Guidance for schools: how to manage ECF-based training
Overview
Early career teachers are entitled to 2 years of training based on the early career framework.
This training is part of statutory induction and is known as ‘ECF-based training’.
Setting up your ECF-based training
For ECTs to serve induction at your school, you must have:
appointed an appropriate body
nominated an induction tutor
reported which ECF-based training option you have chosen for those ECTs
Read our step-by-step guide to setting up your ECF-based training.
Appoint an appropriate body
Your school must appoint an appropriate body and record all ECT inductions with them.
Appropriate bodies quality assure induction. They will:
confirm each ECT’s role is suitable to count towards their statutory induction
register each ECT’s induction with the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA)
check your ECTs receive their statutory entitlements
make sure formal assessments are fair and appropriate
If your school delivers training using accredited materials or designs and delivers your own training, your appropriate body will check that the training is based on the ECF. This process is known as ‘fidelity checking’. Schools using a Department for Education (DfE) funded training provider will not need to have these checks.
Find information on local and national appropriate bodies.
Read more about the role and responsibilities of appropriate bodies.
Nominate an induction tutor
Your school must nominate an induction tutor to be our point of contact. This person is given access to our manage training for early career teachers service. Currently you can only nominate one induction tutor at a time.
If your school has not registered an induction tutor with us before, request a link so you can nominate a new induction tutor.
If you want to change to a new induction tutor, your current induction tutor can nominate someone else to be the new induction tutor using the manage training for early career teachers service. This will transfer access to your school’s account to the new induction tutor.
If you’re not sure if you have registered an induction tutor or an induction tutor has left your school without nominating a new induction tutor, email our support team at [email protected].
The role of an induction tutor
Your school induction tutor is responsible for the monitoring and support of your ECTs. They also manage progress reviews and coordinate formal assessments.
Ideally your school induction tutor will not mentor an ECT at the same time. This is because the 2 roles have separate and different responsibilities.
Your induction tutor should:
hold qualified teacher status (QTS)
have the skills and knowledge needed to assess your ECT’s progress against the teachers’ standards
carry out regular progress reviews
undertake 2 formal assessment meetings with each ECT during the 2-year induction period, one midway through induction and one at the end
be able to recognise when early action is needed if an ECT is experiencing difficulties
You can read more about the roles and responsibilities of an induction tutor in section 5 of the statutory guidance on ECT induction.
Report how you run your ECF-based training
You must tell us about changes to your ECF-based training as soon as possible. This is in addition to any information you give to your appropriate body, lead provider or delivery partner.
Sign into our manage training for early career teachers service to:
tell us if and when you expect ECTs to start their inductions at your school
choose or change how your school will run your ECF-based training
change who will be the induction tutor for your school
If your school is using a training provider or accredited materials, sign into our service to:
tell us the name and email address of each new ECT
tell us the name and email address of each new mentor assigned to an ECT, or assign an existing mentor
You can add ECTs at any time, but they’ll only become eligible for funded training once they have qualified teacher status (QTS).
For help using the service, email our support team at [email protected].
Delivery options for ECF-based training
Your school has 3 delivery options for ECF-based training.
You can choose to:
use a DfE-funded training provider
use DfE-accredited materials to deliver your own training
design and deliver your own ECF-based training
It’s up to your school leaders to decide which option will be best for your ECTs and mentors.
Find out more about funding and eligibility for ECF-based training.
Option 1: use a DfE-funded training provider
This is where a training provider and a delivery partner provide ECF-based training directly to your ECTs. They also train your mentors on how to support ECTs.
This option is fully funded by DfE, so there are no costs for eligible schools.
Schools can choose from 6 training providers. These organisations are known as ‘lead providers’.
The 6 lead providers are:
Ambition Institute
Best Practice Network (home of Outstanding Leaders Partnership)
Capita with lead academic partner the University of Birmingham
Education Development Trust
Teach First
UCL Institute of Education
The training programmes designed by these lead providers are accredited by DfE and quality assured by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).
Delivery partners
Lead providers work with ‘delivery partners’ to deliver their training programmes to ECTs and mentors from schools across England.
Delivery partners include:
Ofsted inspection
Lead providers are regularly inspected by Ofsted on the:
quality of professional development and training
leadership and management of the lead provider
During an inspection, Ofsted inspectors visit a sample of the lead provider’s delivery partners. The inspectors also talk to ECTs, mentors and trainers about the programme.
The performance of ECTs, mentors and trainers is not inspected.
Contact the lead providers to:
get more information about their ECF-based training programmes
register your school for ECF-based training
When you register with a lead provider, they will report the partnership to us and also tell us which delivery partner you’ll be using.
You’ll see the lead provider and delivery partner’s names in your account when you sign into our manage training for early career teachers service.
If you cannot see their names, ask your lead provider to confirm the partnership with DfE.
Make changes to an existing programme
Changes are handled differently by the 6 lead providers. You may need to check whether changes should be reported to your lead provider or delivery partner.
You’ll need to contact one or both of them to:
remove an ECT or mentor from an ECF-based training programme
stop working with a lead provider or delivery partner
They will report the changes to us. You’ll see the changes in your account when you sign into our manage training for early career teachers service.
If you cannot see the changes, ask the lead provider or delivery partner to confirm them with DfE.
Option 2: use DfE-accredited materials to deliver your own training
Schools choosing this option must use ECF-based training materials from one of 4 suppliers:
Ambition Institute
Education Development Trust
Teach First
UCL Early Career Teacher Consortium
The materials are quality assured by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). They include:
self-directed study materials
mentor session guidelines
training session outlines
Your appropriate body will fidelity check your programme to make sure it covers the full depth of the ECF.
How to access the DfE-accredited materials
To access and compare the training materials from the 4 suppliers, sign into the support for early career teachers service. You can create an account for your school if you do not already have one.
We email your ECTs and mentors a link to the DfE-accredited materials when they pass our eligibility checks.
Option 3: designing and delivering your own ECF-based training
Your school can choose to design and deliver your own 2-year training programme based on the early career framework.
If your school chooses this option, your induction tutor should sign into our manage training for early career teachers service to tell us. You do not need to register your ECTs and mentors on the service, as there is no requirement for eligibility checks.
Your appropriate body will fidelity check your programme to make sure it covers the full depth of the ECF.
Supporting ECTs
ECTs should participate in ECF-based training as fully as possible, although failing to complete it does not mean they fail their induction.
You can share the guidance for ECTs on ECF-based training to help your ECTs understand how the training works.
You can also read about the expectations for an ECT in section 5 of the statutory guidance on induction for ECTs.
If your school uses a training provider, contact your lead provider for their policies on part-time induction and reduced induction periods. You will also need to ask the ECT’s appropriate body to agree to any reduction to their induction period.
If your school uses accredited materials or designs and delivers its own training, contact your appropriate body for advice on part-time induction and reduced induction periods.
When an ECT is serving a reduced induction period, there’s no expectation that they should cover the full depth of the early career framework. Your headteacher should work with your induction tutor, appropriate body and training provider (where relevant) to make sure training and support is appropriate for the ECT.
ECT moving schools part-way through ECF-based training
If the ECT is training with a training provider, sign into the manage training for early career teachers service to tell us if they:
transfer to your school part-way through their induction
transfer away from your school part-way through their induction
ECTs should continue their existing ECF-based training programme where possible. If this is not possible, the training providers at both schools should work together to make arrangements for the ECT.
ECT engagement with training provider programmes
If your school uses a training provider, the lead provider will have minimum requirements for ECT engagement. This is to make sure ECTs receive their statutory entitlement to ECF-based training.
If an ECT cannot meet those engagement requirements, they may be withdrawn from the programme by the lead provider. If this happens, your school may have to provide them with alternative ECF-based training.
Handling ECTs’ concerns and difficulties
If an ECT is struggling with their training, they should ask their induction tutor for help. If your school is using a training provider, they can speak to them too.
When an ECT has concerns about their induction or statutory entitlements (time off timetable and support from a mentor), they should speak to your school induction tutor first.
If your induction tutor is unable to help, the ECT can speak to their appropriate body. ECTs must be given the contact details of a named person at the appropriate body at the start of their induction.
Supporting mentors
Mentor responsibilities include:
working with your school to make sure their ECT receives a high-quality induction programme
meeting regularly with their ECT to provide support and feedback
providing or arranging mentoring and coaching around specific phases and subject areas
taking prompt, appropriate action if their ECT is having difficulties
You can share the guidance for mentors on ECF-based training to help your mentors understand their role.
Ideally your school induction tutor will not be assigned as a mentor at the same time. This is because the 2 roles have separate and different responsibilities.
You can read more about the role and responsibilities of mentors in section 5 of the statutory guidance on ECT induction.
Mentor sessions and observations
ECTs are entitled to mentor support throughout their 2-year induction period. Schools receive DfE funding to cover mentor time off timetable.
Your headteacher and appropriate body are expected to check that mentors have enough time to meet with their ECTs on a regular basis.
If your school uses a training provider, your mentors may be asked to carry out observations as part of ECF-based training. These observations are for professional development purposes and must not be used for formal assessment.
Mentorship training from training providers
If your school uses a training provider, each mentor will be given 36 hours of mentorship training over 2 years. This is to make sure mentors know how to support ECTs through an ECF-based training programme.
Every mentor at your school is expected to take part in this training. Schools receive DfE funding for each mentor to backfill time off timetable.
Schools should not send one mentor for training and then expect that mentor to train their colleagues. Your lead provider will have minimum engagement requirements for all the mentors at your school.
If an ECT moves schools or withdraws part-way through their induction, their assigned mentor can continue their training as long as they are ready to work with other ECTs.
Mentors without QTS or QLTS
Mentors are expected to hold QTS and have the necessary skills and knowledge to work successfully in this role.
You can assign a mentor who does not hold QTS or qualified teacher learning and skills status (QLTS), as long as they have the necessary skills and knowledge to support an ECT. Your headteacher should check this decision with the ECT’s appropriate body.
If your school uses a training provider or accredited materials, the mentor without QTS or QLTS may need to apply for a teacher reference number (TRN) if they do not already have one. This is so we can carry out an eligibility check for funding and access to materials.
Handling mentors’ concerns and difficulties
If a mentor has concerns or difficulties, they should contact your school induction tutor.
Tell your appropriate body if a mentor does not have the time or ability to carry out their role effectively.
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