Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the publication entitled, Early Career Framework published by his Department on 28 January 2019, whether he has plans to allocate funding in excess of £130 million if a request is made; and whether any additional funding will be provided by HM Treasury.

The £130 million funding package represents an ongoing investment in the development of early career teachers and their mentors. Once fully rolled out, all schools will be able to draw on fully funded and quality assured training and support.

Funding for national roll-out will include funding and guaranteeing 5% off timetable in the second year of teaching for all early career teachers, with funding based on the number of early career teachers a school is supporting. It will also include the creation of high quality curricula and training materials paid for by the Department and available for free. The roll-out will further establish full Early Career Framework (ECF) training programmes, with teachers’ access to programmes funded by the Department, rather than schools. It will also ensure funding time for mentors to support early career teachers, and fully funded mentor training.

The £130 million funding reflects what individual schools are expected to need on a yearly basis to support delivery of the ECF in full. The early roll-out phase will help the Department collect evidence on how to roll out the framework nationally in September 2021 and ensure it meets the needs of early career teachers and enables them to enjoy a successful start in the profession.

The Spending Review 2019 will set wider Departmental budgets and confirm the precise funding details for the ECF.