It’s a funded entitlement for newly qualified teachers – and has been designed to help you succeed. We would advise you to try and maximise your ECT years to get the most out of this framework of support.
Making time to engage with the ECF
Early Career Teachers (ECTs) have their timetable reduced by 10% in their ECT1 year, and 5% in their ECT2 year. Consider using these few hours to reflect upon the Framework and how it can support your learning as well as your teaching practice.
The ECF exists as a means of enriching your existing skillset with quality, evidence-based practice. And as with most things – the more you can engage with the ECF, the more you will ultimately benefit from it and grow as a teaching professional.
A Scholar’s experience of the ECF
Ashley, a Scholar that graduated from the programme in summer 2023, recently spoke with us to recount his experiences of the ECF and how it has benefitted his teaching.
“The Early Career Framework helped to complement all the stuff I was doing at school,” Ashley commented. “My school’s weekly sessions aligned with the ECF training online, so having the ECF there was a really helpful reminder.”
“Things like behaviour management, marking and feedback – it can be easy to forget with all the stuff that’s going on in school and all the different responsibilities that you might have. The Early Career Framework was there to help keep it all fresh in my mind.”
Get the most out of your mentors
Part of the ECF entitlement is access to one-to-one mentoring from an experienced colleague, and this is something that Ashley managed to benefit from greatly.
“In my first ECT year I had weekly mentor meetings, and this year I have a bi-weekly mentor meeting after school,” Ashley mentioned. “It was a really supportive environment where my mentor could talk me through every one of my classes, and any problem I had they would sort them there and then.”
“One thing [my mentor] recommended was roleplay activities – where we try out a scenario in a classroom, and then see ways in which this could be improved,” Ashley added.
Nina Dhillon, FTS Director, spoke about the core mission of the ECF: “The importance of the Early Career Framework and this programme in supporting early career teachers, to both become the best teacher they can be and also remain in the profession, cannot be emphasised enough.”
“The ECF means more high-quality teachers in classrooms working to improve outcomes for pupils,” Nina concluded. You can access Nina’s slides to find out more about the ECF by clicking here.
Education Development Trust (EDT) has been a lead provider since the early rollout of the Early Career Framework. To learn more about EDT’s Early Career Professional Development Programme, which is delivered through the ECF, visit the website.
