Funding

Our Early Career Training programme is fully funded by the Department for Education. The DfE also pays funding directly to schools for the time ECTs and mentors need to attend training and mentoring sessions.

Eligibility

Schools and establishments eligible for Department for Education (DfE) funding include:

state-funded schools
maintained and non-maintained special schools
independent schools that receive Section 41 funding
colleges
sixth forms
children’s homes
nurseries

If your school or establishment is not eligible, you can arrange and self-fund a programme with us directly.

ECTs should be eligible for DfE funding if they:

hold qualified teacher status (QTS)
start their ECTE on or after 1 September 2021
work in an eligible school or establishment

ECTs who started their one year induction before 1 September 2021 but did not complete it by 31 August 2023 should take up the 2-year ECTE. They’re eligible for DfE funded training and mentor support for the remainder of their induction period.

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How funding works

Schools are funded to cover ECT time off timetable and mentor support during the 2-year early career teacher entitlement (ECTE). Funding comes from 2 sources.

This normally means:

year 1 funding comes from the core funding your school gets through the dedicated schools grant (DSG)
year 2 funding comes from additional support from the DfE (we call this ‘grant funding’) - for academies and others we pay this to your school directly or, if you’re a maintained school, your local authority will pass the funding to you.

If your school is eligible and uses a lead provider, the DfE will also fund ECT and mentor training given by the lead provider. The DfE pay this to the lead provider directly.

Year 1 funding

Schools should use their core funding from the dedicated schools grant (DSG) to fund the ECTs first year of their entitlement.

Core funding is not ‘earmarked’ for ECTE, but headteachers should use it to cover the cost of ECTs 10% time off timetable.

Year 2 funding

Year 2 funding is covered by grant funding. Schools will get a one payment at the end of the ECT’s second academic year.

Year 2 grant funding covers the cost of each ECT’s:

5% time off timetable
20 hours of mentor support

The DfE calculate funding using the average hourly rate for mentors and ECTs, split by region.

Non-standard induction funding

For ECTs who are part-time or start after September, funding can be paid partly in arrears and in advance.

Funding can be used to support ECTs beyond the academic year to help them complete their induction. It’s up to your school to decide how the funding is managed.

If an ECT moves to another school during the second year of their ECTE, funding will be allocated to the school where the ECT moves to where possible. It’s the responsibility of the ECT’s new school to discuss and agree with the previous school how funding is shared.

Mentor training funding for September 2025 onwards

Grant funding for mentor training is available to schools and establishments that use DfE funded training providers to deliver training as part of the ECTE.

Mentors will be given up to 20 hours to carry out mentor training for one year. Schools will be funded to support the mentor to undertake the training.

This funding will be paid in arrears at the end of each academic year. Payments will be based on evidence that the mentor participated in the training, as confirmed by the lead provider.

Mentors can only do this training once. They can continue their training even if their ECT transfers school or withdraws part way through their ECTE.

ECTs and mentors who started training and induction before the September 2025 cohort

By cohort, we mean participants who begin their ECTE in a given academic year. For example, a participant starting their training in the 2024 to 2025 academic year will have a cohort of 2024.

Grant funding and what it covers is different for ECTs and mentors who started ECF-based training and induction (now ECTE) before 2025.

ECTs who started before the September 2025 cohort

Grant funding for ECTs who are in year 2 of ECTE in 2025 covers:

5% time off timetable
20 hours of mentor support

Mentors who started before September 2025

Schools and establishments using one of the DfE’s funded training providers will receive backfill payments to cover up to 36 hours of mentor of training, over 2 years.