Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government why funding is only available for the external provision of the Early Career Framework for teachers and not school-based provision.

All state funded schools offering statutory induction receive funding to deliver the early career framework (ECF) reforms. In addition to their core funding to cover the cost of time off timetable for early career teachers (ECTs) in year one of induction, schools also receive funding which covers 5% off timetable for ECTs in year two of induction, for induction activities including ECF based training and mentor sessions. This funding also covers a dedicated mentor for each ECT, based on 20 hours of mentoring in year two of induction.

The department wants all ECTs to have access to high-quality ECF based training, so schools can choose to use a Department for Education funded training provider. The content of the providers’ programmes has been quality assured by the department and the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). The quality of delivery of the programmes is also quality assured separately through Ofsted inspection. If a state funded school uses a Department for Education funded training provider, the department funds the training delivered to ECTs and their mentors by the provider, and provides additional funding to backfill the mentor time spent undertaking funded provider-led training, meaning that there is no cost for these schools.

To ensure that schools have choice and flexibility, they have the option of delivering their own ECF based training programme. For schools who choose this approach, they can choose to use the department’s accredited materials and resources, which have been independently assessed by the EEF to ensure their fidelity to the ECF. These materials are freely available to schools via the department’s ‘Manage training for early career teachers’ service, available at: https://manage-training-for-early-career-teachers.education.gov.uk/.