Congratulations on completing your teacher training!
With your QTS firmly secured, you may have a job lined up for September – well done! It’s time to begin your ECT induction.
You’re now officially an Early Career Teacher (ECT). This initial stage of your career will be informed by the Early Career Framework and is an induction period to help guide you throughout the first 2 years of teaching, building on the skills you’ve learned throughout your teacher training.
And if you haven’t got a job ready for September, do not worry! We have a lot of options available here at Milk. Register with us today to see what opportunities we have in schools near you!
As a former teacher, I know how it feels start your first ever teaching role, and all the feelings that come with it. Hopefully this guide can help ease your worries and provide you with support for those first years.
Let’s take a deep dive into the expectations for your ECT induction!
Top Tips for Your ECT Induction Years
1. The Summer Panic
Summer can feel like the final chance to prepare and get organised, worrying that you need to have everything planned and perfect before September rolls around.
However, teaching is a lot like driving – you seem to really start learning once you’ve passed the test.
Your 3-Step Summer To-Do List:
- Familiarise yourself with the curriculum and what you will be expected to teach, as well as your timetable for the year.
- Try to plan your first few lessons and keep them simple, as a way for you to get to know your students, but don’t worry about having every single lesson completed.
- Spend time making your classroom look the way you want. You won’t have as much time during the school year, so this is your chance to set up displays and arrange the room as you wish.
What if I don’t have my own classroom?
There are things you can do to make moving around school easier, and a little bit of organisation goes a long way.
- Seating plans. Keep multiple copies of the seating plans for each room, because if you’re not in one classroom, it’s likely you’ll forget where everyone is supposed to sit (and students will use this to their advantage)!
- Folders. Have different folders for different classes or classrooms, including worksheets, seating plans, and any other resources you may need.
- A basket or trolley. Your school may provide this anyway, but a basket or trolley is the best way to move from room to room without having to juggle all your resources and equipment.
- Communication with other teachers. Designate a separate drawer for different teachers in each classroom to keep equipment organised. It might go without saying, but you should also clean the board and any other equipment away at the end of each lesson and communicate with other staff members if they aren’t doing this.
This year, Milk Education is looking to Clear the List for educators to help fund the cost of resources for the classroom. Sign-up here for the opportunity to have your Classroom Amazon Wishlist cleared, so you don’t have to overspend this summer!
2. Form Healthy Habits
Looking after your mental and physical health is especially important during your ECT years, to help you avoid burning out.
Also, the start of a new school term is often followed by an influx of colds and flus. Following these tips might help you to stave off an illness, but sometimes these are unavoidable at the start of the school year!
- Develop healthy sleep habits. Switch off any bright lights (including your phone) at least one hour before bed and aim to wake up and go to bed at the same time every day.
- Find time for exercise. The key to finding time for exercise alongside a busy workload is to do something that you truly enjoy, so it doesn’t even feel like exercise. Whether it’s yoga, dance, running, or long walks, anything to get your body moving will help to keep you healthy during your teaching career.
- Food and Hydration. Get a big, 1L water bottle and try to drink a full one at least twice a day. Aim to eat a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, protein and hearty foods that will keep you full throughout the day. Coffee might feel like the only thing getting you through the day sometimes but try to avoid it after midday.
3. Plan for Success
No one is expecting you to be a perfect teacher in your first year, and you shouldn’t expect this of yourself either.
Sometimes, you will have bad lessons. Sometimes, you will spend ages planning detailed lessons with creative resources and the students don’t pay attention. Sometimes, you will feel overwhelmed by marking and deadlines.
Not every day will go to plan, and that’s ok! Think SMART to help you plan short and long-term goals, to eliminate overwhelm.
Goals should be:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Timely
Examples could be ‘Build routines in [class],’ ‘Help [pupil] to move up a reading level’ or ‘Mark [x] books each day.’
You should have regular meetings with your Induction Tutor to help guide you with anything that needs improving, such as behaviour management or lesson planning.
4. Establish Strong Routines
It’s important to try and set the tone in your first lessons with students. Based on your teacher training experience and students’ needs, consider how you’re going to establish strong, consistent classroom routines.
For example, greeting all students at the door as they come in, or always having a task on the board for students to complete as soon as they sit down, can help you to manage behaviour in your first year.
Routines create a sense of safety in the classroom, help reduce distractions, and make behaviour management easier for you. Spend some time in the summer planning routines that you will set up with students.
5. Maximise Your Time
This is something that even experienced teachers can struggle with, but this also means that there’s a lot of tried-and-tested tips that do work to help you manage your time more effectively as an ECT.
- Use your PPA time wisely. To help you avoid taking work home throughout the week, try to use your allocated PPA time as effectively as you can. Any urgent work should be completed during this time and try not to spend too much time talking in the staff room. As tempting as it can be to spend your PPA time relaxing and chatting, it might be best spent in your own classroom or a quiet spot where you can fully focus on your work.
- Invest in a Teaching Planner. If used properly, a planner can be a real game-changer throughout your teaching career. Any planner will work, but a teaching-specific planner often includes space for assessment data, lesson plan ideas, and lesson reflection.
- Figure out what works for you. When I was teaching, I always preferred getting in to school an hour early and using this time to prepare resources and organise my classroom. However, you might prefer to stay later in the evening to complete tasks. Trial different routines and see what works best for you.
6. Build Your Support Network
It’s easy to feel isolated as an ECT. You might feel like every other teacher knows exactly what they’re doing, never feels stressed, and has their workload fully under control.
Getting to know your colleagues can help to reassure you that you aren’t alone, and you can also learn a lot from others. Even informal chats with colleagues often bring up a lot of advice and ideas about teaching, planning or marking.
Try not to hide in your classroom and, instead, make yourself known to your colleagues. If there are social events happening, go to them and try to put yourself out there. Even if you don’t become best friends with your fellow teachers, you will at least be able to learn something from them.
7. Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day!
When you first start teaching and you’re experimenting with different pedagogical approaches and behaviour management techniques, it can be frustrating when things don’t go as planned in the classroom.
Your ECT years, however, are the perfect opportunity to see what works with your students and become comfortable with different methods in the classroom. One of the best things about teaching is that it’s a constantly changing profession, but this can also bring its own challenges.
So, don’t be discouraged when your creative idea or behaviour management technique doesn’t go work out the way that you expected. Be patient and remember that you won’t have it all figured out when your first start!
8. Respect Your Boundaries
It can be hard to say no to different commitments that may come up during your ECT years.
You can’t do it all! Your mental health is more important than trying to be the best teacher ever all day every day, and sometimes you will have to say no to things that crop up.
Some examples of setting boundaries in school include:
- Not volunteering at after-school clubs if you’re struggling to manage your workload
- Going home at the same time each night
- Not taking too much work home
- Prioritising your to-do list in order of urgency
- Not putting your work e-mails on your phone
- Not responding to work emails over the weekend
Don’t feel guilty about looking after yourself during your induction period!
ECTs – You’ve Got What It Takes!
You’ve completed your teacher training, and your ECT years really are where the fun begins!
This is your opportunity to use everything you’ve learnt throughout your teaching training year and develop more independence as a teacher.
Good Luck!
Frequently Asked Questions about the ECT Induction:
How long is the ECT induction?
The ECT induction lasts for 2 years, equivalent to six school terms.
Can I complete my ECT induction at different schools?
Yes, you can complete your ECT at different schools, as long as you are in each school for at least a minimum of one term.
Do I have to start my ECT induction in September?
You will start your ECT induction when you begin your first teaching role after completing your teacher training and gaining QTS, provided that you are contracted to be in that school for a minimum of one term.
Can you complete the ECT induction on supply?
Yes, you can complete the ECT induction on supply, but only if it’s a long-term placement (at least one term in length). Register with Milk today to discuss your options following your teacher training and gain access to FREE lesson plans & discounted CPD courses!
Can you complete the ECT induction on a part-time basis?
Yes, you can complete the two-year ECT period by working part-time. However, you’ll still need to complete six full terms, which means it will take you longer to complete the ECT induction.
Will I be teaching a full timetable?
No. In your first year as an ECT, you’ll have a 10% timetable reduction. This will then be a 5% reduction in your second year of teaching. This additional time away from the classroom is for you to focus on learning and development. This extra time is in addition to your planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time.
How will I be assessed as an ECT?
You will have 2 formal assessments with your induction tutor at the end of each year. Your evidence for meeting the Teachers’ Standards will come in the form of observation feedback and lesson plans that you have already used.
Can I take a break from the ECT induction and complete it at a later date?
Yes, you can pause your ECT induction. There is no set time limit for completing the ECT years, as long as you have completed six full terms after gaining QTS and pass the end of year assessments.
If you do not complete your ECT, you will only be able to work on short-term supply (less than one full term) in most mainstream schools for a maximum period of five years after obtaining QTS.