Early career teachers (ECTs) are frustrated with the inflexibility of the new government training framework, which they say repeats a lot of the teaching already covered in their initial teacher training (ITT) courses, a Department for Education report has revealed.
Almost one-fifth (18 per cent) of experienced teachers signed up as mentors on the early career framework (ECF) programme said they were unlikely to take part again due to high workload and time constraints, according to the report.
The research was published this week following the recent launch of a DfE consultation on the ECF and ITT curriculums.
The new evaluation of the national rollout, carried out by the Institute for Employment Studies and BMG Research for the DfE, is based on a survey of 2,981 ECTs and mentors on provider-led programmes.
It found that nearly two-thirds of ECTs (64 per cent) thought too much of the material on the ECF was a repeat of content already covered by their ITT courses.
This is an increase on half of ECTs (50 per cent) who felt this way in a survey conducted after the first autumn term of the rollout in 2021.
The survey also found that nearly half of ECTs (47 per cent) were “struggling to find the time they needed” for the induction programme.
Today’s report also revealed that by the end of the first year of their ECF-based induction programme, just half of ECTs felt their initial expectations had been completely or mostly met in all but one area.
Less than half of ECTs (41 per cent) said that their expectations were met with the ECF in helping with career progression.
But the report said that this was “arguably a longer-term goal and, thus, unlikely to have been met by the end of their first year of teaching”.
The survey found that some ECTs did not have expectations met at all in some areas.
Almost a fifth (17 per cent) said that they had not had expectations met at all in their opportunities to observe other teachers, while 13 per cent felt this way about improving subject or pedagogical knowledge.
And 13 per cent said their expectations in improving skills in the areas of special needs teaching were not met at all.
The report also highlighted that mentor awareness of the programme delivered to ECTs in their schools increased over the first year.
A majority (60 per cent) said they felt they knew a lot or quite a lot about the programme after the first year, up from 39 per cent after the first term.
And more than half (53 per cent) of mentors said they had some or high awareness of the development help, opportunities and support for mentors offered through provider-led programmes.
But the report highlights that there was “still a large group” (46 per cent) who felt they knew only very little or nothing about this area.
Furthermore, the survey found that some mentors were juggling multiple mentoring responsibilities.
Almost a fifth (17 per cent) of mentors were also supporting initial teacher trainees and 19 per cent were also mentoring other staff.
A year ago, then schools minister Robin Walker wrote to schools to set out ECF changes, admitting the scheme needed “more flexibility” and promising that the DfE was “making improvements”.
He said that to “help” with the implementation, the DfE would be “reviewing materials to make them as user-friendly as possible” as well as a number of other moves to ease the transfer to the ECF.
