Term 5 - Induction Tutor / Mentor Newsletter

Welcome to Term 5!

We hope you enjoyed your Easter break and are feeling refreshed and ready for term 5! Please see below for a list of important activities and information that you may find helpful this term.

If you haven't already done so, please complete and digitally sign any outstanding assessments. This is now a matter of urgency.

Check your email for reminders of any

What’s in this Newsletter?

• Reminders for Term 5

• ECT Absence Reporting

• Assessment date deadlines

• How to submit the E1 document on ECT Manager

• Feedback - ECT Conference 2023

• Guide to Successful Induction Webinar

• NQT Transitional Arrangements Reminder

• The Education People Appropriate Body Service and ECF full induction programme from September 2023

• What should you expect to see from your ECT at this point?

• Is your ECT struggling?

• Extending an ECT’s induction period

• Popular Questions

• Tutor / Mentor Training

• Information for tutors whose ECTs started their induction period at the beginning of this term

• Is your ECT familiar with the standards they will be expected to meet throughout their induction period?

• Appropriate Body Services and the Early Career Framework for September 2023

• Social Media

• Contact us

Reminders for Term 5

You should have completed your ECT's assessment and so if you haven't already, please make this a priority. As a reminder the assessment grades are as follows:

A: This ECT is currently making excellent progress towards meeting the induction standards.

B: This ECT is currently making good progress towards meeting the induction standards.

C: This ECT is making satisfactory progress towards meeting the induction standards.

D: This ECT is making limited progress towards the induction standards.

E: This ECT is not making any progress towards the induction standards.

The term 5 assessment is due by 22nd May For the majority of ECT’s who started in September, this will be an interim assessment (the same as the assessment in Term 4).

Interim Assessments

For our new ECTs starting induction from 1st September, we do expect to see the E1 Grading document against the Teachers’ Standards. This should be submitted on ECT manager and can be done by the ECT or the mentor. We ask for this as it forms the evidence for the grade awarded that term. If there isn’t any evidence and the ECT begins to struggle during their induction period, it will be harder to argue that they are making sufficient progress. It is therefore important for ECTs to be proactive and ensure this document is uploaded at each interim assessment point. Instructions for uploading the E1 document are on page 4 .

ECT Absence Reporting

Please keep a note of how many days absence your ECT has throughout the year because you will be asked to submit the number of days absence in the full assessments at the end of Year 1 and Year 2. Those that have more than 30 days absence per year, may require an extension to their induction period. We will be in touch directly with mentors if this is likely to affect your ECTs.

All absences with the exception of statutory maternity leave, statutory paternity leave, shared parental leave, statutory adoption leave, or parental bereavement leave as set out in para 3.7 of the Statutory Induction Guidance will count towards this 30 day threshold. Strike action, jury duty or anything that is not referred to in para 3.7 , will count towards the absence total.

Assessment date deadlines

Term 5: 22/05/2023

Term 6: 17/07/2023

Please note: ECT’s can only start their induction period once they have QTS and it is the school’s responsibility to check their ECT’s QTS certificate to verify this.

How to submit the ‘E1—Grading Using the Teachers’ Standards’ document on ECT Manager

Under each of the Teachers’ Standards within the E1 document, there are comments relating to the different grades. We would like you to highlight the comments that best fit the progress your ECT is making at this point in time. This will help you determine the overall grade your ECT is working to. Once you have highlighted the relevant comments, save a copy of the revised document so that it is ready to be uploaded to ECT Manager.

After you have submitted the Interim Assessment on ECT Manager, when on your ECT’s overview page, select:

• ECT documents (on the left-hand side of the page)

• Add a new document (in green)

• Complete the document name and description

• Select ‘Choose file’ to upload the E1 document

• Select ‘Save ECT Document’ (in green)

• If the document is saved successfully the following will appear at the top of your screen:

• The document will then be ready for the ECT Induction Team to review.

Please note: we will be expecting it to be submitted with the next interim assessment. Any problems meeting this deadline, please get in touch.

Feedback

ECT Conference 2023:

It was fantastic to see so many ECTs take part in our annual conference on 8th March!

We offered 4 workshops throughout the day as well as an engaging welcome from mental health and wellbeing consultant Kelly Hannaghan and an inspiring close from ICT with Mr P who shared many useful ideas to make you work smarter, not harder!

Workshop 1‘The Inclusive classroom’ - Kristian Lasslett

Workshop 2‘Behaviour for classroom management’ - Peter Stewart

Workshop 3‘Working smarter not harder: Making the most of your time to promote pupil learning’ - Louise Agley

Workshop 4 - ‘4 Principles for Assessment: Design, Comparison, Reliability and Inference’ - Andrew Woods

The feedback has been excellent so far. Here are some of the things delegates had to say:

‘Very interesting and diverse with lots to think about.’

‘Great discussion with peers, nice being able to share techniques with other teachers from different settings’

‘Aspects relatable to ECTs were made into individual workshops’

‘Great talks and diverse workshops’

‘All talkers were really interesting and gave lots of useful information.’

Conference Resources

We have added the resources from the conference to ECT Manager. Just log in to your account on ECT Manager and select ‘Resources’.

The Guide to Successful Induction Webinar

The Guide to Successful Induction

webinar will ensure your ECTs understand their role and responsibilities as an ECT throughout induction. Dates for our next session will be released in Term 5 once we have enough ECTs on our waiting list. If your ECTs haven't already attended one, please ask them to complete this form and we will be in touch.

‘Transitional Arrangements Reminder’

(for NQTs who started induction before 1 September 2021)

NQTs who started but did not complete their induction by 31 August 2021 are now known as ‘transitional ECTs’.

To complete a one-year induction, transitional ECTs must finish by 1 September 2023. From 1 September 2023, all ECTs will need to complete a 2-year induction period

If a transitional ECT has not completed their induction by 1 September 2023, they do not need to start induction again. Instead, they must complete what remains of a 2-year induction. This includes transitional ECTs whose induction has been extended because of ad hoc absences, or where an ECT accepts to have their induction extended due to statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, or parental bereavement leave.

The only exception to this change will be transitional ECTs who on 1 September 2023 are serving an extension as a result of a decision made by the AB at the end of their induction period, following a final formal assessment. These transitional ECTs will only need to complete the agreed period of extension (subject to successfully meeting the Teachers’ Standards) and will not be required to complete what remains of a two-year induction.

If you think this may affect your ECT, please get in touch so we can advise.

The Education People Appropriate Body Service from September 2023

Many schools may already be aware that from September 2023, only Teaching School hubs will be accredited to act as an Appropriate Body for new ECT registrations. Although this is disappointing for us as we have enjoyed providing this comprehensive service to our schools and have built strong relationships with them, we will not be going far and are pleased to say that our 40 years’ experience will not be lost! We have been working closely with the Teaching School Hubs and are delighted to be able to confirm that we have now formed an agreement with both Teaching School hubs serving Kent. This means we can continue to provide support to ECTs during their Induction via the Teaching School Hubs Appropriate Body service.

How will this affect you?

From September 2023 you will need to register any new ECTs with the Teaching School Appropriate Body service for Kent Teaching School hub or Thames Gateway Teaching School hub or you can choose another Teaching School hub outside of Kent. Further information on how to register your new ECTs with a Kent TSH will be circulated shortly.

Please note:

• Any ECT currently registered with us (The Education People’s AB service) who is due to complete their induction period by July 2024, can remain with The Education People. No action is required.

• Any ECT currently registered with us (The Education People’s AB service) who is due to complete their induction period after July 2024, will need their induction record transferred to a Teaching School hub AB service from September 2024. This can happen at any point between now and September 2024. Guidance on how to do this will be circulated shortly.

Early Career Framework full induction programme from September 2023

We will continue to deliver the Early Career Framework full induction programme in partnership with Best Practice Network until July 2024. This is to ensure continuity of the programme for those ECTs who are currently completing the ECF programme with us and Best Practice Network.

For ECTs starting from September 2023, we will be working with the Kent Teaching School hub to provide the ECF via the Ambition Institute full induction programme of the Early Career Framework. The Thames Gateway Teaching School hub will continue to offer their full induction programme in partnership with the Education Development Trust (EDT).

If you have any queries about the above, please get in touch by emailing ect@kent.gov.uk

What should you expect to see from your ECT at this point?

Many ECTs will now be nearing the end of their first year of induction and so we would expect them to be working towards meeting the Teachers’ Standards to a consistently satisfactory standard with the aim of meeting the majority of the standards to a good level by the end of term 6.

If this is not the case and you have concerns about your ECT’s progress, you should contact the induction team as soon as possible so measures can be put in place to support your ECT.

Is your ECT struggling?

If you have any doubts about your ECT’s progress, it is important to raise them with your ECT asap as they may be a cause for concern.

I graded my ECT as D or E in the last assessment.

What happens next?

The Induction Team will contact you by email in the first instance to find out whether you require additional support.

Do I have to pay for any additional support?

There isn’t a charge for a member of the Induction Team to visit your school to discuss initial concerns regarding an ECT and set up an action plan as long as the concern is raised before the final 4 terms of their induction period (based on a 6 term academic year). If the support becomes ongoing then there will be a charge for this, however, this is rare and you would always be consulted prior to us raising any charge.

Extending an ECT’s induction period

If you wish to extend your ECT’s induction period, you must make this recommendation to the Induction Team before the end of your ECT’s induction period. We will then liaise with you to ensure your ECT meets the statutory extension criteria and if so, talk to you and your ECT about their right to appeal against this decision.

Our advice is that you alert us to the possibility that an extension may be needed as early as possible. Please bear in mind that a school cannot extend an ECT’s induction period without prior agreement from their Appropriate Body.

Accessing ECT Manager

Q: How do I access my ECT’s assessments?

A: Go to: ECT Manager

Q: I've forgotten my login details! What do I do now?

A: Under 'Members', select 'forgotten password reminder?'

Enter your email address to receive your username and password (this must be the email address that is recorded on ECT Manager)

Do you have a question about induction? Here

are some popular ones:

My ECT has completed part of their induction under another authority, what should I do now?

If your ECT has completed part of their induction under another authority, it is important to ensure this is recorded on ECT Manager as this time must count towards their induction. If the time isn’t declared when the ECT starts at your school, it may cause problems later on. When you register your ECT make sure to select the ‘An existing ECT who has partially completed induction at a different school’ registration type. The team will take it from here.

Is there a minimum number of days an ECT must be contracted to in order to carry out induction?

Yes, in order for the post for induction to be suitable, an ECT must be contracted to at least 2 days per week. This is to ensure the ECT is given the opportunity to show they are able to meet all of the Teachers’ Standards consistently and over time allowing, for the ECT to fulfil the full range of responsibilities associated with a teaching appointment, such as accountability and the wider professional duties.

Can an ECT choose to stop their induction?

All the time your ECT is in a suitable post for induction within your school, their induction period must continue. If you have any queries about this, please contact the ECT Induction team.

If you have any of your own queries, the team are happy to help. Give us a call on:

Training for ECT Induction Tutors / Mentors

Are you tutoring or mentoring ECTs throughout their induction period? The session is aimed at new and experienced tutors and mentors involved in ECT induction. The interactive course will ensure you understand what your role entails including the recently revised statutory roles and responsibilities, what best practice looks like and where to go for help and advice. The course is also suitable as a refresher session for those tutors and mentors who haven't attended training in the past five years.

Additional information for tutors whose ECTs started their induction period at the beginning of this term

Has a date been set to observe the ECT?

Statutory regulations stipulate that an ECT should be formally observed in the first 4 weeks and thereafter at least once in any 6-8 week period (i.e. one per Kent term). Informal observations may be on-going as and when necessary.

Have you set up regular meetings with your ECT?

You should be meeting with them regularly (ideally once a week) during this first assessment period to agree targets and to discuss their progress. Most meetings will be informal but you should have a formal meeting with your ECT at the end of each Kent term.

Is your ECT familiar with the standards they will be expected to meet throughout their induction period?

For a copy of the standards, follow this link Teachers’ Standards

We recommend that all ECTs use our ‘E4. Evidencing the Teachers’ Standards’ document to help them keep a record of evidence that shows how they are meeting the Teachers’ Standards. This document can be found in the ‘Resources’ section on ECT Manager.

Do you know where to access key documents to support Induction?

To access the ECT Induction Handbook, when logged in to ECT Manager, select ‘Resources’ from the horizontal green menu bar.

Recommended documents for those at the start of their induction are:

B5. Induction Tutor & ECT Checklist

B6. Overview of the induction period (provides a timeline of activities required as part of induction)

C1. Summary of Meetings

E1. Grading Using the Teachers' Standards

E3. Effective use of professional development time

E4. Evidencing the Teachers’ Standards

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