Early Career Professional Development Programme

Specialist support for early career teachers and mentors, based on the Early Career Framework.

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Overview

Investing in early career teachers (ECTs) has never been more vital.

Following on from Initial Teacher Training, our Early Career Professional Development Programme offers ECTs essential specialist support, helping them to improve their practice while building confidence and resilience. This leads to better job satisfaction and retention.

The training is delivered through the Early Career Framework (ECF).

95% of ECTs and mentors said they were 'very satisfied' or 'satisfied' with the programme (from Cohort 3 End of Year 1 Survey)

Registrations

Registrations with EDT for the academic year 2024-2025 are open.
Registrations need to be completed by the Induction Tutor, or main school contact, and not by participants.
Our ‘How to register’ section provides step-by-step instructions on how to submit a registration.

Why EDT?

Education Development Trust has been a lead provider ever since the early roll-out of the Early Career Framework. Our programme is funded by the Department for Education with intakes starting in September, January and April.

A high-quality, blended learning experience

Developed with schools, our Early Career Framework materials provide a high-quality, evidence-informed blended learning experience for teachers and their mentors.

Each topic includes:

rich and relevant examples from expert practitioners,
accessible insights from research
frequent opportunities to put knowledge into practice.

The online learning platform giving participants access to self-study materials, videos, webinars, podcasts and blogs, and an easy way to select and book training sessions.

Partnering with schools and academic experts

We are committed to working with schools to ensure all our programmes are compatible with school life – providing outstanding professional learning.

Our Early Career Professional Development Programme is designed in collaboration with schools and our expert partner, Sheffield Hallam University.

Sheffield Hallam University is one of England’s largest providers of initial teacher education and is recognised for excellence and innovation in teaching and learning. Their work is embedded in practice and is delivered by working in partnership, to respond to the needs of educational employers. Everything they do is informed by broad, cutting-edge research by leading academics and expert practitioners, across many related disciplines.

Download the programme brochure

Benefits of this programme

Exceptional professional development, designed to meet the needs of early career teachers. Learning skills to put into practice straight away.
An evidence-led training programme. Designed around specialist knowledge of how pupils learn. Delivering effective improvement in teacher practice and student outcomes.
Engaging and accessible online learning, alongside face-to-face and virtual training, delivered by school-based experts.
A focused development programme for mentors, with training run by expert facilitators. Peer coaching is embedded into mentor training sessions.
Delivered locally in partnership with one of our Delivery Partner schools, who manage all aspects of the training, freeing up in-school staff to focus on other priorities.
Developed in partnership with schools and Sheffield Hallam University, one of England’s largest providers of initial teacher education.

Programme content

We use evidence-based professional development models, that are proven to be the most effective in improving teacher practice and student outcomes.

Space for early career teachers to learn, practice and reflect

ECTs need time and space to reflect on and challenge their own practice. This programme is centred around developing the mentor relationship, and includes a carefully constructed programme of webinars, face-to-face training, and self-study activities which support this.
Each of these activities will provide opportunities to learn the theory, put the theory into practice, and reflect on personal and professional development with the support of their mentor.

Mentoring to provide support and challenge

A constructive professional relationship, with optimal levels of support and challenge, between an ECT and their mentor, is critical to driving improvements in classroom practice.

We work with in-school mentors, helping them learn new mentoring and coaching techniques, to strengthen essential skills, which they can put into practice throughout their careers.

Specialist training and support, ensures each mentor is confident in their knowledge of the ECF, enabling the ECTs who they work with, to get the very best from the programme.

Mentors put forward by schools, benefit from a comprehensive programme of development. Regional training sessions are led by expert facilitators.

Discover the programme: how it works year by year, week by week

Download the programme sequence for a breakdown of what to expect

Delivery Partners

We partner with organisations that share our values. Our Delivery Partners are selected for their track record of delivering high-quality professional development.

Delivery Partners act as the main point of contact for schools and teachers registered on this programme, providing training events with experienced local facilitators. All materials are adapted to fit the needs of teachers and pupils in their area.

Find out more about our Delivery Partners, see who's in your area or discover how your organisation could partner with us to deliver Early Career Framework-based training via the links below.

Find a Delivery Partner

Become a Delivery Partner

Funding

The Department for Education is funding all training, at no cost to schools.

All state funded schools, who offer statutory induction, will receive additional funding to deliver the Early Career Framework reforms.

The funding will cover:

5% off timetable in the second year of induction for all early career teachers to undertake induction activities including training and mentoring.
Funding for mentors to spend time with early career teachers in the second year of induction - this is based on 20 hours of mentoring across the academic year.

Further information on funding can be found on GOV.UK.

How to register

Registrations with EDT for the academic year 2024-2025 are open.

Please choose from the following three options to find the information which is most relevant:

If your school has not previously registered with Education Development Trust

Check our list of Delivery Partners to ensure we are delivering the programme in your area.
The Induction Tutor or main school contact needs to register with Education Development Trust. You only need to know the number of ECTs and mentors at this point.
Register the details of your ECTs and mentors on the Department for Education's digital service. You will need details of each individual for this part of the application.

If your school has previously registered with Education Development Trust

Department for Education (DfE) will be in touch with an invitation to enter new ECT and mentor details for 2023-2024 cohort on the DfE's digital service. You will need details of each individual for this part of the application.

Please note, there is no need to register with Education Development Trust again, as we have your school details from the previous academic year.

Change in Induction Tutor

If there is a change in Induction Tutor or main school contact, please use the DfE's digital service to update DfE with changes / withdrawals to the Induction Tutor who is registered with DfE.

Education Development Trust will then receive updated Induction Tutor information directly from DfE and we will update our records.

If you have participants who started their induction in the academic year 2023-2024

If you have participants joining your school, who started the Early Career Professional Development Programme in academic year 2023-2024, please use this form to register. You do not need to register individual participants at this point, the DfE will contact you to collect participant information.

Got a question?

If you would like to talk to a member of the Early Career PDP team, get in touch with us.

Contact