate Teachers Apprenticeship – Employers’ guide

The Teacher Apprenticeship: How it works

• The Teacher Apprenticeship programme is available for any unqualified primary and secondary school teachers in England.
• You must be employed full-time (minimum of 30 hours) in a school while you learn on the job. In some cases, this may be a school you are already working at, or have an existing relationship with.
• You must be teaching 13 hours a week and you must teach at least two consecutive school years across two key stages.
• If you are employed in a state school you will be paid a minimum of the unqualified 1 teacher salary pay scale for your region.
• If you are currently working as an unqualified teacher or teaching assistant, it offers new opportunities for career progression, plus higher earning capacity, recognition, and status.
• You will do some classroom teaching and receive off-the-job training as you work towards Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Apprentices split their time between school and university study. You will receive practical, school-led training alongside experienced staff, and spend at least 20% of your time off-timetable to learn the pedagogy of teaching.

How is the Apprenticeship delivered?

• Regular support from your workplace Mentor to support your success.
• 20% off-the-job training time ​attending online talks, reading, writing about your progress, observing other people teaching.
• Experienced University Tutors will deliver high-quality training to support your teaching pedagogy throughout the Apprenticeship.

The majority of this course is delivered remotely, via online training afternoons. These occur at 13:30-16:30 each Tuesday (January start) or Thursday (September start).

There is one in-person day held on campus at the start of the course. This onboarding day is a compulsory element of the course:

January start: 2 January 2026
September start: Primary and PE: Thursday 27 August 2026; Secondary and Prep: Friday 28 August 2026

Secondary Subject Specialisms

Different school subjects demand different teaching methods and resources, so part of the course will be taught by a subject specialist. We can teach all school subjects including Art, Music, Design Technology, Food Technology, Business Studies & Economics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths, Computing, English, Drama, Classics, Modern Languages, Arabic, Geography, History, Politics, Citizenship and PSHE, Religious Studies, Psychology, PE and Mandarin.

About PE and sport

We are the biggest provider of initial teacher training for PE and sport in England. The system is the same as for other subjects except that at half terms you have the opportunity to do practical training using the amazing facilities at Stowe School.
Many schools employ PE teachers who do the teacher training while working.

What support will I receive?

During this 10-month school-based course apprentices will work under the guidance of a mentor in their school and a University of Buckingham tutor. Apprentices will have weekly meetings in school to review their progress and to set targets, termly visits from their University of Buckingham tutor to assess progress and guide their development, as well as regular meetings and reviews via an online platform.

The Apprenticeship includes 20% ‘off-the-job’ training which is delivered in a blended form of online and face-to-face meetings and seminars which are supplemented by a weekly programme on the University’s Virtual Learning Environment. Apprentices will be assessed against the Teachers’ Standards by their mentor and tutor.

Successful completion of the Apprenticeship training leads to the recommendation of QTS (Qualified Teacher Status).