Apply to become an accredited centre

You can self-evaluate your organisation against the inspection criteria. Use this template to see whether your centre meets the requirements and refer to the self-evaluation examples

Self evaluation template 2023 (Word 332KB)

Self evaluation examples (PDF 605KB)

You need to download, complete and submit the:

1. Relevant application form - private sector (Word 269KB), state sector (Word 240KB) or home tuition providers (Word 175KB) with home tuition teacher list (31KB).

2. Declaration of legal and regulatory compliance (Word 35KB)

3. First application checklist (Word 84KB).

4. People to be seen form (Word 73KB)

5. Information sharing agreement (Word 28KB)

The table below shows the application deadlines for certain inspection months.

Inspection months	Deadline
Summer 2023	21 April 2023
September/October 2023	31 May 2023
November/December 2023	30 June 2023

Until further notice, any applications for inspection and supporting documentation should be submitted by email to accreditation.unit@britishcouncil.org

Please keep a copy of your application as a reference and backup.

If you have already had a first inspection and have been advised to apply for a supplementary inspection, you will need a Supplementary inspection application form(Word 81KB).

Where centres have 'Points to be addressed' on an inspection report, an appropriate Action plan (Word 56KB), will be submitted in preparation for the next inspection. This plan will include a timeframe and will form part of the next inspection. 

We will inform you when your application has been checked and is in order. We will then pass it to the Inspections Co-ordinator to arrange your inspection. You must then send both inspectors inspection inspection preparation documentation (PDF 1MB)

Most inspection documentation is provided electronically. Please follow the instructions on sending documentation (PDF 560KB)

Template forms are provided for some of these items:

• Academic staff profile spreadsheet (Excel 112KB)

• List of staff template (Excel 45KB)

• Organisation profile (Word 38KB) 

• Organisation profile for multi centre (Word 117KB) - (See Inspection support page for guidance document)

• Organisation plan template (Word 21KB)

• Self evaluation template 2023 (Word 332KB)

You must submit rationales for members of the academic staff whose qualifications do not meet Scheme requirements for their roles. These requirements are set out in criteria T1, T2 and T4 and further information is provided in the Criteria, requirements and guidance document.

Rationale forms are provided for:

1. A teacher who does not have a general level of education normally represented by a Level 6 qualification on the Ofqual register of Regulated Qualifications (Word 37KB).

2. A teacher who does not have the ELT/TESOL qualifications appropriate to the courses they are teaching (Word 38KB).

3. A sole academic manager (i.e. where there is only one person in charge of academic management) who is not TEFLQ and/or does not have a minimum of three years full-time relevant teaching experience (Word 45KB).

4. An academic management team leader (where there is a formally constituted team involved in academic management) who is not TEFLQ and/or does not have a minimum of three years full-time relevant teaching experience (Word 53KB).

5. A member of an academic management team who is not TEFLQ and/or does not have a minimum of three years full-time relevant teaching experience (Word 49KB).

NB Criterion T4 states that “at least one person (in an academic management team) will have....a TEFLQ qualification”. Rationales for TEFLI members of the academic management team with a Level 6 qualification and the required experience (see T4 above) will normally be accepted if they are supported by a TEFLQ member of the team and are carrying out duties appropriate to their level of qualification. The rationale is needed to clarify their qualifications, experience, and deployment.

6. Policy rationale for teachers 2023  The purpose of this rationale is for you, the provider, to explain and justify why, exceptionally (summer 2023), you have employed teachers whose qualifications do not meet Scheme requirements ( Word 38 KB)

 If you need to check the qualifications of academic staff you can use the form below

Qualifications evaluation (Word 42KB)

There are no specific forms for stage 3 - please see the here (PDF 149 KB) for the full list of documentation inspectors will want to see during the inspection. Inspectors will sample files and records to obtain evidence that criteria are met.

If you would like further information on the application stages, you can download our Pre inspection advice sheet (PDF 114KB)