Tutor qualifications explained

Subject degrees certify knowledge, not transmission

A BSc, MSc or PhD in a subject establishes that its holder has been assessed as competent in that subject at a given level. That is genuinely useful information, particularly at the top of a syllabus where a tutor needs to be comfortably beyond the material rather than one chapter ahead.

What it does not establish is any ability to teach. Explaining a concept to someone who does not yet hold it is a distinct skill involving diagnosis, sequencing and the patience to work from the student's model rather than your own. Plenty of excellent mathematicians teach badly, and the degree cannot distinguish them.

QTS and PGCE are not the same thing

This is the most frequently confused pair, and the distinction is real. Qualified Teacher Status is the professional credential required to teach in state-run schools in England and Wales. A PGCE — Postgraduate Certificate in Education — is a one-year academic and practical programme for degree holders that includes school placement.

Completing a PGCE does not by itself confer QTS; candidates must meet further requirements. The two are routinely listed as though one implied the other, and a tutor advertising "PGCE qualified" may or may not hold QTS.

Other routes lead to the same status: School Direct, SCITT (school-centred initial teacher training, available in England), and undergraduate BEd, BA or BSc degrees that integrate QTS across three or four years. Entry requirements include GCSEs at grade C or above in English and mathematics, with science added for primary teachers.

One further point matters when reading a profile: QTS is mandatory in state schools but not in academies, free schools or independent schools, which set their own requirements. "Taught for years at a leading independent school" therefore carries no implication of formal teaching qualification.

• Subject degree — assessed knowledge of the subject
• PGCE — a year of teacher training, not automatically QTS
• QTS — the professional teaching status itself, required in state schools
• BEd / BA / BSc with QTS — undergraduate route to the same status

Examiner experience is the most underrated credential

For anyone preparing for a specific examination, having marked that examination is often worth more than a further degree. Examiners have internalised the mark scheme: which words earn method marks, how error carried forward is applied, what a level-four answer contains that a level-three answer does not.

That knowledge is difficult to acquire any other way and transfers directly into a few extra marks per paper. The caveat is verification — "examiner" is an easy word to append to a profile. Ask which board, which paper, which years. In England, qualifications and examinations are regulated by Ofqual, which oversees awarding organisations and standards, and the boards themselves (AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel, WJEC/Eduqas, CCEA) are named and checkable.

Matching the credential to the job

The useful question is not "which qualification is best" but "which failure am I trying to prevent".

If a student has fallen behind and lost confidence, teaching skill dominates: QTS, classroom experience, evidence of working with struggling learners. If a student is competent but underperforming in exams, examiner experience dominates. If a student is strong and heading into university-level material, subject depth dominates and a research background earns its premium.

Most profiles will show one or two of these. A tutor who holds all three exists, is scarce, and prices accordingly — which is a reasonable thing to pay for only when you need all three.

What to ask for as evidence

Each claim has a proportionate form of proof, and asking for it is ordinary rather than adversarial.

• Degree — certificate or transcript, name matching their ID, institution and year
• QTS — the teacher reference number, which is checkable
• Examiner role — awarding body, specification code, and the years worked
• School experience — the school, the years, and a contactable referee