What does ‘good teaching’ and ‘good leadership’ look like in practice and how can we improve?
Our Cambridge Teacher and School Leader standards define what we believe to be key characteristics of effective teaching and leadership. They focus on supporting teachers and leaders in their professional learning and development.
The Standards are based on the latest international research into effective teaching and school leadership, taking into account a wide range of international practices and advice from education experts around the world.
Download the Standards factsheet (PDF, 2MB) to find out more about how and why we developed the standards.
Download the Standards factsheet (Portuguese) (PDF, 793KB)
Download the Standards factsheet (Spanish) (PDF, 802KB)
Cambridge Teacher Standards
You can use the Cambridge Teacher Standards to:
- evaluate current teaching practice
- help identify, prioritise and plan areas for professional development
- understand the teaching requirements for Cambridge programmes in order to achieve the desired student outcomes.
Download the Cambridge Teacher Standards (PDF, 662KB)
Download the Cambridge Teacher Standards (Portuguese) (PDF, 272KB)
Download the Cambridge Teacher Standards (Spanish) (PDF, 2MB)
Cambridge School Leader Standards
You can use the Cambridge School Leader Standards to:
- evaluate current leadership practice
- help identify, prioritise and plan areas for professional development
- review and identify the development needs of your senior team
- help illustrate a school-wide leadership framework and expectations to your school board, governing body and parent community.
Download the School Leader Standards (PDF, 778KB)
Download the School Leader Standards (Portuguese) (PDF, 371KB)
Download the School Leader Standards (Spanish) (PDF, 488KB)
How to use the Standards
You can use the Standards to evaluate your teaching or school leadership by asking yourself key questions and looking for examples from your own practice. By rating your answers Red, Amber or Green - using our RAG grids - you can identify where you are now and which areas you need to improve. To find out how, read our online guide
UK ENIC (formerly known as UK NARIC) benchmarking
UK ENIC (the UK National Information Centre for the recognition and evaluation of international qualifications and skills) has confirmed a high level of comparability between the Cambridge Standards and UK, Australian and South African standards.
Download the UK ENIC executive summary (PDF, 365KB)
More information
For more information please read our frequently asked questions (PDF, 32KB)
Your feedback
As we launch these standards we would like to hear from Cambridge schools who are interested in exploring their use in different contexts. If you are interested please complete the form below.