About the Teaching & QTS tests
~8 min read · Updated April 2026
Although the formal QTS Skills Tests in numeracy and literacy were retired in 2020, providers, SCITTs and recruiting MATs increasingly run their own equivalents at interview. Add to that the school-side safeguarding awareness exams that every staff member sits annually, and the modern teacher's career still runs on a steady stream of short, high-stakes assessments.
Our free teaching mocks recreate the QTS-style numeracy and literacy formats most ITT providers and trust schools still use, plus the standard safeguarding awareness format used by Educare, NSPCC Learning and most Local Authority safeguarding hubs.
What the tests actually involve
QTS-style Numeracy tests run around 50 minutes and split into a mental arithmetic section (audio questions, no calculator, around 18 seconds per item) and a written section (data interpretation and calculator-allowed problems).
QTS-style Literacy tests cover spelling, punctuation, grammar and comprehension across a 45-minute paper.
Professional Skills mocks cover scenarios drawn from the Teachers' Standards (Standards 1–8 plus Personal and Professional Conduct).
Safeguarding in Schools is typically a 20-question annual refresher with an 80% pass mark, mapped to the latest Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE) guidance.
What's covered
Numeracy: percentages, fractions, ratios, conversions between units, time and timetable problems, basic statistics (mean, median, mode, range), and reading two- and three-axis charts.
Literacy: spelling of common teaching vocabulary, comma and apostrophe usage, subject-verb agreement, and reading comprehension based on short education-themed passages.
Professional Skills: planning and assessment, behaviour management, the SEND Code of Practice, working with parents, and statutory duties under the Equality Act 2010.
Safeguarding: KCSiE Part 1, the four categories of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, neglect), the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead, FGM mandatory reporting duty, Prevent duty and online safety.
How to study and pass first time
For Numeracy, drill mental arithmetic against a metronome — the test gives you about 18 seconds per audio question and there is no replay.
For Literacy, learn the comma rules cold (Oxford comma, comma splice, comma before coordinating conjunction) and the apostrophe rules for plurals vs possessives.
For Safeguarding, read the latest KCSiE Part 1 in full each September. The test is updated annually to match.
For Professional Skills, anchor every scenario answer in the Teachers' Standards and the principle 'always escalate to the DSL on safeguarding'.
Common mistakes to avoid
On Numeracy, mistaking a percentage of a number for a percentage point change. A score rising from 40% to 50% is a 25% increase, not a 10% increase.
On Safeguarding, confusing the categories: a dirty uniform is more likely neglect than physical abuse; emotional abuse rarely leaves marks but is just as serious.
On Professional Skills, picking the answer that pleases parents over the answer that protects children. Safeguarding always wins.
Why active practice testing works
Teaching assessments reward speed and pattern recognition far more than depth of knowledge. Mocks build the time discipline that the QTS-style formats demand.
Safeguarding refreshers are annual and pass/fail in most trusts — failing them can put your right-to-work-with-children status at risk. Twenty minutes of mock practice is the lowest-risk way to keep that compliant.