Frequently Asked Questions

How will you be assessed?​

• The Early Career Framework is not, and should not be used as, an assessment framework​

• Early career teachers will continue to be assessed against the Teachers’ Standards only​

The ECF does not require any reports, it is not part of assessment for the NQT. ​

There will be no changes to statutory induction during the first year of early rollout. After one year, NQTs will be assessed against the Teachers' Standards to determine whether they have passed induction. There is no change to the present arrangements. There will be change during national rollout from 2021​ (please see more information HERE)

What happens to statutory induction during national rollout?​

National rollout begins September 2021 affecting early career teachers starting induction from then.​

After national rollout early career teachers will do a two year statutory induction.​

After 2 years, early career teachers will be assessed against the Teachers’ Standards to determine whether they’ve passed the induction.​

QTS will continue to be awarded at the end of ITT and before the start of statutory induction (minus exemptions from assessment only routes).

What about the role of the appropriate body?​

The statutory role of appropriate bodies will not change during the first year of early rollout, from September 2020 to September 2021​

A new accreditation process:​

• Strengthening the role of appropriate bodies and improving consistency of support​

• Updated statutory induction guidance to support rollout of reforms nationally​

What are the considerations for workload and staff wellbeing?​

• We have worked hard to ensure that the materials take account of this: our materials can be covered in the allotted time and are all based on the practical daily routines of a classroom practitioner. ​

• The DfE expects mentors and mentees to have a timetabled session each week for an hour. There is no requirement about the time of day or stage of the week when this will happen. The time is funded, and the DfE will clarify how that funding is accessed in due course. You will need to have signed up with a provider to access the funding. ​

• We will work with clusters to arrange the times for training sessions: we envisage that it will be after school in most cases. For the early part of the first year at least, we expect that it will be online rather than face-to-face due to Covid-19 restrictions. ​ ​

What funding is available for schools participating in the early roll-out of ECF?

Early career teachers and mentors in participating schools will have free access to a full package of support and training. The DfE will also be funding 5% away from the classroom in the second year of teaching for early career teachers and funded time for mentors to support them in their second year of teaching. This is in addition to the 10% off timetable already enjoyed by early career teachers in their first year of teaching.

Participating schools in Early Roll-Out areas will receive £2,200 per second year early career teacher and mentor pairing in the 2021-2022 academic year. A single payment will be paid in the summer term of 2022, based on how many second year early career teachers in participating schools commenced each term in the 2021-2022 academic year.

What happens if an NQT moves school during the early roll-out period?

If an NQT who has already been enrolled in the early roll-out of ECF moves to a new school in the early roll-out area, then they can continue to participate in the programme if the new school agrees to support them in this. The new school will be eligible for the funding offered for early career teachers in their second year of teaching.

What happens if an NQT goes on maternity leave during the course of the programme?

The programme is fixed term until summer 2022, so it is up to individual schools who are taking part, whether their early career teacher can re-engage with the programme upon their return. If they are able to return, DfE will base payments (for Early Roll-Out only) on termly data submitted by providers, and the single payment is made up of three termly components of £733.00. Participating schools will therefore receive funding for each term their early career teacher commences, rather than completes.  

For example, if maternity leave starts in December 2021 and the early career teacher does not return in that academic year, the school will receive £733.00.   If the early career teacher commences maternity leave in March 2021, the school will receive £1466.00 etc.

As per Section 3.7 of the guidance, NQTs who take statutory maternity leave while serving their induction period during early roll-out may decide whether their induction should be extended (or further extended) to reflect the number of days absent for this purpose. Any outstanding assessments should not be made until the NQT returns to work and has had the opportunity to decide whether to extend (or further extend) induction, and any such request must be granted. If an NQT chooses not to extend the induction period, their performance will still be assessed against the relevant standards. We therefore recommend that an individual in this situation seeks advice before making such a decision.

What happens if an NQT is on long term sick leave?

The programme is fixed term until summer 2022, so it is up to individual schools who are taking part, whether their early career teacher can re-engage with the programme upon their return. If they are able to return, DfE will base payments (for Early Roll-Out only) on termly data submitted by providers, and the single payment is made up of three termly components of £733.00. Participating schools will therefore receive funding for each term their early career teacher commences, rather than completes. 

For example, if sickness absence commences in November 2021 and the early career teacher does not return in that academic year, the school will receive £733.00. If sickness absence commences in December 2021 and the early career teacher returns in March, the school will receive £1466.00 (for the autumn and summer terms).

As per Section 3.6 of the guidance, it’s worth reminding suppliers that the induction period is automatically extended prior to completion when an NQT’s absences during the period total 30 days or more (with the exception of statutory maternity leave). Extended periods of illness totalling 30 days or more will therefore trigger an automatic extension of this type. In this situation, the induction period must be extended by the aggregate total of days absent. 

I have a new NQT joining the school - can they be added to the programme?

If the NQT has already been registered for the programme and has been following it at their prevous school then they can continue to follow the programme at their new school. If they have not been registered for the programme then unfortunately we're not able to add them to the programme at this stage, however you can use the online resources HERE to provide support and structure mentor sessions.

One of the mentors enrolled in the programme can no longer act as mentor, can we change an ECT's mentor?

If a mentor is leaving the school, or for another reason can not continue to mentor the ECT they were assigned to originally then, we can change this and enrol a new mentor in the programme to take their place. Contact us at ecfne@newcastle.ac.uk and we will send through details on how to change mentors and get the new mentor access to the online platform and other resources.

What should a participant do if they can't make it to one of their facilitated sessions?

Please contact us at ecfne@newcastle.ac.uk and we will try to accommodate them in a different session - we usually have sessions running Monday to Thursday so can often offer an alternative.

How do I find out more when national roll-out is announced?

You can register for updates HERE. We will then contact you with further information

• Your school signs up initially, and then will be asked to register the NQTs and Mentors later. ​
• Schools can sign up individually or MATs can choose to register all their schools. This is a decision for the MAT. ​