Early Career Training Programme

Specialist support for early career teachers and mentors with early career-based training.

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Overview

EDT's Early Career Training Programme (ECTP) empowers teachers with evidence-led knowledge and skills for immediate impact in the classroom. The programme is designed around how people really learn with a flexible approach that considers what works best in each teacher's unique situation. They will access engaging in-person and online learning designed and delivered by experts. We understand how busy teachers are, so we’ve designed it to fit flexibly around their schedule with maximum accessibility.

Our programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE) with intakes starting in September 2025, January and April 2026.

Join schools who've registered now

Please use this form to register your school for the 2025-2026 Early Career Training Programme.
This form should be completed by the main school Induction Tutor and not participants.
Our ‘How to register’ section provides step-by-step instructions on how to submit a registration.

Why EDT?

EDT has 15+ years’ of experience in successfully delivering DfE funded education development programmes. We've been a lead provider of the Early Career Framework with ECPDP since 2019, supporting over 25,000 early career teachers (ECTs) and mentors and working with 4,084 schools.

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

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

Benefits of this programme

Flexible delivery designed to fit around teachers’ busy schedules.
Diagnostic tools designed to adapt to the needs of an ECT and tailor their learning journey.
Face-to-face and virtual training delivered by local school-based experts.
Focus on translating research into practice and application of theory in the classroom .
Increased phase- and subject-specific exemplification.
Focused professional learning for mentors with training by sector renowned professionals and expert local facilitators.
An enhanced focus on literacy and oracy.
Evidence-led training, designed to develop ECTs’ professional confidence and self-efficacy.
Specialised options in year 2 focused on areas of interest to support ECTs in preparing for life beyond training.

“I particularly enjoyed meeting with other teachers from different schools doing the CPD training and learning about their different experiences. This enabled us to share resources and teacher tactics for behaviour in an interesting environment first hand.”
ECT on ECPDP

Programme content

Curriculum

Our curriculum is constructed to take ECTs from foundational understanding of concepts and techniques – met first during their initial teacher training – through to mastery of this knowledge.
This is enabled through carefully timed revisiting of key Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) concepts and skills, building in higher levels of complexity and depth, as appropriate to ECTs’ growing experience, understanding and confidence.
Year 1 ensures full coverage of ITTECF content, through personalised pathways that consolidate or extend ECTs’ understanding as appropriate.
Year 2 then opens out into structured but individualised learning that is owned by the ECT and their mentor – a phase that recognises the ECTs’ growing agency and prepares them for life beyond induction.

Self-Study

Interactive, research led materials with extensive subject and phase-specific examples provide clear models of effective teaching for ECTs.

Mentor Sessions

One-on-one sessions help ECTs apply research to their context, develop a pool of effective strategies, and set personalised action steps.

Training Sessions

Group sessions with expert facilitators to explore research, engage in deliberate practice and benefit from collaborative learning with peers.

Personalised Pathways

Tailored learning routes based on ECTs’ needs, prior experience, and school context to avoid repetition and focus on personal areas for development.

Diagnostic tools help mentors and facilitators adapt to ECTs’ evolving needs.

Inclusive by design

Enhanced guidance for teaching adaptively to every learner in the classroom, including those with additional needs and pupils from under-resourced backgrounds.

Evidence-Led Approach

Access to top-tier international research, ensuring participants become research-literate and confident in evidence-informed practice.

Promotes intellectual rigour and creativity in engaging with various teaching methods, without prescribing a single “right way” to teach.

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.

Become a Delivery Partner

Find out what Delivery Partners are in your area

North East

Northern Lights Teaching School Hub - South Tyne and Wear

North West

Watergrove Trust

Yorkshire and the Humber

South Yorkshire Teaching School Hub

East Midlands

Flying High Teaching School Hub
Potentia TSH
REAch2
L.E.A.D. Teaching School Hub Lincolnshire

West Midlands

Arthur Terry Teaching School Hub
John Taylor Teaching School Hub
REAch2
Bishop Challoner
Sidney Stringer SCITT
Tudor Grange Academy

East of England

REAch2

London

REAch2

South East

Thames Gateway TSH
HISP Teaching School Hub
REAch2
Forest Learning Alliance
University of Winchester

South West

Five Counties Teaching School Hubs Alliance
Swindon and Wiltshire Teaching School Hub (Pickwick Learning)

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

How to register for the Early Career Training Programme, commencing in September 2025

Find one of our delivery partners for your school:

Please review this form and select from our list of current delivery partners who we are working with.

This list is subject to change, and if you don’t see a delivery partner local to you, please select ‘I need a delivery partner’ ‘unknown / other ‘ from the drop down list and we will contact you directly.

2. Contact your local delivery partner directly to confirm you will be working together

EDT will submit expressions of interest and register your school partnership with the DfE, when DfE registration has gone live which is likely to be the summer term. The DfE will contact schools directly to invite registrations by their digital service.

If you are interested in working with us as a delivery partner, please visit this page to find out more about this role and how we work together.

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 2025-2026 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 academic years 2024-2025 or 2023-2024

If you have participants who started their induction in academic years 2024-2025 or 2023-2024 please use these forms to register to the Early Career Professional Development Programme:

Academic Year 2024-2025: Register for the Early Career Professional Development Programme 2024.
Academic Year 2023-2024: Register for the Early Career Professional Development Programme 2023.

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 ECTP team, get in touch with us.

Contact