Early Career Training Programme (ECTP)
Help your ECTs thrive with our ECTP, which is delivered in partnership with Teach First and has been designated as outstanding by Ofsted. ECTs will benefit from two years of DfE-funded training, which will give them extended support at a critical time in their career, and is designed to fit in with the day-to-day realities of teaching. It is structured to help ECTs to integrate theory, practice and feedback.
DfE Portal registrations for ECTs who are joining your school in Autumn term 2025 are expected to open on Monday 16th June 2025. Please email [email protected] for further information and guidance.
The DfE Portal for registration of ECTs can be accessed HERE (please see note above before accessing).
DfE guidance on the registration process, and managing the Early Career Entitlement (ECTE) on an ongoing basis, can be found HERE.
Further information around DfE funding and eligibility for ITTECF-based training can be found here:
- Grant funding for early career training programme for mentors (ECTPM) - GOV.UK
If you have any questions, or require any support, please email [email protected] or call us on 0116 2689727.
Benefits of the fully funded ECTP
Early career teachers benefit from:
- a structured two-year package of support, training and resources
- flexible online and face-to-face training modules
- access to expert resources
- a mentor, identified by their school, trained by us
The school benefits from:
- face-to-face and online training for their ECTs, and training to help a colleague become a great mentor
- a network of mentors to share best practice
Everyone benefits from our:
- Experience - Teach First have over 20 years’ experience of helping new teachers get better faster and LeLTSH have over 12 years’ experience of providing excellent CPD for all staff, including ECTs and mentors
- Expertise - Evidence and research led training
- Flexibility - Online learning resources that fit around teachers’ timetables
- Tailored approach - Subject- and phase-specific support from specialists
- Connections - get connected to a network of thousands of teachers, leaders and schools.
Programme (Updated from September 2025)
A key aspect of the ECTE is the ECTs entitlement to access to a high-quality training programme. From September 2025, the Early Career Framework (ECF) will relaunch as the Early Career Training Programme (ECTP), offering a more personalised and flexible experience for ECTs and their mentors. These enhancements are designed to better reflect the day-to-day realities of classroom life and provide more targeted support.
Key improvements include:
- A new diagnostic tool which will consider each ECT's prior knowledge and experience, directing them towards content to meet their individual developmental needs.
- Tailored pathways - ECTs will follow personalised learning journeys, with core content for those building foundational knowledge and stretch activities for those ready to apply embedded knowledge in practice.
- Richer classroom examples - there will be a greatly expanded video library across Early Years, primary, secondary, post-16 and special schools.
- Seminars will provide more opportunities for collaboration and discussion—plus subject-specific options in the second year.
Year 1
Rooted in research and expertise and backed by a range of tailored resources, year one of the programme consists of six modules covering the following topics:
- How can you create an effective learning environment?
- How do pupils learn?
- What makes classroom practice effective?
- How can you use assessment and feedback to greatest effect?
- How can you support all pupils to succeed?
- How can you design a coherent curriculum? Each module includes self-directed study materials with expert guidance, research and examples of best practice across different phases and contexts. Following an in-person induction conference day, programme members will join online or in-person seminars to discuss theory and their experiences with small groups of peers and experts.
Year 2
In year two, teachers will:
- engage in subject/phase-specific learning and development
- develop their autonomy of learning
- choose from a range of leadership development modules
- continue to benefit from instructional coaching sessions with their mentor
For mentors and schools
Mentors will receive training to develop skills in:
- instructional coaching
- providing effective feedback
- using deliberate practice to accelerate progress
- how to provide further challenge to high-performing early career teachers
Mentors will have access to overview videos to complement the modules being undertaken by their ECTs, so they can tailor and align their support accordingly.
Mentors will also have the opportunity to learn from experts. Through online or in-person seminars, they’ll discover the best ways to reflect on their practice and develop their instructional coaching skills.
Testimonials
Please click on the links below, to read articles by our ECTs and Mentors:
It’s helping me become a better teacher | Teach First
For anyone thinking of becoming a mentor, I would say do it | Teach First
