An overview of the changes to induction is available here, with full guidance to be published later this spring.
Early Career Development Programme
Developing the next generation of teachers
Our Early Career Development Programme supports Early Career Teachers (ECTs) to develop the skills and confidence needed to flourish in the classroom. Designed to follow seamlessly from Initial Teacher Training, the 2 year fully-funded induction programme gives ECTs structured support based on the Early Career Framework and additionally provides for the training of in-school mentors.
Provides a solid evidence-based development programme for a long and successful career in teaching
Delivers vital support at a critical stage in a teacher's career allowing for greater retention of staff
Includes a development programme for in-school mentors facilitating the sharing of experience and best practice
Fully funded by the DfE with flexible non-onerous delivery schedule
Delivered by the leading provider of school leadership CPD
Why Outstanding Leaders Partnership?
Our Early Career Development Programme team consists of experienced school leaders, academics, instructional designers and a highly professional and motivated candidate support team.
The team has been involved in the Early Roll Out phase of the Early Career Framework and we are poised to begin full national roll out of our Early Career Development Programme offer. Our team is made up of:
NLEs, Teaching school directors, practising and retired head teachers, HEIs and Research Schools
Schools involved in the Early Roll Out phase, giving us the inside track on what worked and what didn’t work during the pilots
A passionate and enthusiastic candidate support team who are on-hand to provide expert support
Our Impact
The Outstanding Leaders Partnership has trained over 12,000 school leaders since 2017 and together with Best Practice Network is the leading training provider to education professionals in England.
We are the leading provider of National Professional Qualifications and offer school leader and early years apprenticeships, Early Years Initial Teacher Training, NASENCo, HLTA, and School Business Manager programmes. We are excited to be able to add Early Career Teacher Induction training to our programme delivery offer.
We exceed a 93% pass rate across all our programmes
We have exceeded DfE metrics for the NPQs for school leaders for the last 5 years – see metrics here
97% of candidates would recommend us to a colleague
Support for Early Career Teachers
The Early Career Development Programme has been designed with the Early Career Teacher in mind. The first years of a teacher's career are vitally important for professional development and the best time to develop good habits and effective teaching strategies.
Flexibly delivered with the time constraints of an Early Career Teacher in mind, the programme comprehensively delivers all the content of the Early Career Framework and slots neatly into the schedule of an early career teacher.
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Self study featuring rich multimedia content including videos, practical tasks and discussion activities
Early Career Teacher Schedule
The Early Career Development Programme has been designed with the Early Career Teacher in mind. Flexibly delivered through a combination of online webinars, face-to-face events and self-study, the programme slots neatly into the schedule of an early career teacher.
Annual Induction Conference to engage ECTs with ECF content and initiate motivation and learning networks
Half-termly 1-hour facilitated online training sessions
Half-termly 1-hour facilitated face-to-face sessions
Groups can be based on geography, phase or school delivery partner
9 modules based on the Teachers’ Standards
In-school mentor support and challenge for two years
Mentor Schedule
We work with in-school mentors to equip them with the necessary tools to fully support ECTs. Our mentoring programme ensures that mentors are proficient in all aspects of the ECF and develops mentoring and coaching techniques that will enable them to support and challenge ECTs. These highly-trained mentors will play a key role in the development of ECTs and the transferable skills learned will produce long lasting benefits for mentors' schools and colleagues.
Introduces the ONSIDE and CEDAR Mentoring models, illustrating their use and impact
Mentors meet the National Standards for school-based Mentors
Mentors complete a skills audit, identifying gaps in knowledge which can be addressed before undertaking the mentor role
Early Career Framework
The content of the framework and its underpinning evidence has been independently assessed and endorsed by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). The ECF establishes two types of content that ECTs should learn:
Key evidence statements are prefaced by ‘learn that…’ and are drawn from high quality evidence from the UK and overseas. Full references are available in the ECF document. These statements are numbered by the standard within the ECF to which they apply, followed by a trailing number (e.g., statement 1.4 is drawn from Standard 1 and states that teachers will ‘learn that…setting clear expectations can help communicate shared values that improve classroom and school culture.’ These are referred to throughout the programme materials as ‘learn that…’ statements).
Practice statements are prefaced by ‘learn how to…’ and are drawn from both research and guidance from experts in the sector. These statements are numbered by the standard to which they apply, followed by a trailing letter (e.g., statement 1a is also drawn from Standard 1 and states that teachers will ‘learn how to communicate a belief in the academic potential of all pupils, by using intentional and consistent language that promotes challenge and aspiration’). These are referred to throughout the programme materials as ‘learn how to…’ statements.
High Expectations (Standard 1 – Set high expectations) | |
Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. Teachers have the ability to affect and improve the wellbeing, motivation and behaviour of their pupils. 2. Teachers are key role models, who can influence the attitudes, values and behaviours of their pupils. 3. Teacher expectations can affect pupil outcomes; setting goals that challenge and stretch pupils is essential. 4. Setting clear expectations can help communicate shared values that improve classroom and school culture. 5. A culture of mutual trust and respect supports effective relationships. 6. High-quality teaching has a long-term positive effect on pupils’ life chances, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. |
Communicate a belief in the academic potential of all pupils,
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Notes Learn that… statements are informed by the best available educational research; references and further reading are provided below. Learn how to… statements are drawn from the wider evidence base including both academic research and additional guidance from expert practitioners. |
How Pupils Learn (Standard 2 – Promote good progress) | |
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Learn that… | Learn how to… |
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Avoid overloading working memory, by:
• Planning regular review and practice of key ideas and concepts over time. |
Notes Learn that… statements are informed by the best available educational research; references and further reading are provided below. Learn how to… statements are drawn from the wider evidence base including both academic research and additional guidance from expert practitioners. |
Subject and Curriculum (Standard 3 – Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge) |
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Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. A school’s curriculum enables it to set out its vision for the knowledge, skills and values that its pupils will learn, encompassing the national curriculum within a coherent wider vision for successful learning. 2. Secure subject knowledge helps teachers to motivate pupils and teach effectively. 3. Ensuring pupils master foundational concepts and knowledge before moving on is likely to build pupils’ confidence and help them succeed. 4. Anticipating common misconceptions within particular subjects is also an important aspect of curricular knowledge; working closely with colleagues to develop an understanding of likely misconceptions is valuable. 5. Explicitly teaching pupils the knowledge and skills they need to succeed within particular subject areas is beneficial. 6. In order for pupils to think critically, they must have a secure understanding of knowledgewithin the subject area they are being asked to think critically about. 7. In all subject areas, pupils learn new ideas by linking those ideas to existing knowledge, organising this knowledge into increasingly complex mental models (or “schemata”); carefully sequencing teaching to facilitate this process is important. 8. Pupils are likely to struggle to transfer what has been learnt in one discipline to a new or unfamiliar context. 9. To access the curriculum, early literacy provides fundamental knowledge; reading comprises two elements: word reading and language comprehension; systematic synthetic phonics is the most effective approach for teaching pupils to decode. 10. Every teacher can improve pupils’ literacy, including by explicitly teaching reading, writing and oral language skills specific to individual disciplines. |
Deliver a carefully sequenced and coherent curriculum, by:
Develop fluency, by: Help pupils apply knowledge and skills to other contexts, by:
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Notes Learn that… statements are informed by the best available educational research; references and further reading are provided below. Learn how to… statements are drawn from the wider evidence base including both academic research and additional guidance from expert practitioners. |
Classroom Practice (Standard 4 – Plan and teach well structured lessons) | |
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Learn that… | Learn how to… |
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Plan effective lessons, by: • Using modelling, explanations and scaffolds, acknowledging that novices need more structure early in a domain.
Model effectively, by:
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Notes Learn that… statements are informed by the best available educational research; references and further reading are provided below. Learn how to… statements are drawn from the wider evidence base including both academic research and additional guidance from expert practitioners. |
Adaptive Teaching (Standard 5 – Adapt teaching) | |
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Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. Pupils are likely to learn at different rates and to require different levels and types of support from teachers to succeed. 2. Seeking to understand pupils’ differences, including their different levels of prior knowledge and potential barriers to learning, is an essential part of teaching. 3. Adapting teaching in a responsive way, including by providing targeted support to pupils who are struggling, is likely to increase pupil success. 4. Adaptive teaching is less likely to be valuable if it causes the teacher to artificially create distinct tasks for different groups of pupils or to set lower expectations for particular pupils. 5. Flexibly grouping pupils within a class to provide more tailored support can be effective, but care should be taken to monitor its impact on engagement and motivation, particularly for low attaining pupils. 6. There is a common misconception that pupils have distinct and identifiable learning styles. This is not supported by evidence and attempting to tailor lessons to learning styles is unlikely to be beneficial. 7. Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities are likely to require additional or adapted support; working closely with colleagues, families and pupils to understand barriers and identify effective strategies is essential. |
Develop an understanding of different pupil needs, by: Provide opportunity for all pupils to experience success, by: Meet individual needs without creating unnecessary workload, by: • Considering carefully whether intervening within lessons with individuals and small groups would be more efficient and effective than planning different lessons for different groups of pupils.
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Notes Learn that… statements are informed by the best available educational research; references and further reading are provided below. Learn how to… statements are drawn from the wider evidence base including both academic research and additional guidance from expert practitioners. |
Assessment (Standard 6 – Make accurate and productive use of assessment) | |
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Learn that… | Learn how to… |
1. Effective assessment is critical to teaching because it provides teachers with information about pupils’ understanding and needs. 2. Good assessment helps teachers avoid being over-influenced by potentially misleading factors, such as how busy pupils appear. 3. Before using any assessment, teachers should be clear about the decision it will be used to support and be able to justify its use. 4. To be of value, teachers use information from assessments to inform the decisions they make; in turn, pupils must be able to act on feedback for it to have an effect. 5. High-quality feedback can be written or verbal; it is likely to be accurate and clear, encourage further effort, and provide specific guidance on how to improve. 6. Over time, feedback should support pupils to monitor and regulate their own learning. 7. Working with colleagues to identify efficient approaches to assessment is important; assessment can become onerous and have a disproportionate impact on workload. |
Provide high-quality feedback, by: Make marking manageable and effective, by: |
Notes Learn that… statements are informed by the best available educational research; references and further reading are provided below. Learn how to… statements are drawn from the wider evidence base including both academic research and additional guidance from expert practitioners. |
Managing Behaviour (Standard 7 – Manage behaviour effectively) | |
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Learn that… | Learn how to… |
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Develop a positive, predictable and safe environment for pupils, by: Establish effective routines and expectations, by: Build trusting relationships, by: Motivate pupils, by: |
Notes Learn that… statements are informed by the best available educational research; references and further reading are provided below. Learn how to… statements are drawn from the wider evidence base including both academic research and additional guidance from expert practitioners. |
Professional Behaviours (Standard 8 – Fulfil wider professional responsibilities) | |
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Learn that… | Learn how to… |
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Develop as a professional, by: Build effective working relationships, by: • Working closely with the SENCO and other professionals supporting pupils with additional needs, making explicit links between Manage workload and wellbeing, by: |
Notes Learn that… statements are informed by the best available educational research; references and further reading are provided below. Learn how to… statements are drawn from the wider evidence base including both academic research and additional guidance from expert practitioners. |
What exactly does the funding cover?
From September 2021, the government is funding entitlement for all early career teachers in England to access high-quality professional development at the start of their career. New teachers will now receive development support and training over 2 years instead of one. The offer for early career teachers includes:- 2 years of new, funded, high-quality training
- freely available high-quality development materials based on the early career framework
- additional funding for 5% time away from the classroom for teachers in their second year
- a dedicated mentor and support for these mentors
- funding to cover mentors’ time with the mentee in the second year of teaching
Where can I find further details about what induction might include?
Who will be completing the induction sign off?
The Appropriate Body makes the final decision as to whether an Early Career Teacher’s performance is satisfactory against the Teachers’ Standards. In doing this, the Appropriate Body would draw on the recommendation of the headteacher/principal.
Is there a minimum requirement of CPD that NQTs must complete to pass induction?
The length of induction is being increased from one to two years. Judgements on whether an Early Career Teacher has successfully completed induction will continue to be made against the Teachers’ Standards and not against the ECF. Early Career Teachers will be entitled to 10% time-off timetable in year 1 and 5% time-off timetable in year 2 to complete induction activities.
What is meant by FIPs and CIPs?
FIP stands for Full Induction Programme and CIP stands for Core Induction Programme. More information on the Core and Full Induction Programmes is available here.
What is a 'Lead Provider’?
A ‘Lead Provider’ is a Provider who has been contracted by the DfE to deliver the National Roll-out of the ECF. There are six Lead Providers in total who will work with Delivery Partners to deliver the programme on a national scale. The Lead Providers are:
• Ambition Institute
• Best Practice Network
• Capita
• Education Development Trust
• Teach First
• UCL Institute of Education
Can you explain the rationale behind the decision to make the ECF a two-year process?
In a 2017 consultation on ‘Strengthening QTS and Improving Career Progression’, the DfE asked about how they could best support teachers at the start of their careers. The response was clear: there was more they could do to ensure Early Career Teachers experience a high quality, supportive induction.
They worked closely with the sector throughout the consultation process which included conducting user research with Early Career Teachers, Mentors and school leaders.
If schools find a programme is not working for their NQTs, do they have to remain with their existing provider?
If a school has any concerns about the delivery of the programme, they should raise this with either the Lead Provider or the Delivery Partner responsible for delivery.
The DfE expects participants that start on a programme to finish the programme they have started. However, for new cohorts of Early Career Teachers, schools can change from their existing provider.
Do Mentors lead the instructional coaching with Early Career Teachers?
The DfE expects Mentors to be involved in instructional coaching and will provide further details of the expectations around Mentor roles and responsibilities this spring.
Will there be some new guidance on the expectations and roles of the Appropriate Bodies?
Appropriate Bodies will play a central role in ensuring headteachers put in place a suitable ECF-based programme of support and training.
The DfE will publish more information including guidance for Appropriate Bodies in the spring.
After the first cycle of the ECF will the same Mentors be enrolled on the programme for future Early Career Teachers from September 2023?
Mentoring is a very important element of the induction process and it is the school's responsibility to ensure an appropriate Mentor is in place to provide support to effectively meet the needs of every Early Career Teacher.
High quality support will be available to Mentors, and funding will be provided to cover Mentors’ time with the mentee in the second year of teaching.
Funding will be provided to cover time-off timetable for Mentors who are being trained. This will total 36 hours over two years (10% time-off timetable in year 1 and 5% time-off timetable in year 2).
Will NQTs be using their 10% NQT time to engage in these programmes, as a lot of them look like the work involved is above the 10% NQT time?
The DfE has designed this programme to ensure that the strengthened induction will not add to the workload of Early Career Teachers.
In addition to the 10% time away from the classroom in their first year of induction, teachers will be entitled to 5% time away from the classroom in their second year of induction.
It should be possible for the programme to be completed entirely in their time-off timetable.
How will it be ensured that all selected Mentors are sufficiently experienced, high quality classroom practitioners?
The headteacher should identify a teacher to act as the Early Career Teacher’s Mentor, to provide regular mentoring. The Mentor is expected to hold QTS and have the necessary skills and knowledge to work successfully in this role. The headteacher is responsible for ensuring that the Mentor has the ability and sufficient time to carry out their role effectively.
If a school commits to one Lead Provider, how long are they committed for?
Schools will make their own arrangements with Lead Providers, however, the DfE expects the minimum commitment for one cohort of Early Career Teachers to be for two academic years in line with the extended induction period.
The DfE expects participants that start on a programme to finish the programme that they have started. However, for new cohorts of Early Career Teachers, schools can change from their existing provider.
What is the difference between a Mentor and an 'ECF Lead' as mentioned in the core programme materials?
The ECF Lead (or Induction Tutor) is expected to regularly review the Early Career Teacher’s progress against the Teachers’ Standards throughout the induction period, as well as providing support to the Early Career Teacher. The Induction Tutor role will be defined in more detail in the statutory guidance to be published this spring. This is a different role to that of the Mentor, who will provide dedicated one-to-one mentoring sessions with the Early Career Teacher throughout the induction period.
Is there any further support for present NQTs in year one (this year) included in the ECF?
Early Career Teachers who have begun induction before September 2021 should finish a one-year induction period, under present arrangements.
Where possible, schools can extend Core Induction Programme based training to these teachers. Schools and Early Career Teachers can use, or draw upon, any of the four Core Induction Programmes published here.
Is there any direct funding in relation to the 36 hours of Mentor training?
There is additional funding for schools to backfill Mentor time spent undertaking the 36 hours of Mentor training on the Full Induction Programme. This is in addition to the funding for Mentors to spend time with the Early Career Teacher in their second year of induction. Time-off timetable for Mentors amounts to 10% time-off timetable in year 1 and 5% time-off timetable in year 2.
Do schools pay any fee for taking part in the ECF?
No state funded school in England should pay a fee for participating in the ECF.
Can you provide a breakdown of funding for the ECF? For example, the amount of funding for ‘Part A’ and ‘Part B’?
Year 1 funding is currently funded, as all schools receive funding for an Early Career Teacher’s first year as part of the National Funding Formula.
Year 2 funding is dependent on which programme the school decides to take, and where the school is located. All programmes receive the combined ECT time-off timetable and mentoring hours which will amount to approximately £2,100-£2,600 per Early Career Teacher (figure dependent on location).
Backfill Mentor training payments will be made for schools participating in a provider programme. This funding will pay for the Mentor time-off timetable for 36 hours over two years in order for the Mentors to attend their Mentor training courses.
Are the funding rates for Delivery Partners consistent across the providers?
Funding arrangements are to be agreed between Lead Providers and Delivery Partners as they are dependent on a number of factors, e.g. the exact role of the Delivery Partner in that delivery partnership.
Will schools still get the additional funding for Early Career Teachers’ and Mentors’ training if they decide to develop their own training or develop their own, more bespoke, training in collaboration with other schools/providers?
Yes, the Early Career Teacher 5% time-off timetable, and Mentor time-off timetable in the second year is funded whichever route you choose to take.
The Mentor training payments, however, are only paid for Mentor training of FIP participants.
If a school decides to develop their own induction programme, do they still receive the same £2100 funding?
Yes, and this funding ranges based on the location of the school, so will range from £2,100 - £2,600.
Can universities and local authorities be ECF Delivery Partners?
Yes, any interested education training provider can become a Delivery Partner.
Will schools be able to choose any of the 6 approved providers or only choose from a shorter list that have a call off contract in a particular area?
Schools will be able to review the support that is available and choose a provider that is delivering within their local area that they wish to work with.
How is it intended that these providers will work with newly designated Teaching School Hubs who have to roll out the ECF as a core responsibility?
It is expected that Lead Providers will deliver their service in partnership with high-quality organisations (Delivery Partners) including Teaching School Hubs.
School Registration
This is where you register your school for the Early Career Development Programme with Outstanding Leaders Partnership & Best Practice Network. Once you have registered, you will receive more information about the programme and next steps (including how to register early career teachers and their mentors).Funding
The Early Career Development programme is freely available for all state-maintained schools and academies in England.
As well as the 10% off timetable for early career teachers in Year 1, all state funded schools offering statutory induction via our Early Career Development Programme will receive additional funding. The funding will cover:
- 5% off timetable in the second year of induction for all early career teachers to undertake induction activities including training and mentoring
- funding for mentors to spend with early career teachers in the second year of induction - this is based on 20 hours of mentoring across the academic year
Funding (year 2) |
England (excluding the London Area) |
Inner London Area |
Outer London Area |
Fringe Area |
Rounded cost per Early Career Teacher |
£1,200 |
£1,500 |
£1,400 |
£1,300 |
Rounded cost per mentor |
£900 |
£1,100 |
£1,100 |
£900 |
Total |
£2,100 |
£2,600 |
£2,500 |
£2,200 |
There will be additional funding for schools participating in the Early Career Development Programme for the time mentors of early career teachers will spend on the provider-led mentor training. This will consist of 36 hours of backfill time over two years per mentor.
Funding for this programme is in addition to the funding above related to time off timetable for early career teachers and their mentors.