Practical advice to get your teachers qualified
Joshua James has been in education across Southeast Asia for 16 years, starting as a classroom teacher in Malaysia, progressing to founding managing director of a bilingual school in Vietnam, and now working in the business side of education as an integration director for British University Vietnam. He is also a Visiting Assessor with NITE.
This article is for school leaders who want to support their teachers in gaining recognised teaching qualifications but aren't sure where to start.
A question that stuck with me
It was early in the school year, and as Head of School, I was having individual meetings with teachers to set goals as part of our appraisal process. One mid-career teacher had been with us for three years, was reliable in the classroom, and had potential to do more. I asked him what his professional development goals were for the coming year. He thought about it, then said: "I'd like to work towards a proper teaching qualification, but I don't know where to start, and I don't know if the school would support me through it".
That question has stuck with me. As school leaders, we often have teachers who are willing to develop, asking for direction, and sometimes we ourselves do not have much concrete to offer them.
We may have CPD budgets, but these are often reserved for whole-school training rather than individual targeted support. I typically used mine for things like health and safety, child protection, and upskilling teachers assigned to a new programme we were introducing.
Where schools do invest beyond that, it is often delivered in-house, which is valuable but has limits. Teachers also benefit from external rigour, independent assessment, and exposure to frameworks beyond what any single school can provide.
At my school, I hadn't put into place a structured pathway for a teacher who wanted to gain a recognised qualification while continuing to teach full-time.
His question was a personal one, but the challenge is systemic. For school leaders, one of our biggest and most consistent challenges is building a teaching team that is both stable and continuously improving. Many of us try to solve this through recruitment. That helps, but it is not enough. What makes a lasting difference is when schools actively support teachers in gaining recognised teaching qualifications.
What school leaders will gain
There are many reasons why international schools hire teachers without formal teaching qualifications: subject expertise, industry experience, local knowledge, availability. It is a practical reality rather than a failing. But for schools pursuing or maintaining international accreditation, they must demonstrate that they are investing in the development of their staff. Having teachers enrolled in recognised programmes is tangible evidence of that commitment.
Then there is sustainability. Schools that develop their own teachers are less dependent on external recruitment, particularly important in markets where the talent pool is constrained and turnover is high. If your strategy relies entirely on hiring better, you are always one resignation away from a gap.
And it sends a message. Teachers know the difference between a school that talks about professional development and one that backs it. That builds loyalty in ways no retention bonus can match.
The benefit of developing mentors
When a school has iPGCE trainees, in-school mentors receive structured training, and ongoing development thereafter. This means you are not just developing the teacher on the programme, but also developing the colleague who mentors them.
Mentoring requires the ability to observe, give feedback, hold professional conversations, and guide someone's development over time. These are exactly the capabilities schools need in their middle and senior leaders. As one teacher gains a qualification, their mentor gains leadership experience. And the school gains a stronger professional development culture.
Understanding the routes
NITE offers two international pathways. The iPGCE is an international postgraduate certificate carrying 60 Master-level credits, designed for educators who want to develop their practice through rigorous, research-informed study. The iPGCE with iQTS goes further, awarding qualified teacher status recognised by the Department for Education in England as equivalent to QTS. Full eligibility details for each route are available on the NITE website.
Ways school leaders can help
Supporting teachers through a qualification does not mean paying their course fees. What matters is whether the school creates the conditions for success.
The most valuable thing a school can offer is protected time. A slightly reduced timetable during heavy assignment periods, flexibility around assessment visits, or simply an explicit agreement that study time is supported. These cost very little but make the difference between completion and burnout.
Some schools split fees or reimburse a portion on completion. Others provide interest-free salary advances so teachers can spread the cost. Even where teachers self-fund entirely, the school creating space and structure around the programme is still a meaningful investment.
Linking qualification completion to promotion pathways or pay progression requires no upfront spending but gives teachers a concrete reason to commit. Schools not sponsoring their own trainees can still participate by hosting second school placements, building relationships and giving staff exposure to the programme at no cost beyond coordination.
Be intentional about who you encourage to apply. Teachers who are already stretched thin are unlikely to succeed on a programme alongside full-time teaching, no matter how motivated they are. Look for teachers who have the capacity and the commitment, and where necessary, create that capacity by adjusting their workload before the programme begins.
The same applies to mentors. Mentoring a trainee well takes time and consistency. Assigning the role to someone who is already overloaded undermines both the mentor and the trainee. Choose mentors who have the bandwidth to do it properly, and build that expectation into their timetable.
And celebrate progress publicly. I liked to give recognition in my internal newsletter, acknowledge milestones in staff meetings, count programme completion towards staff KPIs, and present certificates of recognition at end-of-year assemblies. These small gestures signal to the whole school community that professional development is valued and noticed.
It is also strategic to connect this to your school improvement plan. When teacher qualifications sit within a broader strategy for school development rather than as isolated individual pursuits, they carry more weight. Accreditation reviewers and prospective families will ask what you are doing to develop your teachers. This can be a great part of your answer.
Starting the process
The teacher I mentioned at the start did eventually find his way to a qualification, but it took longer than it should have because I hadn't put a structure in place yet. School leaders have an opportunity to make that path clearer for their teachers. With NITE, the routes are there, and the support is there.
