This paper presents an evaluation of accreditation arrangements for beginning teachers completing professional development activities and portfolios as part of the Early Professional Development Programme introduced in Northern Ireland in 1998. A sample of teachers presenting portfolios for accreditation in 2000/2001 was interviewed. Features of workplace learning were explored. Portfolios were subjected to a structured analysis. Levels of support by school based mentors and conditions for approval imposed by employers were surveyed. University assessors accrediting portfolios were interviewed. Their views upon the effectiveness of assessment criteria, the evidential basis for incremental learning and feedback to applicants for accreditation were analysed. All subjects participated in focus group discussions. Results indicate that the current level of partnership arrangements between higher education and teacher employers in Northern Ireland requires further development drawing more widely upon European models. The functional significance of artefacts evidencing professional development needs to be explored in greater detail. Competence-based approaches within accreditation arrangements are currently problematic.