ECT Participants' Area

ECT participants' area

Welcome to the ECT participants' area. This is where you can find information on what you can expect from your ECF-based training programme, upcoming events and other related resources.

What is ECF-based training?

The Department for Education's Early Career Framework (ECF) sets out what early career teachers are entitled to learn when they start their careers. It is designed to help early career teachers develop their practice, knowledge and working habits. ECF-based training is structured to fulfil all of the requirements set out by the DfE and ensures that ECTs complete their induction with the knowledge needed to support their career in teaching. This statutory 2-year induction period bridges the gap between initial teacher training and a career in teaching.

Our ECT programme

We deliver our ECT programme in partnership with our lead provider, Ambition Institute. They create the DfE-accredited learning materials, and our expert facilitators deliver the training online and at our Teaching School Hub in Norwich.

Steplab

Ambition's online learning platform, Steplab, provides you with weekly modules covering different areas of teaching practice. Steplab is also where your mentor will log lesson observations and set action steps for you to work on between meetings. Our training events build on what you cover in your online learning and encourage you to network with other early career teachers.

Once your school has registered you and your mentor for our programme, you will receive an email from Ambition requesting that you set up your My Ambition account. Once you have set up your account, you can launch Steplab from the My Ambition homepage. 

Events

ECTs are expected to attend 6 clinics and 3 conferences throughout their 2 year programme. Mentors need to attend 3 clinics and 2 conferences over this 2 year period.

Conferences are all day events that take place in-person at our Teaching School Hub. Clinics usually last around an hour and take place virtually after school. These events are designed to support early career teachers and mentors to make sense of independent study and address common misconceptions through discussions with their peers and an expert facilitator. Each event is focused on a different area of knowledge, practice or working habit to support your learning on Steplab. 

ECTs and mentors are assigned their training event dates with at least half a term's notice. You will find your upcoming events under 'events' once logged into My Ambition. If you are unable to make your assigned date for any training event, please contact inspirationteachinghub@inspirationtrust.org to request you be added to an alternative date. All repeat sessions are available to view on our 2022/23 ECF Events Calendar.