Welcome to Term 2! We hope you enjoyed your break and are feeling refreshed and ready for the second term. This newsletter includes all the information that we think will be most helpful in term 2.
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: -
‘Golden thread’ - Professional Development Opportunities
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Reminders for Term 2
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Assessment date deadlines
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Interim Assessments
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Fidelity Checking
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How to submit the ‘E1– Grading’ document
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What should you expect to see from your ECT at this point?
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ECT Conference - book now!
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Cause for Concern
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Guide To Successful Induction
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ECT Professional Development Time
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Induction and the ECF - differences
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Meetings and Observations
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Contacting the ECT Team
Fee-free Teacher Apprenticeships and Fee-funded ITT
ECF - working with BPN (rated OUTSTANDING)
Fully funded NPQs for Tutors
Reminders for Term 2
Assessment date
You should have completed your ECT's assessment and so if you haven't already, please make this a
deadlines
priority. As a reminder the assessment grades are as follows:
Term 2
12/12/2023
Term 3
06/02/2024
A: This ECT is currently making excellent progress
Term 4
26/03/2024
towards meeting the induction standards.
Term 5
21/05/2024
B: This ECT is currently making good progress
Term 6
16/07/2024
towards meeting the induction standards.
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.
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 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).
Interim Assessments When submitting the interim assessment, 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 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 on how to do this can be found on page 5.
Fidelity Checking Many thanks to those schools running a core induction (CIP) or school based induction (SBP) early career framework programme who have already returned their fidelity check documents to us. We have recently contacted those schools that have outstanding documents for the 2022/2024 cohort of ECTs and asked for these to be emailed to us by 30th November. If you are yet to return your fidelity check form and would like some help completing it, please contact the Team to arrange a phone call.
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. 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 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)
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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)
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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.
What should you expect to see from your ECT at this point? Those 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. We expect tutors and ECTs to use the E1 document from the ECT Handbook before they complete each assessment, to provide a best fit against the appropriate grade. If you feel your ECT is in-between grades, we always advise tutors to be realistic about their ECT’s performance, even though it can sometimes be hard to deliver less positive messages. This is to ensure your ECT fully understands the level of progress they are making and will avoid any confusion about progress later on in the induction period. If you would like to discuss the grade with the induction team, please feel free to contact us.
Cause for Concern If you grade your ECT a 'D' or an 'E' for any assessment during their induction, our team will contact you to offer additional assistance. We'll ask you to let us know if you would prefer to support your ECT 'inhouse', or if you feel that your ECT would benefit from additional support. If you'd like the additional help then we will arrange for an advisor from the induction team to visit the school - we call this a ‘cause for concern' meeting. During the meeting the advisor will speak with you and the ECT individually before coming together to agree an action plan for the future. The advisor will check in on you and the ECT regularly as they work through the action plan. The aim is to get the ECT back on track so that they pass induction.
Professional Development Time It is important to ensure your ECT gets their ECT Time. Their timetable should have a 10% reduction in teaching in their first year of induction and 5% in year two. This is to give
How many meetings and observations should ECTs have each term?
them time for continuing professional
ECTs in their first year of
development which includes completing
induction should be meeting
activities relating to the ECTs Early Career
weekly with their mentor.
Framework (ECF) Development programme.
Those in year 2, are likely to only need biweekly meetings
Our document in the ECT Handbook "Effective
or even less if the ECT is
use of ECT Time" (E3) gives examples of other
making good progress
things your ECT could do to demonstrate they
towards meeting the Teachers’
are meeting the Teachers' Standards to pass
Standards. All ECTs should
induction. ECTs should be proactive about how
have a formal assessment
they use this time, but may need some guidance
meeting at the end of each
from their tutor.
term . There should also be at least one lesson observation
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
ECT’s targets for the term.
each term. We recommend that your ECT makes notes at all of these meetings and that both parties keep a record of them.
Did you know? You and your colleagues can now 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). For more details please see the boxes below.
ITT
ECF
We are thrilled to offer two routes into PRIMARY teaching: the Teacher Apprenticeship route which is free for trainees to access and the fee-funded Initial Teacher Training (ITT) route which is paid for by the trainees. If you would like more information on either route, please contact ect@kent.gov.uk or call on 03301 651300.
We are working with Best Practice Network (rated OUTSTANDING by Ofsted), to deliver a full ECF induction programme. Follow this link to find out more about the recent changes to our ECF programme structure, based on feedback from our schools. The ECF is fully-funded by the Department for Education. To register new ECTs for the delivery of the ECF with us and BPN, please email ect@kent.gov.uk or call on 03301 651300.
NPQs
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. Training is delivered in bite size chunks meaning you can learn at a pace that suits you. Examples include Leading Teacher Development, Leading Behaviour & Culture, Senior Leaders, Executive Headteachers and more.
The courses are fully-funded by the Department for Education and applications for Spring are now open. To find out more and to apply, visit the BPN website, email at enquiries@bestpracticenet.co.uk or call on 0117 920 9428.
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 your ECT understands their role and responsibilities as an ECT throughout their induction. If your ECT has not yet attended one of these events, please ask them to 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 your ECT attended a session last year, they do not need to attend it again.
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).
Remember… The ECT Induction Team is here to help you support your ECTs to pass induction. You can contact us anytime about your ECTs and we will advise as best we can. Our team is very experienced, so the chances are we've seen it before and will know how to help! We hope Term 2 goes well but please do let us know if you have any queries at all.
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)