There is a FAQs section in the Programme Home tab on UCL Extend here.  Induction tutors also have a section in the Induction Tutor Guide here.

ECTP = Early Career Training Programme.  This is what UCL call the training programme

ITTECF = Initial teacher training and early career framework.  The document that the training programme is based on

ECTE = Early Career Teacher Entitlement. The overall ECT entitlement covering the training programme and the assessed side of induction, including entitlements for timetable reduction etc.

Assessment and Paperwork

Is the ECTP assessed?

No the ITTECF is not an assessment framework. Induction Tutors will need to do the observation and monitoring required by the Appropriate Body to assess their ECTs progress against the Teachers’ Standards, but this is separate to the ECTP.

What evidence does an ECT need to upload to Extend?  How do they evidence progress against the Teachers’ Standards?  Where do they upload weekly tasks?

The short answer is that ECTs don’t need to upload anything to Extend.  They don’t need to upload any records of mentor meetings.  UCL don’t require any evidence of meeting the Teachers’ Standards – the ITTECF is not an assessment framework.  UCL will track engagement in the programme through the ECT’s activities on Extend.  That is why it is important to click on “mark as done” whenever the ECT has completed an activity.  Your Appropriate Body should advise you about the evidence gathering side of the process – that is nothing to do with UCL.

Observations

Are ECTs still required to complete formal lesson observations to demonstrate the extent to which they are meeting the Teachers’ Standards?

ECTs will have formal observations but these are part of the statutory assessed side of induction, which is overseen by the Appropriate Body.  These formal observations are usually carried out by the induction tutor not the mentor.  They are not part of the UCL ECT training programme. 

Does the mentor have to observe the ECT?

On occasion, the mentor is asked to conduct a developmental observation of the ECT, as part of the training programme.  These observations by the mentor should be separate to any formal observations which the induction tutor might do as part of the assessment against the Teacher Standards.  The ITTECF is not an assessment framework and mentors should not be carrying out observations which are part of the assessment.  Mentors and ECTs can arrange as many developmental observations as they like and there is no need for any formal write up to be submitted anywhere – they are purely to support the ECT’s development.

The role of the mentor

How much time should mentors be allocated on their timetable for this role? Is one hour a week enough to do this successfully?

Mentors are required to meet with their ECTs weekly in year 1 and fortnightly in year 2, but they will also need time to prepare for these meetings.  New mentors are also required to complete 18 hours of training over the year, which is funded.  Although there is no statutory minimum timetable allowance for mentors, one hour a week would seem a minimum. 

Should mentor meetings be timetabled into mentor’s timetable or is this to be done before or after school?

The Statutory Induction Guidance says that “ECT and mentor sessions are expected to be timetabled during teaching hours. In exceptional circumstances however where schools require flexibility due to timetabling constraints, mentoring may take place outside of teaching hours but should always be scheduled within contracted time (see para 2.44).”

Is there funding for mentor time?

Yes.  For more detailed information about funding see the DfE website here.

Does an ECT have to have the same mentor for the two years of the programme?

It is up to individual schools to allocate mentors to ECTs. There are advantages to keeping the same mentor for two years, but schools may have good reasons for thinking otherwise.  Mentors may change schools or change role within school which means they no longer have the capacity to mentor into the second year of the programme.

Does a mentor have to do the training again if they mentor for a second time?

No.

Can a mentor mentor an ECT in year 1 and year 2 of the programme simultaneously?

Yes it is fine for a mentor to mentor a year 1 and a year ECT at the same time, providing that they feel they have the capacity.  The two years of the programme are distinctly different so the mentor would have to have individual mentor meetings with each ECT.

Why can’t a mentor tick activities as done in Extend?

Mentors only need to “mark as done” activities which are part of their mentor training programme – which is the mentor independent study and attendance at the live training sessions, or when they have watched a recording if they couldn’t attend a live session.  They do not tick off the mentor meetings – the ECT will do that, as these form part of the ECT programme.  If a mentor is not currently following the mentor training programme, because they have completed it previously, they don’t need to mark anything as done, and so this feature is disabled on their account.

Accessing Materials and Programme Content

Extend is difficult to navigate and materials are hard to find.

There are guides and videos on UCL Extend.  If you need help or would like to arrange a teams/zoom meeting to have a demonstration/walkthrough please contact Sue Watson, TSH Operations Manager on susanwatson@lgs.slough.sch.uk.   

Can mentors and induction tutors see what activities their ECTs have completed on Extend?

The mentor/induction tutor and ECT accounts are not linked.  So mentors and induction tutors cannot see what their ECTs have completed, from their own Extend accounts.  You will have to just ask your ECT,  or contact Sue Watson and she can tell you.  That is why mentors and ECT progress bars on Extend will not match up.  The mentor’s progress bar shows their progress in their own mentor training programme.

 

It is not clear what should be happening each week.  Could there be an email at the start of term with a reminder?

ECTs and mentors should plan a path through the module each half term depending on your formative assessment meeting.  Usually ECTs work through the topics in the order on Extend, but you can change the order to fit in better with the ECT’s developmental needs and the school calendar.

Your local area coordinator will send out schedules for the training sessions at the start of each year.

The hub also sends out a bulletin at the start of each half term with key dates and actions.

There is an overview of the year at the end of this guide.

 

Do ECTs have to complete all the activities in the programme?  What if they feel that some aren’t appropriate for them, or they have done them on their ITE year?

It is a statutory requirement that all ECTs engage in a 2-year programme of professional development based on the ITTECF. You can download a copy of the full ITTECF. Therefore, it is important that all participants complete all the activities and engage in all facilitated sessions.

 

The ECTP addresses all ECTs in whatever their setting; as such, ECTs should expect to revisit research from their ITE year. However, their focus should be on how they can apply it discerningly to their classrooms, and this certainly will be a new challenge. The Teaching Standards are something that all teachers are expected to come back to throughout their career, improving their mastery of them each time.

 

Nevertheless, UCL recognise that ECTs on our programme come from different ITE routes, work in a range of contexts and have different strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, they have built flexibility into our programme to make sure participants can tailor each activity to their needs. This is principally done through the formative assessment process, explained at the top of every module page.

 

The content of the mentor meetings is too prescriptive and there is too much content.  What happens if we need to discuss another issue that has arisen? 

We know that there will be times when ECTs and mentors need to discuss something urgently that has arisen in the course of the week.  This is fine and if some of the mentor meeting topics don’t get covered, or are covered in less detail, that is OK.  Mentors and ECTs should use the formative assessment meeting at the start of each module to personalise the programme for the ECT for that module.  Mentor meetings should never last longer than an hour – prioritise what is important to the ECT.

 

What happens if an ECT is struggling to keep up with the programme?

In the first instance, the mentor should be in dialogue with the ECT and the Induction Tutor.  If there are wider issues and concerns that the ECT may not be meeting the Teachers’ Standards, the mentor should operate in liaison with the Induction Tutor. Amendments and support should be discussed with the Local Area Coordinator and TSH Berkshire.

The practitioner inquiry in year 2 adds to workload.

Keep the scale of the inquiry small. For an exploratory inquiry, ECTs should only be focusing on steps one of the cycle. They only need to report back to their mentor on their findings. They do not need to complete any evaluation until they do the longer evaluative inquiry.

Use ‘naturally occurring data’ that can be collected within a lesson or series of lessons

Focus on something that the ECT will need to address regardless, as part of their day-to-day practice.

Some ECTs were unsure as to what evidence they needed to provide for their practitioner enquiry.

For Module 7 and 8, the ‘final product’ is the structured dialogue ECTs have with their mentors. There is no obligation to submit anything in writing.

For the longer inquiry in Module 9, ECTs should be encouraged to share their findings more widely through a poster, blog, or presentation but this is up to schools and is not compulsory.  Nor is it assessed.

Non-standard Participants

What do I do if the ECT leaves part way through the programme?

Please tell us if an ECT leaves, finishes induction early, goes on maternity leave or long term sick leave, or is returning from mat leave or other long term absence. 

Please also inform your local area coordinator and update the information on the DfE portal.  We will complete the relevant forms for UCL, depending on the situation.  You will also need to tell your Appropriate Body, making sure that you complete any paperwork they require you to do before the ECT leaves.

What do schools do if an ECT joins part way through the programme?

ECTs can join the programme in September, January and April.  Any ECTs who join at other times of the year (for example after the half term in October and February) must wait until the start of the next term to join the ECT programme.  You can register them with an Appropriate Body as soon as they begin induction with you and the AB will advise what you should do until the ECT programme commences.  You will need to register any new ECTs (and mentors) on the DfE’s online portal.

See the table on page 19 for the path through the programme for January/April starter ECTs.  They do not need to go back and “catch up” modules done earlier in the year – they will come round to those modules later in the programme. 

You will also need to register any new mentors on the DfE online service and let us know so we can advise where they should pick up the mentor training programme.

Please email Sue Watson with the details of the new ECT and mentor, copying in the local area coordinator.

UCL also have a “non-standard induction policy” which is available on Extend here.  There is also more information for induction tutors on Extend here.

What if the new ECT joining has previously started the ECTP with a different lead provider?

You can indicate on the DfE online service that you want the ECT to join the UCL programme.  The DfE pass the ECT’s details onto UCL who will register them on the programme and create an Extend log in for them.

What happens if a mentor changes part way through the programme?

If the mentor changes partway through the year, please let TSH Berkshire and your local area coordinator know and update the DfE portal. 

You will also need to update the DfE portal to assign the new mentor to their ECT.  If the previous mentor has left the school, you will need to update that on the DfE portal as well. 

We have a part time ECT – what do they do?  

Depending how part time your ECT is, they can either choose to try to keep up with the main cohort or spread their learning over a longer period of time.  For example, an ECT who is 0.8 might choose to attend all the sessions with the main cluster and keep up with the main programme.  An ECT who is 0.5 might choose to spread a module over a whole term, rather than half a term.  In this case they may not be able to attend live sessions with the cluster but should watch the recordings of training sessions on UCL extend.  Please let your local area coordinator know if you have a part-time ECT and how they plan to work through the programme.

You may also want to talk to your Appropriate Body about the length of the induction period for your part-time ECTs.  Technically, part-time ECTs should have a longer induction period, as they should do a length of time equivalent to 2 full years, but Appropriate Bodies can agree a reduced period with the school and the ECT.  That is up to the Appropriate Body and not related to the ECTP.

I have agreed a reduced induction period for an ECT.  What do they do?

In some cases, you will have ECTs who have agreed a reduced induction period with the Appropriate Body.  Therefore, they may only be doing one or two terms induction and will only do the ECTP for as long as they are doing statutory induction.  There is no need for them to complete additional modules.  Please contact us to agree which modules of the programme your ECT will do.

 

What do I do if my ECT or mentors can’t attend a training session?

Local Area Coordinators aim to send the training schedule out in early July.  Please check this against any school dates and let the local area coordinator know as soon as possible if there are any unavoidable clashes, such as Parent’s Evenings.  Where possible, the Local Area Coordinator will try to find a different local cluster for ECTs and mentors to join, in line with UCL’s policy.  ECTs and mentors should also inform the facilitator if they are unable to attend, as a courtesy.

Are ECTs with QTLS eligible for the programme?

ECTs have to have QTS to be eligible for the funded ECF programme.  ECTs with QTLS are not eligible.