Teach First

Teach First is a salaried, employment-based route into teaching in England. You train over an intensive summer, then start in a partner school in a disadvantaged area as a paid, unqualified teacher on a reduced timetable. You gain qualified teacher status (QTS) at the end of the first year and spend the second year as an early career teacher, completing a postgraduate qualification along the way.

How the two years run

The programme starts with a summer institute before the school year begins. It covers classroom basics, behaviour, subject teaching and safeguarding, with time in a school. In September you take up your post in the partner school and teach your own classes on a reduced timetable, which leaves room for training, observation and study.

Through the first year you have a subject mentor in school and a tutor from a university partner. You work toward a postgraduate diploma or PGCE and the evidence needed for QTS. If you meet the Teachers’ Standards by the end of the year, you are recommended for QTS.

The second year counts toward early career teacher (ECT) induction. Induction in England lasts the full-time equivalent of two school years (usually six terms), so the Teach First programme covers half of it. The rest is completed in your third year, whether you stay at the same school or move. Some trainees continue to a full master’s degree. The ECT induction guide explains how induction is assessed.

What you are paid

The school employs you, so you are paid a teacher’s salary and have teachers’ terms, including the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. In the first year you are on the unqualified teacher pay range, then on the main pay range once you hold QTS.

From 1 September 2026 the government accepted the STRB’s recommendation of a 3.5 per cent rise on teacher pay ranges, and 5 per cent on the minimum of the unqualified range. The recommended levels are:

Range	England excl. London	Fringe	Outer London	Inner London
Unqualified (min to max)	£23,732 to £36,494	£24,909 to £38,004	£27,727 to £40,831	£29,336 to £42,429
M1	£34,069	£35,602	£39,196	£41,729
M2	£36,042	£37,647	£41,246	£43,713

The STPCD 2026 that puts these into law was still a draft in October 2026, with final publication expected around early November and backdating to 1 September. Schools partly decide where on the unqualified range to place you, so ask yours directly. The unqualified teacher pay guide covers how that range works.

Teach First trainees get no training bursary or scholarship. Those go to fee-paying routes, and DfE rules state that salaried trainees cannot receive them. The training itself is funded, so you pay no tuition fees.

Who can apply

Teach First recruits graduates and people about to graduate, plus career changers. You need a degree and GCSE English and maths (or equivalents), and for primary teaching a science GCSE as well. Some subjects ask for a degree or A level in a related subject. Exact degree class and subject requirements are on the Teach First site and change between recruitment years.

You will be in front of classes within weeks, so selection looks hard at resilience, communication and how you respond to feedback. Previous work with young people helps but is not required.

The selection process

The application usually runs in this order:

1. Online application, including competency and motivation questions.
2. Online assessments.
3. An assessment day, typically with an interview, a short sample teaching activity, and a written or group exercise.
4. Subject knowledge checks where needed, and in some cases a subject knowledge enhancement course before the summer institute.
5. Placement with a partner school, then pre-employment checks including an enhanced DBS with the children’s barred list.

Recruitment opens in the summer or early autumn and runs through the year. Places in shortage subjects such as maths, physics, chemistry and computing tend to stay open longer. The teacher interview guide covers what a sample lesson involves.

What the commitment means in practice

The first year is widely described as one of the hardest of any graduate route: full classroom responsibility, a reduced but still large timetable, assignments for the postgraduate qualification and a steep learning curve on behaviour. The partner schools are in areas of high disadvantage, where the job is hard and the pupils have the most to gain.

You sign up for the full two years. You can leave, as with any job, by giving notice under your contract, and teachers’ resignation dates follow fixed points in the year. The teacher resignation dates guide has them. Leaving partway through year one usually means leaving without QTS.

After the two years, most participants carry on teaching, some move into school leadership, and others leave education with a qualification and experience employers recognise. If you are weighing Teach First against a PGCE, School Direct or an apprenticeship, the teacher training routes guide compares them.