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Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) Syllabus
The licence required to teach in maintained schools in England, awarded after Initial Teacher Training and (formerly) a skills assessment.. The complete Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) outline — 7 subjects, 28 chapters and 123 topics — laid out so you can see exactly what has to be covered and tick each item off as you go.
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) subjects
Each subject below has its own page with the full chapter → topic → sub-topic tree and a set of real exam-style flashcards.
4 chapters · 19 topics · 8 sub-topics
How Pupils Learn and Cognitive Science4 chapters · 18 topics · 4 sub-topics
Curriculum, Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy4 chapters · 19 topics · 6 sub-topics
Classroom Practice and Behaviour Management4 chapters · 18 topics · 4 sub-topics
Assessment, Feedback and Pupil Progress4 chapters · 16 topics · 6 sub-topics
Adaptive Teaching, SEND and Inclusion4 chapters · 16 topics · 8 sub-topics
Safeguarding, Child Development and the Statutory Context4 chapters · 17 topics · 9 sub-topics
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) flashcard decks
352 question-and-answer cards across 7 decks, written against this syllabus. Preview any deck free.
- Professional Behaviours and the Teachers' Standards — 50 cards
- How Pupils Learn and Cognitive Science — 50 cards
- Curriculum, Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy — 50 cards
- Classroom Practice and Behaviour Management — 51 cards
- Assessment, Feedback and Pupil Progress — 51 cards
- Adaptive Teaching, SEND and Inclusion — 50 cards
- Safeguarding, Child Development and the Statutory Context — 50 cards
How to work through the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) syllabus
The outline on this page is arranged the way the syllabus itself is: subject, then chapter, then topic, then sub-topic. That last level is what most study plans skip, and it is where coverage actually goes wrong — a chapter marked "done" often has three sub-topics inside it that were never touched.
Weight your plan accordingly: Professional Behaviours and the Teachers' Standards carries 19 topics while Adaptive Teaching, SEND and Inclusion carries 16. Giving both the same number of weeks is the most common planning mistake for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
The ~100 hour estimate above is a first pass only: roughly 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic. Revision cycles, past papers and mocks sit on top of that number.
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) syllabus FAQ
What subjects are in the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) syllabus?
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) covers 7 subjects: Professional Behaviours and the Teachers' Standards, How Pupils Learn and Cognitive Science, Curriculum, Subject Knowledge and Pedagogy, Classroom Practice and Behaviour Management, Assessment, Feedback and Pupil Progress, Adaptive Teaching, SEND and Inclusion and Safeguarding, Child Development and the Statutory Context. Together they contain 28 chapters and 123 named topics.
How many topics does the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) syllabus contain?
The full Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) outline breaks down into 28 chapters, 123 topics and 45 sub-topics. Professional Behaviours and the Teachers' Standards is the largest single subject with 19 topics across 4 chapters.
How long does it take to cover the whole Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) syllabus?
Roughly 100 hours for one full pass. That estimate allows about 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic, so it is first-pass coverage — revision, past papers and mock tests sit on top of it. At 3 hours a day that is about 5 weeks.
Are there Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) flashcards?
Yes — 352 question-and-answer flashcards across 7 decks, one per subject, written against this syllabus. A sample of every deck is readable on this site for free, and the complete decks are in the Examius app.
Is this Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) syllabus free to use?
Yes. Every page here is free to read, and importing the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) syllabus into the Examius app to tick off topics as you finish them is free too, in United Kingdom and everywhere else. No account is needed to start.
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