ECT provision at SHS

ECT at SHS

Stretford High School welcomes Early Career Teachers (ECTs) as professional colleagues and the unique contribution they can make to the community. 

Principles:

• To ensure an ECT appointed to the school feels welcomed and valued
• To support an ECT so that they are able to settle into the school as quickly and as happily as possible and apply their talents and expertise for the greater good of the school and to teach effectively
• To provide opportunities to allow an ECT to develop professionally in accordance with their personal ambitions
• To support an ECT’s completion of a two year induction programme  fully funded by the Department of Education

The Early Career Framework (ECF) is a step change in support for early career teachers, providing a funded entitlement to a structured 2-year package of high quality professional development. The early career framework sets out what all early career teachers should learn about and how to do during the first 2 years of their careers.

It includes sections on:

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

What do ECT’s receive?

This offer includes:

• 2 years of fully funded, high quality training
• Freely available high quality development materials based on the early career framework
• Additional funding for 5% time away from the classroom for teachers in their second year
• A dedicated mentor and new training for these mentors
• Funding to cover mentor’s time with the mentee in the second year of teaching

Who is delivering it?

From September 2021 onwards, it will be delivered by Loreto Grammar School in conjunction with the Best Practice Network (B.P.N), our designated teaching Hub provider

How is it delivered?

 A combination of self-directed study sessions, mentor meetings, online professional learning communities, discussion forums, induction conferences and training sessions within each of the five modules studied over the course of the two year programme.

What will an ECT receive?

An ECT will follow a structured induction programme. Weekly meetings will take place with the Early Careers Mentor (ECM) throughout the year and regular weekly meetings with the Induction mentor (IM).

1. A programme of training that supports the ECT to understand and apply the knowledge and skills set out in the Early Career Framework’s evidence:

• Termly review meetings and reports
• Arranging peer lesson observations 
  
• Procedures for staff absence, leaving cover work and doing cover
• Duties and school meal arrangements
• Signing in and out for free periods
• School evacuation procedures
• Meeting support staff
• Health and Safety including E-safety
• Learning support details
• Behaviour for learning  – review of procedures and restorative behaviour management
• Safeguarding procedures
• Safeguarding policy – Keeping Children Safe in Education 
• Staff code of conduct
• GDPR regulations
• Assessment and exams
• providing support with the ECF programme for ECFs and EC

In addition, training sessions will include:

• Common Standards and Professionalism
• Peer/buddy lesson observations
• Teaching and learning strategies
• Exam Procedures
• Assessment for learning
• High ability students’ provision
• SEND
• EAL
• Differentiation
• Dealing with stress/workload
• AfL techniques and strategies
• Theatre of teaching/storytelling
• SIMs
• Language for learning 
• Literacy in every classroom
• Numeracy in every classroom

An ECM will be responsible for supporting/facilitating with the following:

• ECF directed tasks and subsequent meetings
• day-to-day progress
• school resources: stationery, textbooks, IT, audio-visual equipment
• Supporting classroom behaviour, control and sanctions
• Teaching and Learning policy
• Departmental marking policy
• Departmental assessment policy and marking students’ books
• Departmental homework policy and handing in arrangements
• Effort grades and comments
• Parents’ meetings
• Schemes for learning of work

2. During the induction year an ECT will work towards induction standards relating to these areas via the ECF programme delivered by Loreto Grammar School in conjunction with Best Practice Network (Outstanding Leaders) partnership:

3. Access to the school’s Work Based Learning (WBL) credits system which includes workshops and delivered CPD in areas of interest/directed towards to gain credit. ECTs can also gain credit for delivering workshops and taking part in/organising experiences directly linked to how they wish to develop professionally. ECTs can choose from a wide variety of workshops therefore not restricting them to one pathway.

4. A buddy who is a recently qualified teacher with whom an ECT can meet once every half term for a coffee morning. 

5. Observations will take place once every half term. Each observation will follow meetings with an ECT to identify a specific focus in relation to the induction standards and targets set.

6. Formal meetings will take place periodically with the IM to review the extent to which the ECT is meeting the induction standards, review targets and set new objectives in relation to this.

7. At the end of the induction period, performance against the standards will be reviewed and targets set in preparation for the school’s performance management system.