Tes Institute

What Tes Institute is

Tes Institute is the teacher training arm of Tes, the education company behind the Tes jobs board, Tes Magazine and a large library of teaching resources. Its course page describes it as offering "teacher training courses and qualifications to help you reach the next stage in your teaching career." The reader it serves is a teacher, a teaching assistant or someone who wants to become a teacher, and the catalog runs from subject knowledge courses taken before initial teacher training to a Master's level international qualification for experienced teachers abroad.

The institute says its courses are "evidence-based and run by passionate teachers", and it pitches them at people who want to become "the great teacher or TA you know you can be." The legal footer names the company as Tes Global Ltd, registered in England with its registered office in Sheffield. The site comes in International schools, UK and Australia editions.

How the catalog is organized

The course page sorts everything into three groups: courses to train to become a teacher, courses to improve the skills of a teacher already in the job, and international courses. Each course card states its delivery mode (Online, Blended or In school) and its length, so a reader can compare commitments at a glance. For anyone unsure where to start, the institute offers a course finder to help pick the right route.

Once someone has bought or enrolled on a course, they log in through an "Access my course" area on the same site.

Routes to qualified teacher status

Most of the catalog leads to qualified teacher status (QTS), and the routes differ mainly by how much teaching experience the learner already has.

Initial Teacher Training (ITT). A school-centered training route leading to QTS, with an optional PGCE. The course page says it is delivered in partnership with a number of schools in Essex, Greater London and Kent. It is listed as In school, 10 months, so this is a route for trainees who can be placed in schools in that part of England.

Postgraduate Teaching Apprenticeship. A funded Level 6 apprenticeship that leads to QTS and an optional PGCE while the trainee works as part of a school team. It is blended and runs 10 months plus the End Point Assessment (EPA). For a school this is a way to train its own staff on the job; for the apprentice it means earning while qualifying.

Straight to Teaching. Aimed at people already working in a school as a teaching assistant, a higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) or an unqualified teacher. The program prepares them for QTS assessment while they keep working at their current school. It is blended and lasts 1.5 to 5 terms, a range that lets the program fit the experience a learner brings. An international version lets staff prepare for QTS without leaving their international school.

Straight to Teaching SEND. A version of the same program for practitioners working in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision settings. It helps them continue supporting their pupils while preparing for QTS through the Assessment Only route, also over 1.5 to 5 terms in a blended format.

Assessment Only. For someone who can already show they are ready for QTS assessment. The page says such a candidate "could gain QTS within three months" while continuing to work at their current school. It is listed as In school, 3 months, and is offered in the UK and international sections of the catalog.

iQTS. A new course that lets a trainee train to teach while working as part of a school team anywhere in the world, leading to qualified teacher status. Learners can add an International Postgraduate Certificate in Education (iPGCE). It is blended and runs 10 months.

Subject Knowledge Enhancement

Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) courses are for people who need to build up their knowledge of the subject they will teach before or alongside initial teacher training or an apprenticeship. Tes Institute runs three versions:

• SKE, the main program, described as flexible and 100% online, to master subject knowledge and learn to lead a classroom with confidence before ITT or an apprenticeship. It runs 8 to 28 weeks.
• Self-funded SKE, for people who are not eligible for a DfE-funded SKE course. It covers the same purpose, before or alongside ITT or an apprenticeship, and runs 8 weeks online.
• SKE for Teachers, in the "improve your skills" group, for teachers who want to update or develop their current subject knowledge or train to teach another specialist subject. It is 100% online and runs 42 weeks.

The distinction between the funded and self-funded SKE matters to a learner: the page states that the self-funded course exists for those who do not qualify for the DfE-funded one.

International qualifications

The iPGCE is a 100% online, Master's level International Postgraduate Certificate in Education, aimed at teachers who want to develop their practice and pedagogy and take the next step in an international teaching career. It runs 12 months.

A separate iPGCE Hong Kong is for teachers working in Hong Kong. The course page says it leads to a postgraduate qualification at Master's level worth 60 UK level 7 credits, "equivalent to one-third of a full Master's degree." It is also online over 12 months. That credit statement is the most precise description of academic weight anywhere on the course page, and it helps a teacher abroad judge what the qualification adds to a CV: a postgraduate certificate, not a full Master's.

Together with the international Straight to Teaching, Assessment Only and iQTS routes, these give a teacher working outside England several ways to gain English QTS or a postgraduate certificate without relocating.

Support for schools

Tes Institute also sells to schools. Its "For schools" section offers teacher training and professional development courses that school leaders can use to support their staff, which the institute describes as flexible and personalized to the school's needs. The menu points to school case studies, a partnership program, guidance on managing staff in schools and a "Grow your own" report.

Schools with postgraduate teaching apprentices can also use Tes as their End Point Assessment Organisation to book the apprentices' EPA.

Resources for learners

Around the courses the institute publishes learner stories, guidance on getting into teaching, material for early career teachers, advice for teachers and a blog. An About section covers why to choose Tes Institute, the team and the institute's policies.

The wider Tes ecosystem

Tes Institute sits beside the rest of Tes. The Tes home page lists an education jobs board, which it describes as "the largest selection of academic education and teaching vacancies", Tes Magazine for education news and analysis, and "more than 900,000 resources made by teachers for teachers." Tes also sells school software and a separate safeguarding training product with more than 80 online courses, but those are school tools rather than part of the institute's teacher training catalog. For a trainee, the practical link is that the jobs board and the resource library sit on the same site as the course.

Prices and practicalities

The course page publishes no fees for any program; costs and funding are handled course by course after a learner picks a route. The only funding information on the page is that the apprenticeship is funded and that a self-funded SKE exists for people who cannot get DfE funding.

Who it suits

Tes Institute suits people working toward English qualified teacher status, especially those already inside a school: teaching assistants, HLTAs and unqualified teachers can use Straight to Teaching or Assessment Only without leaving their job, and SEND practitioners have their own version. Career changers who need to strengthen their subject first have three SKE options. Teachers in international schools have the iPGCE, the iPGCE Hong Kong and iQTS, all designed to be taken without moving to England. School leaders who want to train and keep their own staff can use the apprenticeship, the school partnership offer and the EPA service.

It is a narrower fit for anyone outside the English qualification system who wants short, general professional development, since nearly every course here leads to QTS, a PGCE or subject knowledge for initial teacher training. The ITT route is also tied to partner schools in Essex, Greater London and Kent, so trainees elsewhere in England would look at the apprenticeship or Assessment Only routes instead.