Welcome to Term 2! We hope you enjoyed your time off and are ready for the second term. If you are finding the assessment reminders annoying, unfortunately the only way to stop them is to complete and submit the outstanding assessment! If you have received a reminder in error, please get in touch! What is in this Newsletter: -
Reminders for Term 2
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Induction meetings and observations
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Assessment date deadlines
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ECT Manager log in details
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Interim Assessments
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ECT Conference - book now!
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Submitting the ‘E1– Grading’ document
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Guide to Successful Induction Webinar
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What grade should you expect to receive at this point?
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Key documents to support induction
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Are you concerned about your progress?
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ECT Professional Development Time
Career Progression after completing induction
Fully funded NPQs
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Induction and the ECF - differences
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Contacting the ECT Team
Reminders for Term 2 Your tutor should have completed your term 1 assessment and so if they haven't already, please make this a priority and ensure you have both digitally signed the assessment. The term 2 assessment is due by 12th December. For the majority of ECTs, this will be an interim assessment (the same as the assessment in Term 1).
Assessment date deadlines Term 2
12/12/2023
Term 3 Term 4 Term 5 Term 6
06/02/2024 26/03/2024 21/05/2024 16/07/2024
Interim Assessments When your assessment is submitted, we do also 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 you begin to struggle during your induction period, it will be harder to argue that you are making sufficient progress. It is therefore important for ECTs to be proactive and ensure this document is uploaded at each interim assessment point from now on. Assessment Meetings The assessment meeting gives an opportunity for you and your tutor to discuss your progress and the grade that best represents your progress for the term. The meeting should take place towards the end of the term before the assessment is submitted. The E1. Grading Document can be accessed via ECT Manager – select ‘Resources’ from the menu.
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 and your tutor to highlight the comments that best fit the progress you are making at this point in time. This will help your tutor determine the overall grade you are working to. Once your tutor has highlighted the relevant comments, it can be uploaded to ECT Manager. Please note: ECTs in their second year of induction, should be consistently meeting the Teachers’ Standards to at least a ‘satisfactory’ level with many areas reaching a ‘good’ level. ECTs in their first year of induction should be making satisfactory progress towards meeting the Teachers’ Standards (this is a C grade). After your tutor has submitted the Interim Assessment on ECT Manager, when on your overview page, select: •
ECT documents (on the left-hand side of the page)
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Add a new document (in green)
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Complete the document name and description
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Select ‘Choose file’ to upload the E1 document
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Select ‘Save ECT Document’ (in green)
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If the document is saved successfully the following will appear at the top of your screen:
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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.
What grade should you expect to receive at this point in your induction period? ECTs in their second year of induction, should be consistently meeting the Teachers’ Standards to at least a ‘satisfactory’ level with many areas reaching a ‘good’ level. ECTs in their first year of induction should be making satisfactory progress towards meeting the Teachers’ Standards (this is a C grade). A very small number of ECTs (in their first year of induction) with previous experience may be making good progress at this point in time and will have lots of evidence to support the good rating. Whichever grade you are awarded, you should be given areas for development so that you are able to improve ready for the next assessment period. If you are not sure which areas you need to improve in, please speak to your mentor/tutor in the first instance.
Do you know where to access key documents to support your Induction? Our ECT Induction Handbook holds a wealth of information that you should find useful in your Induction period. To access this, when logged in to ECT Manager, select ‘Resources’ from the green menu bar. The documents are under ‘*NEW* ECT Induction Handbook 2022’
Recommended documents for ECTs at the start of their induction are: B5. Induction Tutor and ECT Checklist C1. Summary of Meetings E1. Grading Using the Teachers’ Standards E3. Effective use of the ECT time E4. Evidencing the Teachers’ Standards B6. Overview of the induction period (provides a timeline of activities required as part of induction)
Are you concerned with your progress? Always talk to your school-based mentor/tutor in the first instance and feel free to email us at: ect@kent.gov.uk or give us a call on: 03301 651300 for further support and guidance.
ECT Professional Development Time It's important to ensure you are getting your ECT Time. Your timetable should have a 10% reduction in teaching in your first year of induction and 5% in your second year. This is to give you time for continuing professional development which includes completing activities relating to your Early Career Framework (ECF) Development programme. Our document in the ECT Handbook "Effective use of ECT Time" (E3) gives examples of other things you could do to demonstrate you are meeting the Teachers' Standards to pass induction. You should be proactive about how you use this time, but ask for advice from your tutor if needed.
Important note: ECT time should be spent on ECF activities and continuing professional development. It is in addition to PPA time and should NOT be spent planning or marking unless they are the focus of your targets for the term and you are receiving additional support around these aspects of your teaching.
How many meetings and observations should I have had already? ECTs in their first year of induction should be meeting weekly with their mentor. Those in year 2, are likely to only need biweekly meetings or even less if you are making good progress towards meeting the Teachers’ Standards. All ECTs should have a formal assessment meeting at the end of each term . There should also be at least one lesson observation each term. We recommend that you make notes at these meetings and keep a record of them.
How do I find out my log-in details for ECT Manager? •
Go to ECT Manager
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Under the Log in box, follow the details for ‘Forgotten your password?’
Please note: you must use your ECT Manager username to access the ECT part of this site. Once logged in, if all you can see is job advertisements, you will need to log out and use your ECT Manager username to access your ECT profile.
Quality Assurance Visits We like to make sure that all ECTs in Kent receive a high-quality induction, regardless of the school they are employed at. Therefore, every year, representatives from the ECT Induction Team visit at least 5% of schools to quality assure their induction processes. We'll let you know we're coming and invite you to take part in a questionnaire to share your induction experiences with us. If your school gets chosen, you can ask to meet with us during our visit, if you'd like to. Otherwise, we will meet with your tutor and look at your portfolio. Then we'll send a report to your school based mentor on what we've seen during our visit and what we've read in your questionnaires. We'll send out more information about QA visits and share any examples of good practice that we find in upcoming newsletters.
Here to help... The most important thing to remember during your induction is that •
the ECT Induction Team is here to help you
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it's our job to help you pass your induction
The newsletter explains some of the ways in which we support you, but what's crucial is that you know you can contact us any time to chat, confidentially, if you ever have any problems or questions about your induction. ect@kent.gov.uk / 03301 651300
Primary & Secondary ECT Conference ‘Ensuring Success in the Best Career in the World’
Wednesday 13th March 2024 Our ONLINE ECT conference is a fantastic opportunity for Primary and Secondary ECTs in year 1 of their induction period to access workshops focusing on key issues in the classroom and beyond. The workshops will cover subject areas such as self-care and well-being, managing behaviour in the classroom, SEND and more. To book, follow this link.
The Guide to Successful Induction Webinar The mandatory Guide to Successful Induction webinar will ensure you understand your role and responsibilities as an ECT throughout your induction. If you have not yet attended one of these events, please complete this online form to be added to the waiting list. Please note: The webinar is mandatory. We will be chasing up any ECTs who haven’t completed it. If you attended a session last year, you do not need to attend it again.
Career progression after completing induction You and your colleagues may be able to access fully funded, DfE accredited training through The Education People’s ‘Golden Thread’ menu of professional qualifications. The Induction Team is proud to be partnered with Best Practice Network to deliver Initial Teacher Training (ITT), the Early Career Framework (ECF) and National Professional Qualifications (NPQs).
Have you thought about career progression once you have completed your induction period? We are offering 4 specialist and 4 leadership NPQs to teachers and leaders who want to develop their knowledge and skills in specific areas of school practice.
NPQs
Training is delivered in bite size chunks meaning you can learn at a pace that suits you. Examples include Leading Teacher Development, Leading Teaching, Leading Behaviour & Culture, Leading Literacy, Senior Leaders and more. Minimum entry requirements for these listed, is 2 full years of teaching! The courses are fully-funded by the Department for Education and applications for Spring are now open. To find out more and to apply (if you meet the minimum requirements), visit the BPN website, email at enquiries@bestpracticenet.co.uk or call on 0117 920 9428.
Induction and the ECF – do you know the difference? The table below summarises the difference between Induction with an Appropriate Body (us, ‘The Education People’- ‘ECT Induction Team’) and the Early Career Framework (ECF) Development Programme:
ECT Induction
ECF Development Programme
*Requirement since 1999
*New from September 2021
We are an Appropriate Body (AB) for schools from all over the world, who choose us to oversee their ECT induction period. The appointment of an Appropriate Body is a statutory requirement for all ECT induction periods.
There are 3 options available for the delivery of the ECF:
*After July 2024, Government changes prevent Local Authority’s including us, from operating as an AB. This means ECTs who don’t complete in July 2024, will need to be transferred to another AB to continue with their induction from September 2024. We will fully support this process to ensure it goes smoothly for our schools.
1: a full induction programme (FIP) 2: a core induction programme (CIP) 3: a school-based programme (SBP) The Education People – ECT Induction Team have partnered with Best Practice Network (BPN) to deliver a full induction programme (option 1). *Despite the changes to who can act as an AB from July 2024, we are pleased to be able to continue to deliver the ECF programme and welcome new schools to join and benefit from our comprehensive and thorough ECF programme.
The AB are an assessment body who assesses the statutory entitlements are met. The AB assess the overall ECT performance of the 2-year cycle via termly assessments submitted on ECT Manager.
The ECF development programme is a curriculum of professional development and improvement. Teachers follow the curriculum week-by-week and are supported by a mentor through instructional coaching, improving the purposeful practice.
Assessments are based on the Teachers’ Standards.
The curriculum is rooted in the Early Career Framework.
Induction lasts at least 2 years, and the AB makes the final decision as to whether an ECT’s performance against the Teachers’ Standards is satisfactory, drawing on the recommendation of the headteacher. The AB notifies the Teaching Regulation Agency of their decision to pass, fail or extend the ECTs induction.
The ECF Development Programme lasts for the length of the induction period. There is no pass or fail notification at the end of the programme. However, an ECT is expected to have engaged with the programme in order to pass induction.
The school must pay for the AB service (to cover costs), The Full Induction Programme is fully funded by the DfE. like in previous years. Note: A school must register their ECT with an AB for them to start induction. They must also register with an ECF provider to follow an ECF development programme. Registering with BPN or another ECF provider only, will not formally start induction and vice versa.
Are you following the ECF Full Induction Programme with Best Practice Network? Did you know? Attendance at the ECF face to face and online events is essential for the required engagement with the ECF programme. Failure to attend events and engage sufficiently with the online modules on Canvas could impact on the funding your school receives for you to be registered on the ECF programme with BPN (partnered with The Education People — ECT Induction Team).
Contacting the ECT Induction Team What do I do if I have any queries about my induction? Please do contact us (via email in the first instance) if you have any queries about your Induction. We are happy to speak to you in confidence if your query is sensitive and can call you back at a convenient time. Remember, more information and resources about induction can be accessed via the ‘Resources’ section when you are logged in to ECT Manager.
Thank you for taking the time to read our update. Please contact us if you have any questions.
ect@kent.gov.uk 03301 651300
ECT Induction Team Tim Spoerry, ECT Induction Manager Elizabeth Dean, ECT Induction Advisor (part-time) Helen Grzeszczak, ECT Induction Coordinator (part-time)
Amanda Risbridger, ECT Induction Administrator (part-time) Rhea Clarke, ECT Induction Administrator (currently on maternity leave)