QTS Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield QTS facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. In early reading, what is the 'alphabetic principle'? → The understanding that letters and letter combinations represent sounds in spoken language
2. Which of the following is a potential indicator of child sexual abuse? → Age-inappropriate sexual knowledge or behaviour
3. A data set has values: 5, 9, 9, 12, 15, 9, 7. What is the mode? → 9
4. A Year 1 teacher notices a pupil consistently confuses 'b' and 'd'. What is the most effective SSP-based approach? → Use mnemonics and multi-sensory activities to distinguish the graphemes
5. What does 'information sharing' in safeguarding require teachers to balance? → The right to privacy against the duty to protect children from harm
6. What is 'child criminal exploitation' (CCE)? → When a child is manipulated or coerced into committing crimes for the benefit of others
7. Convert 3/8 to a decimal. → 0.375
8. What does 'systematic synthetic phonics' (SSP) require teachers to do? → Teach letter-sound correspondences in a structured sequence and blend them to read words
9. Standard 2 states teachers must be aware of and understand their pupils' prior attainment. Why is this important? → To plan lessons that build on what pupils already know
10. Which standard requires teachers to 'make accurate and productive use of assessment'? → Standard 6
11. A class has 30 pupils. The mean score on a maths test is 64 marks. If one pupil who scored 34 marks leaves the class, what is the new mean? → 65.03
12. In SSP, what is meant by 'segmenting'? → Breaking a word into its individual phonemes to spell it
13. What is the 'Prevent' duty in the context of UK schools? → A statutory duty to have due regard to preventing people being drawn into terrorism
14. What is 3/7 as a decimal to two decimal places? → 0.43
15. Standard 8 of the Teachers' Standards relates to which professional responsibility? → Wider professional responsibilities
16. What are the Early Learning Goals (ELGs) associated with in the English education system? → The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
17. Which approach is most effective according to research for building intrinsic motivation in pupils? → Fostering a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (self-determination theory)
18. A teacher records the following test scores for 7 pupils: 45, 52, 58, 62, 65, 71, 78. What is the median score? → 62
19. What does the 'Phonics Screening Check' assess in Year 1? → Pupils' ability to decode words using phonics
20. A pie chart represents 360 pupils' subject preferences. The 'Science' sector has an angle of 72°. How many pupils chose Science? → 72
21. Which government-commissioned review in 2006 strongly endorsed systematic synthetic phonics for early reading in England? → The Rose Review
22. Which Teachers' Standard requires teachers to 'adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils'? → Standard 5
23. What is a 'phonologically regular' word in the context of phonics teaching? → A word where the grapheme-phoneme correspondences follow patterns that have been taught
24. What does 'marking for meaning' primarily focus on? → Responding to the content, ideas, and understanding demonstrated in student work
25. Under the Teachers' Standards, what does 'communicate effectively with parents and carers' fall under? → Standard 8
26. Which document sets out the statutory framework for multi-agency safeguarding in England? → Working Together to Safeguard Children
27. A school budget of £45,000 is split between departments in the ratio 5:4:3. How much does the largest department receive? → £18,750
28. Under the National Curriculum, computing replaced which former subject? → ICT (Information and Communications Technology)
29. Which phase of Letters and Sounds is typically taught in Reception? → Phases 2, 3, and 4
30. Under KCSIE, which of the following is a category of child abuse that staff should be aware of? → Neglect