Applicants are required to have a first degree or diploma (or equivalent) or 5 years relevant professional experience. Those wishing to gain recognition from the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) as a qualified teacher of the deaf must be teachers who are qualified to teach learners in England (from 0 to 25 years of age). Additionally, they are expected to have a minimum of two years teaching or other appropriate professional experience prior to commencing the programme. In exceptional circumstances, applications will be considered from those who do not meet this criterion. Please note that for enrollment onto this course, Early Years Teaching Status does NOT count as qualified teacher status (QTS). The course is designed for practising teachers, and some of the course materials are written in a way that assumes regular contact with deaf pupils. Applicants who do not have regular contact with deaf pupils will need to establish links with a local school for the deaf, resource base or service for deaf pupils during the programme to enable them to carry out some of the required activities. If you wish to gain the mandatory qualification and you do not have regular contact with deaf pupils, you will normally be required to complete a period of ten days observation in an educational setting for deaf pupils in addition to the normal periods of assessed teaching. Each case will be considered on an individual basis.