Early Career Teacher Induction

Early Career Teacher Induction Cockburn MAT

In 2025 the Early Career Framework became the Early Career Teacher Entitlement (ECTE), a 2-year programme that supports early career teachers (ECTs) when they start their teaching career. It’s designed to:

• develop their professional skills
• provide them with the knowledge and skills to meet the  Teachers’ Standards

It includes:

• a training programme for ECTs
• mentor support for ECTs
• a training programme for new mentors (if the school uses a DfE funded lead provider)
• time off timetable for ECTs and mentors
• regular progress reviews and 2 formal assessments for ECTs against the Teachers’ Standards

This page gives information to new staff joining any schools within the Cockburn MAT details what support we put in place to enable you to achieve a successful induction.

In School Induction
On your arrival to the school you will complete a school induction when you start. This is to ensure so that you understand the MAT and school’s ethos, policies and procedures. This will include whole-school/cluster/multi-academy trust training events and have the opportunity to attend CPD relevant to your specific needs. You will complete all mandatory training read relevant policies throughout the initial school induction.

Full Induction Programme
In addition, as an ECT within the Cockburn MAT,  you will be enrolled with Leeds Teaching Schools Hub on an Early Career Framework of  professional. Cockburn MAT offers ECTs a full induction programme.  Leeds Teaching School Hub’s core responsibility in the Early Career Teacher Entitlement is to deliver the Full Induction Programme alongside a national provider, University College London (UCL). UCL Institute of Education is ranked number one for Education in the QS World University Rankings and is a world-leading centre for research and teaching in education.

The Early Career Teacher Entitlement has a clear focus on the benefits of high-quality mentoring. Each Early Career Teacher works intensively with a carefully chosen mentor who is given the time and has a proven track record to effectively carry out the mentor role. Mentors provide effective targeted feedback, and support, and ensure the Early Career Teacher understands and applies the knowledge and skills set out in the framework so they receive a high-quality ECT induction programme. There are opportunities for outstanding professional development, not only for the Early Career Teacher, but also for the mentor involved in the programme.

Timetabling & Additional release time
Your timetable should reflect a range of classes and key stages. As well as the 10% planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time that all teachers are entitled to, as an ECT you are entitled to 10% additional release time in year 1 and 5% additional release time in year 2. The additional release time is provided to enable you to complete professional development activities (such as observing colleagues, self-study/reading, attending training courses) and to meet with your Mentor and Induction Tutor.

In-school support
As an ECT, you will be allocated a Mentor who is the ‘expert colleague’ in the ECTE and an Induction Tutor to support, monitor and assess you against the Teachers’ Standards. In addition, you will be allocated an ECT Facilitator who will guide, support and deliver central CPD alongside the staff within your school.

You will meet with your Mentor regularly to discuss activities related to the ITT Early Career Framework professional development programme you are completing. Your mentor will provide coaching, formative feedback on your teaching and signpost you to relevant research/resources.

You will meet with your Induction Tutor at least once per term to agree relevant development targets, to discuss your progress against the Teachers’ Standards and for MAT based CPD sessions.

The Appropriate Body
Our Appropriate Body (AB) is Leeds Teaching Schools Hub. The AB has a role in checking that ECTs receive statutory entitlements, are fairly and consistently assessed, and receive a programme of support and training based on the ITTECTE. The AB makes the final decision as to whether an ECT has met the Teachers’ Standards on the recommendation of the Headteacher in the school where they work.

The Early Career Teacher Entitlement: full induction programme delivered in partnership with UCL
Early Career Teacher Entitlement (ECTE) programmes are evidence-based professional development programmes developed for ECTs and mentors. The ECTE programme will build upon your initial teacher training year and help support your developing practice in 5 core areas, mapped across the 8 teacher standards:

• Behaviour management
• Pedagogy
• Curriculum
• Assessment
• Professional behaviours

As an ECT you can expect a structured programme of professional development which will include attending training sessions with other ECTs, webinars, self-study/reading and follow-up activities to complete in school with the support of your mentor.

In partnership with Leeds Teaching School Hub, the Cockburn MAT delivers The Early Career Framework programme. The ECT will work intensively with a carefully chosen mentor who will be given time and have a proven track record to carry out effectively the mentor role. The mentor will provide effective targeted feedback, and support, and will ensure the Early Career Teacher understands and applies the knowledge and skills set out in the framework so they receive a high-quality ITT ECTE induction programme. There will be outstanding professional development, not only for the Early Career Teacher, but also for the mentor involved in the programme.

ECF Content
Following the UCL Institute of Education provider-led programme, ECTs in Year 1 will study five carefully designed modules that span the full breadth of the Teachers’ Standards. In Year 2 Early Career Teachers will enhance their teaching through four modules with an enquiry-based approach. In this second year the programme will be a bespoke one, with the Early Career Teacher focusing on areas of personal educational interest – behaviour, pedagogy, curriculum, assessment and professional behaviours.

Year 1

Module 1: Fulfilling Professional Responsibilities 

• Develop understanding of teachers' roles as professionals.
• Explore effective communication with parents, carers, and colleagues.
• Focus on workload management and wellbeing.

Module 2: Enabling Pupil Learning

• Address diverse learner needs and manage classroom behaviour effectively.
• Understand the impact of disadvantage and the importance of literacy in learning.

Module 3: Engaging Pupils in Learning 

• Deepen knowledge of curriculum, subject expertise, and how prior knowledge affects learning.
• Build strategies to address misconceptions and promote deep learning.

Module 4: Developing Quality Pedagogy 

• Enhance teaching skills such as questioning, modelling, and adaptive teaching.
• Introduce metacognitive strategies and high-quality classroom discussions.

Module 5: Meeting Pupils’ Needs 

• Understand the role of key professionals in supporting all learners.
• Use formative assessment and adaptive teaching techniques to meet specific needs.

Module 6: Making Productive use of Assessment 

• Applying good assessment practice in the classroom
• Giving high-quality feedback
• Reflection and research in professional development

Year 2: Practitioner Inquiry and Specialisation
The second year builds on foundational skills, focusing on four modules that emphasize inquiry-led professional development and specialized practice.

Module 7: Inquiry into enabling pupil learning 

• Engage in structured practitioner inquiries to investigate and enhance teaching practices.
• Use evidence to support classroom interventions and promote pupil outcomes.

Module 8: Inquiry into engaging pupils in learning 

• Engage in structured practitioner inquiries to investigate and enhance teaching practices.
• Use evidence to support classroom interventions and promote pupil outcomes.

Module 9: Inquiry into developing quality pedagogy and making productive use of assessment

• A full disciplined inquiry – over a term and a half – into a problem of practice
• Collecting evidence of impact in the classroom
• Testing the efficacy of an intervention
• Understanding and sharing findings from practitioner inquiry, to make a wider difference

Module 10: School visits focusing on fulfilling professional responsibilities

• Exploring the implications of being a professional
• Building a professional network, and visiting other settings

Progress reviews and formal assessments
A formal assessment report reviewing your progress against the Teachers’ Standards will be completed by your Induction Tutor at the end of year 1 and year 2. In terms 1,2,4 and 5 your Induction Tutor will submit a progress review which is a briefer summary of progress made against the Teacher’ Standards that term. These assessments/reviews will be informed by a wide range of evidence. You are not expected to collate additional evidence for these as you should naturally collate evidence as you progress through induction. However, it is a good idea to keep an electronic copy of anything that might be relevant, particularly if related to your development targets, so that you can easily locate and discuss with your Induction Tutor when you meet with them.

Moving schools during induction
It is possible to complete induction in more than one school. If you leave a school midway through induction, each full term is ‘banked’ so you can pick up induction where you left off. If you move to a new school, your progress reviews and assessments will be forwarded to the school once you are registered as an ECT there.

Mentor Support 
These colleagues will lead you through the framework:

Your mentor will be your go-to colleague in school and will receive up to 20 hours of training via UCL.

The mentors will undertake training as follows:

Programme outline
Part A: The Fundamentals of Mentoring-a two-hour self-paced online induction unit.

Part B: A Welcome Conference- a live event you will be invited to by your Delivery Partner.

Independent Study:
Six 30-minute online independent study sessions designed to deepen your understanding of UCL's ECTE curriculum. You should complete one independent study session per half term.

Facilitator Support
Your facilitator will be a further layer of support who will work with you outside your school.

Facilitators will work with approximately 20 ECTs, from a range of schools, and you will meet with them throughout the terms via a face to face facilitation meeting hosted in a centralised school.

Your subject leader will support you and your mentor and deliver key messages on, subject knowledge, teaching, learning and assessment, CPD and quality assurance -work scrutiny/observations/meetings.

Below are the key roles and responsibilities:

ECT:

• Meet the Teachers’ Standards.
• Attend the school ECT programme of CPD and use the additional 10% PPA time effectively.
• Engage fully in the ECTE programme.
• Attend induction conferences, face to face ECT training and hub based facilitated learning sessions.
• Attend weekly mentor meeting sessions and record outcomes/actions.
• Ensure self- directed study/tasks are completed before weekly mentor meeting.
• Be responsible in ensuring they are observed twice per half term by mentor/induction tutor/SLT or staff that have been teaching for more than 2 years.
• Attend half termly review meeting.
• Seek advice, feedback and support if they are struggling with meeting the Teachers’ Standards or wellbeing.
• Liaise with mentors/induction tutor in regards to how effectively the Teachers’ Standards are being met.
• Work in collaboration with mentor to update tracking document at least half termly.
• Conduct at least 1 observation of other staff per half term.

ECT Mentor:

• Ensure the ECT is attending CPD and engaging fully in the ECTE programme.
• Ensure the ECT is using the additional 10% PPA time effectively.
• Use UCL mentor materials to prepare for weekly ECT meetings.
• Meet weekly with the ECT.
• Engage with appropriate ECTE Mentor CPD materials from the UCL and attend Mentor OLC.
• Meet half termly with the ECT and complete progress tracker.
• Ensure the ECT is attending half termly review meetings.
• Ensure ECT is conducting at least 1 Pobs per half term.
• Immediately inform induction tutor and subject leader of any concerns.
• Observe the ECT once per half term and send copies of feedback to subject leader and induction tutor.

Induction Tutor:

• Ensure that ECTs attend the seminar programme of CPD and knows how to use the additional 10% PPA time effectively.
• Ensure and the ECT is engaging in the ECTE programme and challenge if not doing so.
• Deliver and facilitate high quality CPD.
• Ensure ECTs are observed twice per half term (at least once from mentor) – copies of feedback to the mentor/induction tutor.
• Ensure the ECT is attending half termly review meetings and recording these in the meeting booklet.
• Ensure any concerns regarding the ECT is addressed according to policy.
• Liaise with ECT mentors in regards to how effectively the Teachers’ Standards are being met.
• Inform Headteacher and SLT of ECT progress regularly.
• Hold formal reviews termly with mentors and ECTs.
• Complete formal interim and final assessment reports for ECTs.
• Complete all paperwork to be forwarded to awarding body, confirming the ECT’s progression towards the Teachers’ Standards.