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Early Career Teacher Entitlement

Early Career Teacher Entitlement

The Early Career Induction programme is a package of support for new entrants to the teaching profession, provided over a two year period. The programme provides:

  • a structured 2-year package of support that builds on the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework
  • dedicated mentoring support for ECTs from experienced and expert teachers
  • time off timetable for induction activities, including training and mentor sessions
  • regular progress reviews and 2 formal assessments against the teachers’ standards
  • full training for school-based ECT mentors and access to high quality professional learning
You can find out more about the DfE’s Early Career Framework by visiting the gov.uk pages here

ITTECF

The Initial Teacher Training Early Career Framework provides an entitlement to two years of evidence-based professional development and support for teachers at the start of their career. Nationally, there are four Lead Providers of the Early Career Framework as well as the National Institute of Teaching. Each Lead Provider works with a number of Delivery Partners to provide ECF training across each region.

From September 2025, Headteachers have two options when deciding how to provide ECTs with this two-year package of support:

  1. A provider led programme – Schools can choose to work with providers accredited by DfE who will design and deliver a programme of face-to-face and online training to ECTs and their mentors. This programme is funded by DfE.
  2. A school led programme (with the option to use freely available school-led materials and resources) – Schools can choose to develop their own programme of training and support based on the ITTECF. The content of the framework must be covered in full. Schools can choose to use, in full or in part, the freely available school-led materials, which include ready-to-use materials and resources for early career teachers and mentors, to deliver their own ECT and mentor support. These materials have been accredited by DfE and quality assured by the Education Endowment Foundation.

Please note that the choice of ECT support will have implications for the cost of AB services. Please see our AB Costs page for more information.

 

Our Provider-Led Programme:

Prince Henry’s Teaching School Hub is proud to be working with Ambition Institute to provide their Early Career Teachers Programme to ECTs employed in schools across Herefordshire, Worcester, Wychavon, Wyre Forest and Malvern. Ambition Institute’s ECF provision was judged to be ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2023.Pro

Download the Ambition Institute Early Career Teachers Programme Brochure

What's involved?

The Curriculum

  • 3 full-day conferences (focused on deepening understanding of how pupils learn, the principles of adaptive teaching, and effective implementation).
  • 6 one-hour virtual clinics to support early career teachers to address a typical teaching problem faced by most teachers, based on their study materials and key areas from the Early Career Framework (ECF).
  • Regular modules of online learning. Self-study modules help early career teachers engage with the latest research and ideas for practical classroom implementation in a manageable and accessible way.
  • Regular instructional coaching sessions designed to support early career teachers to apply insights from the study materials into their classroom practice. Mentors will provide teachers with a specific, bite-sized step to practice each week that responds to their own classroom context and practice.

Each term ECTs will focus on a different strand of effective practice: behaviour, instruction and subject. They will also develop understanding of how pupils learn.

The key learning from the three strands is outlined below:

  • Using routines to support behaviour management.
  • Creating a positive learning environment.
  • Support with overcoming low-level disruption.
  • Support with creating high expectations in the classroom.
  • Supporting pupils through instruction based strategies such as questioning, scaffolding and modelling.
  • The importance that prior knowledge plays learning.
  • How to adapt classroom practice to meet the needs of all pupils.
  • How to use feedback effectively.
  • Creating good planning habits to support learning goals.
  • Strategies for examining and addressing the gaps and misconceptions pupils may have.
  • Considering how literacy can be developed across all subjects.
"I’ve really enjoyed my time as an ECT. Short, focused observations allow my mentor to get a good idea of my strengths and weaknesses and having these regularly makes it feel very normal. Weekly meetings have given my mentor an opportunity to give me advice based on observations but also frequent touch points for me to ask for advice. Often this has been based around innovative approaches to teaching different topics. Staff are always happy to share their resources and ideas for teaching!"
S Grove
S GroveSecondary ECT (Mathematics)
"I found the Ambition ECF programme to be a great tool to help me develop in confidence as well as teaching skills in my first couple of years. The content is well structured and is cleverly thought out to give timely reminders right when you might be needing them! I worked through this with my mentor who was an invaluable support and was there to help me navigate every new challenge. The guidance and support he gave really was exceptional."
E Loverock
E LoverockSecondary ECT (English)
"My ECT years have been filled with support from my professional and subject mentors. From making use of the refresher information in the Ambition programme to the regular conferences and clinic sessions have all been invaluable."
W George
W GeorgeSecondary ECT (Computing)

Register your ECTs for September 2025