Teachers’ Standards (England): teaching, conduct and headteachers

This page is about schools in England. It does not cover Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

The official standards and current editions

The Teachers’ Standards define the minimum level of practice and conduct expected of teachers from the point of qualified teacher status (QTS). The document is dated July 2011, with its introduction updated June 2013 and latest terminology update December 2021. GOV.UK last updated the publication on 13 December 2021.

The Headteachers’ standards 2020, updated 13 October 2020, are non-statutory guidance for headteachers. They build on the Teachers’ Standards and can inform recruitment, professional development and performance management (Introduction).

For induction, the statutory guidance for early career teachers is the June 2026 edition, updated on GOV.UK on 9 June 2026. The DfE’s teacher appraisal and capability guidance comprises separate July 2024 documents, valid from September 2024.

Who do the Teachers’ Standards apply to?

The standards apply to trainees working towards QTS, teachers completing statutory induction and teachers covered by the appraisal regulations. The preamble, Part One and Part Two work together: meeting the teaching standards alone is insufficient (Summary; paragraphs 3 and 10–12).

Trainees: initial teacher training providers assess practice at the level reasonably expected before the award of QTS (paragraphs 5–6).
Early career teachers (ECTs): assessment at the end of induction considers the teacher’s role, setting and experience, with consistent practice over a sustained period (paragraph 8; induction guidance, paragraph 1.9).
Teachers in maintained schools and non-maintained special schools: the standards are required. Use in academies and free schools depends on their establishment arrangements; independent schools may choose to use them (glossary, page 9, ‘School’). Wherever statutory induction is undertaken, assessment is against the Teachers’ Standards (induction guidance, paragraph 1.9).
Teachers holding qualified teacher learning and skills (QTLS) status: appraisers can select the Teachers’ Standards, other relevant standards or a combination, rather than automatically applying the same set (paragraph 4; appraisal regulation 6(9)).
Headteachers: are also expected to meet the Teachers’ Standards. The headteachers’ standards describe the additional responsibilities of headship (Headteachers’ standards 2020, Introduction).

The Teaching Regulation Agency uses Part Two when assessing serious misconduct, regardless of the sector in which the teacher works (Teachers’ Standards, Summary and paragraph 3).

Part One: the teaching standards, 1–8

The summaries below outline the eight teaching standards. Read the supporting requirements in the official document alongside them. The bullets in the official document form part of each standard; they are not separate standards (paragraph 13). Read them alongside the preamble’s expectations of integrity, subject expertise, reflection, professional relationships and work with parents (page 10).

1. High expectations. Provide a safe, stimulating environment based on mutual respect. Set challenging goals for pupils across backgrounds and abilities, and model the attitudes, values and behaviour expected of them (standard 1, page 10).

2. Pupil progress and outcomes. Take responsibility for attainment and progress. Build on prior knowledge, understand how pupils learn, help pupils reflect on their progress and encourage responsibility for their own study (standard 2, page 10).

3. Subject and curriculum expertise. Know the subject and curriculum, address misconceptions and engage critically with developments. Promote literacy, spoken expression and standard English across subjects. Teachers of early reading need a clear understanding of systematic synthetic phonics; teachers of early mathematics need a clear understanding of appropriate teaching strategies (standard 3, page 11).

4. Effective lesson planning and teaching. Use lesson time well, develop curiosity and enjoyment of learning, set homework and other learning beyond lessons, review teaching systematically and contribute to curriculum design (standard 4, page 11).

5. Teaching adapted to pupils’ needs. Recognise barriers to learning and stages of development. Use and evaluate approaches that support pupils with different needs, including special educational needs, disabilities, high ability and English as an additional language (standard 5, pages 11–12).

6. Assessment that supports learning. Understand subject assessment and statutory requirements. Use formative and summative assessment and relevant data to monitor progress and plan teaching. Give regular oral feedback and accurate marking, and encourage pupils to respond (standard 6, page 12).

7. Behaviour and a safe learning environment. Establish clear rules and routines in line with school policy. Apply praise, rewards and sanctions fairly and consistently, manage classes in ways suited to pupils’ needs, maintain positive relationships and exercise appropriate authority (standard 7, page 12).

8. Wider professional responsibilities. Contribute to school life, work effectively with colleagues and specialist support, deploy support staff well, improve teaching through professional development and feedback, and communicate with parents about achievement and wellbeing (standard 8, page 13).

For the wider leadership of classroom practice, read quality first teaching across the school and the SEND guide.

Part Two: personal and professional conduct

Part Two sets expectations throughout a teacher’s career, within and outside school (page 14):

Treat pupils with dignity, build respectful relationships and maintain professional boundaries.
Have regard to safeguarding pupils’ wellbeing in accordance with statutory provisions.
Respect others’ rights and do not undermine fundamental British values: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.
Do not express personal beliefs in ways that exploit pupils’ vulnerability or could lead them to break the law.
Respect the school’s ethos, policies and practices, and maintain high personal attendance and punctuality.
Understand and act within the statutory frameworks governing professional duties.

The safeguarding guide covers the wider school safeguarding responsibilities.

QTS and ECT induction: assessment and evidence

For QTS, assess trainees against the standards in the context of their stage of training (Teachers’ Standards, paragraphs 5–6). For ECT induction, assess whether practice meets the Teachers’ Standards consistently over time. The Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) supports training; it is not the assessment tool (induction guidance, paragraph 1.9).

Progress reviews should use existing evidence from teaching. ECTs are not required to create evidence specifically for a progress review. Formal assessment should also draw on existing and working documents from teaching and induction; there is no need to create new material for the assessment (paragraphs 2.50–2.51 and 2.57).

Where progress is unsatisfactory, record the concerns and support plan clearly, notify the appropriate body and identify objectives and support linked to the standards (paragraphs 4.1–4.3). In particularly serious cases, capability procedures may begin before induction ends. Induction must continue alongside them while the ECT remains at the institution (paragraph 4.7).

Appraisal and capability

For teachers covered by the Education (School Teachers’ Appraisal) (England) Regulations 2012, the governing body, headteacher or local authority must tell the teacher which standards will be used before, or as soon as practicable after, the appraisal period starts. Regulation 6(8)–(9) specifies the standards, including the separate provision for QTLS holders. Regulation 7(6) requires assessment against the applicable standards and objectives, and identification of professional development needs.

Apply professional judgement in light of the teacher’s role and career stage (Teachers’ Standards, paragraph 7). The DfE’s Teacher appraisal guidance, ‘Reducing workload throughout the appraisal process’ (page 8), recommends proportionate evidence drawn from day-to-day practice rather than large portfolios. Read the workload guide alongside appraisal planning.

The appraisal regulations exclude teachers undergoing statutory induction and teachers subject to capability procedures (regulation 1(4)). Induction has its own assessment arrangements.

The DfE’s Teacher capability guidance is non-statutory. Its ‘Introduction to capability’ (page 3) concerns performance difficulties that appraisal has been unable to resolve. Except in the most serious cases of persistent failures with negative consequences for pupils and the organisation, teachers and leaders should receive informal support before capability procedures. The support should have achievable objectives, timelines and goals. The model policy’s ‘Formal capability meeting’ (pages 4–5) explains identifying the professional shortcomings, required improvements, support and evidence used to assess improvement.

Headteachers’ standards 2020: ethics and domains

Section 1 covers ethics and professional conduct. Headteachers are expected to meet the Teachers’ Standards and create the conditions in which teachers can fulfil them. It also addresses public trust, respectful relationships, professional boundaries, legal responsibilities and continued professional development.

Section 2 sets out 10 standards. The Introduction’s ‘Domains’ groups them as follows, with ethics at the core and governance and accountability underpinning the other domains:

Culture and ethos: school culture, behaviour and professional development.
Curriculum and teaching: teaching, curriculum and assessment, and additional and special educational needs.
Organisational effectiveness: organisational management, school improvement and working in partnership.
Governance and accountability: underpins the interlinked domains.

The numbered standards below retain the order in Section 2; the numbering does not indicate a hierarchy (Introduction, ‘Relationship to the teachers’ standards’).

1. School culture. Set and sustain the ethos and strategic direction with governance and the school community, ambitious expectations, respectful relationships and staff professionalism.

2. Teaching. Secure expert teaching across subjects and phases, informed by evidence about teaching and learning, subject expertise and effective formative assessment.

3. Curriculum and assessment. Secure a broad, coherent curriculum, strong subject leadership, evidence-informed reading teaching and valid, proportionate assessment.

4. Behaviour. Establish high expectations, clear routines and consistent, fair approaches, with adults modelling the behaviour expected.

5. Additional and special educational needs and disabilities. Maintain ambitious expectations, enable access to the curriculum, identify needs with families and professionals, and fulfil SEND duties.

6. Professional development. Provide sustained, high-quality development that balances school, team and individual priorities, draws on expertise within and beyond the school and supports succession planning.

7. Organisational management. Protect pupils and staff, manage resources responsibly, attend to staff workload, maintain effective systems and manage risk.

8. Continuous school improvement. Evaluate barriers and priorities, plan improvements suited to the school’s context and implement them effectively for sustained improvement.

9. Working in partnership. Work constructively with families, communities, other schools, organisations and public services to improve pupils’ education.

10. Governance and accountability. Work professionally with governance, accept accountability, ensure staff understand their responsibilities and meet the school’s regulatory and statutory duties.

The standards cover the breadth of leadership in a single school. Employers decide which apply where leadership is shared or organised differently, including heads of school and leaders responsible for more than one school (‘How the standards apply to different leadership roles’).