Early Career Teachers
At Balksbury Federation we believe that education is a powerful gift and is ours to give. We welcome the opportunity to support teachers in their early career; we have a passion for developing excellent practitioners and are invested in developing the next generation of teachers. We recognise that our Early Career Teachers have in depth knowledge of the latest research in teaching, learning and pedagogy and value their significant contributions to our year group teams.
What is an ECT?
Early Career Teachers (ECTs) are teachers who are new to the profession and are completing their two-year induction through the Early Career Framework.
What is the Early Career Framework?
The Early Career Framework (ECF) provides a two-year support programme of high quality development. It is designed to help ECTs succeed at the start of their teaching careers.
The framework sets out what all ECTs should learn about, and learn how to do, including:
- setting high expectations
- promoting good progress
- demonstrating good subject and curriculum knowledge
- planning and teaching well-structured lessons
- adapting teaching
- making accurate and productive use of assessment
- managing behaviour effectively
- fulfilling wider professional responsibilities
The training ECTs receive as part of their 2-year induction at Balksbury Federation is based on this framework. It is known as ‘ECF-based training’.
In addition to the ECF, the federation is committed to providing bespoke support for our ECTs throughout their journey in their first two years as a teacher and beyond. The federation’s induction programme enables ECTs to establish a secure foundation upon which a successful teaching career can be built. The federation has a wealth of knowledge and expertise for all teachers to draw on and each ECT is given an experienced mentor to guide them.
HISP Teaching School Hub
From the academic year 2023-2024 the federation's ECTs will complete their ECF through HISP Teaching School Hub. HISP will also provide all Appropriate Body services for the federation. See the link below for more information about HISP:
https://www.hispteachingschoolhub.org/
ECT Policies
Balksbury Federation ECTs say...
'Balksbury has been such a lovely place to complete my first year as an ECT. The amount of support from not only my year group team but also from the rest of the school and federation has allowed me to thrive! The training provided by the federation has given me a myriad of strategies and techniques to enhance my own teaching.'
'My Induction Mentor and Induction Tutor are so supportive. They are always on had to run ideas by and are happy to team teach with me whenever I ask.'
'Life as an ECT at Balksbury has allowed me to learn and grow into a capable teacher who is equipped with skills and strategies to handle the unpredictable experiences of a classroom with confidence and positivity.'
'As an ECT at Balksbury Federation, I have been given the opportunity to develop my skills with the support of the whole Balksbury community. With such comprehensive and astute mentorship, I look forward to building my pedagogical knowledge within my ECT years.'