23/24 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.

ECT Induction Activities

• Reminders for Term 5.

• ECT Absence Reporting.

• Assessment date deadlines.

• How to submit the E1 document on ECT Manager.

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

• Is your ECT struggling?

• Extending an ECT’s induction period.

What’s in This Newsletter?

Information on the Induction Team Services

• ECF with The Education People/BPN (graded Ofsted Outstanding in 2023).

• Registering ECTs to start in September 2024.

• Appropriate Body Services and the Early Career Framework for September 2024.

• The Education People ‘Golden Thread’ menu of professional development opportunities:

 Initial Teacher Training

 Early Career Framework

 National Professional Qualifications (apply early to take advantage of The Education People’s privileged access to scholarships places in Kent!).

• 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 21 May 2024. 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 all our ECTs, 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: 21/05/2024

Term 6: 16/07/2024

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.

What Should You Expect to See from Your ECT At This Point?

Many ECTs will now be nearing the end of their 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.

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.

What to Do If Your ECT Resigns

The Induction Team should be informed by phone or email as soon as you know that the ECT is resigning. This is because it is necessary for the team to ensure that paperwork is correct and the TRA are informed promptly.

Mentors whose ECTs leave part way through induction may be required to complete a ‘half term assessment’. The team needs to know in good time to ensure that the correct assessment is available for completion.

Please contact the team if you think this will apply to one of your ECTs and we can confirm what will need to be completed before the ECT leaves your school.

In terms of the Early Career Framework you must inform your lead provider (Ambition Institute; Best Practice Network; Capita; Education Development Trust; Teach First or UCL Institute of Education) to withdraw the participant.

Are You Following the ECF Full Induction Programme (FIP) with Best Practice Network and The Education People?

Did You Know? Attendance at the ECF face to face and online events is essential for achieving the required levels of engagement with the ECF programme. Failure to attend events and engage sufficiently with the online modules on Canvas could impact, not only the ECT entitlement to valuable CPD and support in their first two years of teaching but also the funding your school receives from the Department for Education (DfE) to release ECTs and mentors.

What is Classed as Engagement?

Engagement is defined as attending face-to-face and online events, watching a recording of an event (if attendance is impossible) and interacting with the modules on Canvas, the virtual learning environment.

How Do the DFE Know Who is Engaging With the ECF Programme?

BPN are expected to provide evidence of engagement to the DfE in order to secure each schools funding. Canvas records which participants have engaged online and ECF facilitators also mark registers of attendance at each event and this forms the evidence to show which ECTs and ECMs are participating appropriately with the programme and are therefore eligible for the funding.

How Do I Access Canvas?

It is best to access Canvas via the participant dashboard. The participant dashboard is the ECT/ECM’s go-to portal for everything to do with their ECF journey. This can be used to:

• view their schedule of events for the year (‘Events’ tab)

• access the links to their online events (‘Events’ tab).

On the right hand side of the dashboard they will see a link to Canvas which is the Virtual Learning Environment – where they will undertake the online modules.

How Can I Confirm My ECT and Mentors Have Engaged With the ECF?

Heads and Induction Tutors can check the engagement of their ECT/ECM’s on their school dashboard. If you can see that engagement has been missed (normally because the individual has been working outside of the system), you can confirm this engagement by ticking a box. Missed engagement can affect the funding you receive from the DfE so its really important this is recorded correctly.

Do You Have ECTs Starting in September 2024?

New ECTs will need to be registered for Induction as well as the Early Career Development Programme? – they are two separate registrations!

If you are appointing ECTs, don’t forget to:

1. Register them with an Appropriate Body (unfortunately, government changes no longer allow us to take on ECTs for AB services). We do however, continue to deliver the ECF programme (Ofsted rated Outstanding) across Kent - just follow point two below:

2. Register your ECT on our Best Practice Network Early Career Development Programme (graded Ofsted Outstanding in 2023) – by following the steps below:

The School Induction Tutor responsible for the ECF in school must register their ECTs and mentors on the DfE Online Service (whichever Lead Provider you choose will then collect additional details directly from the ECTs and ECMs to enable allocation to their local training group). The DfE online service will be available for schools to register new ECTs and Mentors for Autumn 2024 from 24 June.

If you choose Best Practice Network registering with them consists of three parts:

1. if your school has not yet had an ECT, or is changing Lead Provider to Best Practice Network, you will be prompted with instructions for next steps within the DfE Online Service

2. if your school has not yet had an ECT or is changing Lead Provider, the school will also need to register with Best Practice Network via the BPN website School’s registration form

**When you get to the question “If you were directed here by a local Teaching School Hub, Multi-School Organisation or training partner, please select from the dropdown below” select The Education People**

Once the above has been completed,

3. BPN will share a ‘BPN application link’ for ECTs and ECMs (mentors) to set up their accounts (note, BPN application links are sent automatically once the ECT/ECM registration has been completed on the ‘DFE Online Service’ portal). This link will arrive via email so ECTs/ECMs will need to keep an eye on their inbox and also junk emails in case it lands there.

***If you have chosen an alternative provider for the delivery of the ECF, please liaise with your chosen provider on how to ensure you are appropriately registered for the delivery of the ECF.***

The Education People Appropriate Body Service

Many schools will be aware that from July 2024, only Teaching School hubs will be accredited to act as an Appropriate Body for 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 will continue to work closely with the Teaching School Hubs and provide support to ECTs during their Induction via the Teaching School Hubs Appropriate Body service.

Please note: Our delivery of the Early Career Framework to ECTs and Mentors is not affected by this change in Appropriate Body services and we hope to see our current schools and new ones at our ECF sessions (graded Ofsted Outstanding in 2023) next year!

How Will the Change in Appropriate Body Affect You?

From September 2024 you will need to register all ECTs with a Teaching School Appropriate Body service. In Kent, we have two: 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. We will work with you to make this process as smooth as possible. Please note: this does not affect the ECF Programme we run partnered with Best Practice Network.

Early Career Framework With The Education People and Best Practice Network (graded Ofsted Outstanding in 2023)

We may not be able to operate as an Appropriate Body for induction but we are excited to be able to continue to deliver the Early Career Framework full induction programme in partnership with Best Practice Network beyond July 2024. This year has been our most successful year in delivering the ECF programme to over a hundred schools in Kent. We look forward to seeing those schools next academic year and welcome new schools from September too!

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

Exciting News from The Education People!

Did you know? We now offer a ‘Golden Thread’ Menu of Professional Development Opportunities.

Initial Teacher Training (ITT)

Early Career Framework (ECF)

National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) (apply early to take advantage of The Education People’s privileged access to scholarship places)

More details can be found below. You can also register your interest here

Access to Accredited Training

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). Through our partnership with Best Practice Network (BPN), we are delighted to be awarded privileged access to NPQ scholarship places in Kent.

Why Train Your Staff Through The Education People?

Having been one of the largest Appropriate Bodies for many years, we have built excellent relationships with our Kent schools and we feel the move into offering valued training programmes for staff and teachers across all levels in schools will be welcomed by many of our existing customers. We can offer experienced and knowledgeable trainers who really want to support teachers and staff to have a successful and rewarding career in teaching.

The Education People, in partnership with Best Practice Network, offer the full DfE ‘Golden thread’ menu of professional qualifications across Kent, from support staff, to new teachers, through to executive heads.

We have successfully run the Early Career Framework (ECF) in a multitude of Kent locations for three years (achieving Ofsted Outstanding along the way!) and are looking forward to supporting the next cohort of ECTs and Mentors in Autumn 2024. We are particularly proud of this essential early support and training for new teachers and have been instrumental in the ongoing innovation and improvement to the programme, responding to Kent schools and their teachers. Have a look at the experience of an ECT on the programme ECT participant experience and the online learning resources accessed by ECTs and their mentors ECF online resources.

What Professional Development Opportunities Do We Offer?

The Education People ‘Golden Thread’ of CPD for schools:

• Teaching Assistant (TA) Level 3

• Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) Status

• Diploma for School Business Managers (DSBM)

• Initial Teacher Training (ITT)

• Early Career Framework (ECF) – (recently graded Ofsted ‘Outstanding’)

• National Professional Qualifications (NPQs)

 National Professional Qualification for Leading Teaching (NPQLT)

 National Professional Qualification for Leading Teacher Development (NPQLTD)

 National Professional Qualification for Leading Behaviour & Culture (NPQLBC)

 National Professional Qualification for Senior Leadership (NPQSL)

 National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH)

 National Professional Qualification for Executive Leadership (NPQEL)

 National Professional Qualification for SENCOs (NPQ for SENCOs)

NPQ Scholarship Funding – Limited Funded Places for Autumn 2024

From Autumn 2024 DfE scholarship funding is much more restricted than previous cohorts. The Education People have privileged access to NPQ scholarships through our relationship with Best Practice Network. These scholarships are time-limited so we encourage early and complete applications by the end of June to best ensure your staff benefit from this unique opportunity. Please remind applicants to select The Education People from the drop-down list of delivery partner organisations in the respective NPQ application form to ensure a place in a local NPQ group. Applications can be made via the Best Practice Network website (see links above).

Register Your Interest here

If you are interested in the development opportunities we can offer your school and would like more information, please register your interest here and we will be in touch.

Exciting News from The Education People!

Did you know? We now offer a ‘Golden Thread’ Menu of Professional Development Opportunities.

Initial Teacher Training (ITT)

Early Career Framework (ECF)

National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) (apply early to take advantage of The Education People’s privileged access to scholarship places)

Register your interest here.