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Employing unqualified teachers: requirements

Find out the rules on employing unqualified teachers, including who's eligible and what work they can do.

Last reviewed on 10 November 2023
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 31028
Contents
  1. Your requirements
  2. Unqualified teachers can carry out 'specified work'
  3. Who can do 'specified work'

Your requirements

Maintained schools and academies must hire qualified teachers for the roles of:

  • Special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) – see our article on the qualification requirements for SENCOs 
  • Designated teacher for looked after children (LAC) – see page 6 of the DfE guidance on LAC

Academies: Apart from the requirements above, your academy trust is free to set out its own rules for employing unqualified teachers – check your funding agreement to find out the arrangements in your school. Please note, if you're a special academy, your funding agreement might require you to follow the same rules as maintained schools.

Maintained schools: In addition to the above, see below for your requirements. 

Unqualified teachers can carry out 'specified work'

Activities that count as 'specified work' include:

This is outlined in section 5 of The