Advanced Teacher Status (ATS)

The application window for the next ATS cohort starting in October 2025 will open on 2 June and close on 30 September 2025.  If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can register your interest in applying for the October 2025 cohort below.

Advanced Teacher Status (ATS) is a Professional Status recognised in the Education sector, which is gained after successfully completing a 14-month period of Professional Development and maintained through membership of the Society for Education and Training (SET). Achieving ATS allows you to demonstrate to colleagues and employers your mastery in teaching and learning and helps you advance your career into more senior roles.

You’ll also gain Chartered Teacher Status. Those who achieve ATS will be conferred with the Chartered College of Teaching’s Chartered Teacher designation. The Chartered College of Teaching has a re accreditation process, however as long as you maintain ATS through SET, you will maintain this status. Chartered Status is the highest nationally recognised accreditation pathway that will further support your career-long development and recognised mastery in your practice at different levels.

Once you have achieved ATS you are eligible to upgrade your membership to a Fellow and use the post nominals FSET and ATS to illustrate your membership grade and the award of ATS.

Please note that ATS is not a course or qualification, and therefore its structure is different from a typical qualification, eg: the ATS developmental process does not include guided learning hours, tutorial support, or formative assessment prior to the portfolio submission.

Female Teacher Smiling During A Training Course

Is ATS right for me?

Are you already working at the level of an advanced teacher*?
Would you like the opportunity to further develop your pedagogical expertise?
Are you interested in undertaking your own small-scale project and critically analysing existing education research?
Do you want to develop your coaching/mentoring skills to support other practitioners?
Would you like to, or do you already contribute to your organisation’s development and improvement?

*Definition of an advanced teacher for ATS purposes:

For the purpose of the developmental process leading to ATS, an advanced teacher: 

Has high-level technical or academic subject knowledge and professional experience. 
Demonstrates effective practice in teaching and learning to the highest standards. 
Critically evaluates their practice with colleagues and assesses its impact 
Effectively employs coaching and mentoring models and approaches to support the professional development of their colleagues 
Can support colleagues to improve the learner, and learning, experiences 
Actively engages with educational theory and research, and follows a critical and evaluative approach to the theories that underpin their practice 
Is in a position to strategically influence the wider organisation and contribute to its development.

An advanced teacher looks beyond their classroom practice and immediate department, actively and effectively contributes to the professional development of their colleagues through formal coaching and mentoring sessions as part of their role and influences their organisation and wider network at a strategic level.

Typical roles associated with advanced teaching are (but not limited to) senior teachers, advanced practitioners, teaching and learning coaches, curriculum managers or coordinators, quality managers, aspiring senior managers, senior instructors supporting apprenticeships.

What’s involved?

Unlike a qualification, ATS is a self-guided 14-month development programme, You'll typically be required to work approximately four hours per week on your portfolio. As you near the end of the programme you can expect to put in more hours.

You’ll be assessed on your individual development as well as your ability to work collaboratively and influence teaching and learning across your organisation at a strategic level - either with fellow ATS participants or with more senior colleagues at your organisation.

Accreditation

ATS holders will be expected to re-accredit their status every three years to demonstrate that they continue to meet the Professional Standards (Advanced Teacher).  This will also ensure that chartered teacher status (CTeach) conferred by the Chartered college of Teaching is maintained.

Take a look at the ATS programme in more detail

Register your interest in applying for the October 2025 cohort

Student Giving An Explanation In A Class

ATS experiences Whilst undertaking ATS you’ll be able to:

Reflect on your practice to further improve your teaching and learning.
Develop skills in mentoring colleagues to bring about changes in your own and others’ practice.
Maintain and update your subject knowledge and educational research.
Apply understanding of effective practice in teaching and learning.
Critically evaluate your practice and assess its impact.
Contribute to organisational development and improvement through a research project.
Develop curriculum or teaching and learning leadership skills.
Influence teaching and learning at your organisation at strategic level.

Hear from previous participants about their experiences of the Advanced Teacher Status programme.

ATS Experiences

Three Set Conference Attendees In Discussion

Am I eligible?

To be eligible it is essential that applicants need to:

be a current member of SET
hold a Level 5 or above initial teacher education qualification, 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 an eligible Level 2 English and Level 2 maths qualification, or Level 3 if you teach discrete English and/or maths subjects
hold a level 3 or above equivalent qualification in the main subject that you’ll be teaching for the period of the ATS programme
if you are delivering teacher training programmes, you will be required to be a teacher/trainer with at least 4 years-experience post Initial Teacher Education
be teaching groups of learners (5 or more*) in a post-14 Further Education and Skills setting for a minimum of 320 hours (E.g., approximately 7hr per week for 46 weeks). Delivering training/CPD to staff is also accepted.
be able to demonstrate a positive impact on learners or colleagues e.g. improvement in learner outcomes, feedback from peers, strategic input/impact
be in a position to coach/mentor qualified colleagues in a teaching position as part of your role   
be able to influence departmental, middle or senior level teaching and learning strategies within your organisation and evidence the outcome/impact
be able to get an endorsement from a senior leader in your organisation

It would also be desirable if applicants are working as an advanced teacher and can: 

lead, support or influence strategic management of teaching and learning in your organisation
lead, support or engage in activities with colleagues beyond your classroom, e.g. delivering CPD for colleagues, resourcing teaching and learning

*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 submit it attached to the application form.

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 organisation in FE and Skills.
Complete an additional reflective validation activity during your developmental process leading to ATS.

Applying to undertake ATS

How much does ATS cost?

Undertaking ATS will cost £915.

You can pay this in instalments, with an initial payment of £240, followed by three monthly direct debit payments of £225.

When can I apply?

We have one application window per year: 2 June – 30 September

Successful applicants will be issued their portfolio in mid-October.

You can express your interest in undertaking ATS at any time.

How do I apply?

If you are a member of SET and meet the eligibility criteria, you can apply to undertake ATS when the application window opens on 2 June 2025.

Access the application form here.

What supporting evidence do I need for my ATS application?

Proof of support from your organisation should include:

Endorsement from a senior manager.
A documented professional discussion with a line manager.
A copy of your current teaching timetable highlighting your access to a minimum of 320 hours post-14 group teaching (5 or more learners*) for the duration of the programme.
Accredited English and maths qualifications at Level 2 or above (if you do not hold QTLS/QTS)**

Proof of up-to-date subject/vocational knowledge (demonstrating a commitment to maintaining and updating this knowledge) could include:

A subject specialist qualification at Level 3 or above for the main subject/s that you will be teaching for the period of the ATS programme***
A CV demonstrating evidence of work experience
Records of recent relevant CPD undertaken and the impact
An accredited teacher training qualification at Level 5 or above. You can view the list of these approved qualifications.

* Refer to the exceptional circumstances for groups with 4 or fewer learners above.

** If your maths and English or subject specialist qualifications were gained overseas, you will need to obtain a statement of comparability from UK ENIC that confirms that your qualifications are equivalent to level 2 (GCSE grades A*–C or 4-9).

*** If your initial training qualification was gained overseas, you will need to obtain a statement of comparability from UK ENIC (formerly NARIC)

*** If you teach maths or English (numeracy, literacy, ESOL) GCSE or Functional Skills in either the FE and Skills sector or in Sixth Form Centres, you will also need to hold maths and English qualifications at a minimum of level 3.

View list of eligible ITE qualifications

View list of approved maths and English qualifications