SEERIH Primary Science ECT Mentoring Programme: 2025-2026
Fully funded, expert-designed and delivered professional development for Early Career Teachers in Greater Manchester.
Open to ECTs in Greater Manchester schools. Join 6 half-day sessions (morning or afternoon) throughout the year, both in-person and online.
Early Career Framework (ECF)
The Early Career Framework is a DfE-funded programme that builds on the thinking behind Initial Teacher Training.
The programme is mandatory for any newly qualified teacher to help develop the skills and knowledge required to be successful in their teaching roles.
What is the Early Career Framework (ECF)?
The Early Career Framework (ECF) is a structured, government-funded development programme designed to support Early Career Teachers (ECTs) across England.
It provides a framework for newly qualified teachers to improve their practice, skills and overall teaching ability. ECF is a core component of teacher recruitment and retention, helping to improve job satisfaction and the likelihood of teachers staying within the industry.
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Is ECF mandatory?
Yes, ECF is mandatory for any newly qualified teacher who has achieved their Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England.
This means that all maintained schools and academies are responsible for providing an ECF-based induction program, either through a DfE-funded training provider or by delivering the programme themselves.
Here at Forward as One, our ECF training provider is Ambition Institute, who we also use for our Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and National Professional Qualifications (NPQ) courses.
How long is the ECF course?
The ECF course is two years long, replacing the previous one-year induction for newly qualified teachers.
Each full term will have overarching themes and modules that have been selected from the strands to support newly qualified teachers in this broader area of study.
The course also includes regular modules of online learning and instructional training sessions that are designed to support ECTs in applying their learning to their classroom practice.
How is the ECF course different to ITT?
Although ECF and ITT courses have many similarities, there is one distinct difference between the two.
While ITT is an initial training programme that leads to QTS, ECF is a compulsory structured support programme for newly qualified teachers following their success on the ITT course.
In simple terms, ITT qualifies you as a teacher, and ECF helps build upon this in the first two years of your teaching career by providing structured support and professional development.
The Early Career Framework and the opportunities it provides to new teachers is a game changer for the sector. We're really excited to be part of the team delivering this new entitlement for Early Career Teachers and their mentors.
Marie Hamer, Design and Teaching, Executive Director Learning,
Ambition Institute
What will I learn on an ECF course?
The ECT course includes key learning from four strands: Behaviour, Instruction, Curriculum & Selection and Professional Practice.
Behaviour includes, but is not limited to:
- Creating a positive classroom culture
- Establishing and maintaining clear expectations and routines
- Responding to disruption and restoring relationships with pupils
- Supporting pupils to monitor and direct their own learning
Instruction includes, but is not limited to:
- Using explanations to communicate new information
- Using models to illustrate new ideas and processes
- Designing, using and removing scaffolds over time
- Increasing challenges to deepen pupil thinking
Curriculum & Selection includes, but is not limited to:
- Collaborating with others to identify the curriculum’s purpose
- Understanding core approaches and debates across subjects
- Designing high-quality feedback to help pupils improve
- Responding to individual pupils’ needs
Professional Practice includes, but is not limited to:
- Identifying and engaging with high-quality research
- Increasingly contributing to the wider school culture
- Managing workload when taking on additional responsibilities
- Using a structured process to make adaptations to practice
How much does an ECF course cost?
Unlike ITT, ECF courses are funded by the Department of Education, meaning neither you nor your school need to pay anything towards them.
How to enrol for an ECF programme?
To enrol on the Early Career Framework, your school will need to register their ECTs and mentors through the Department for Education’s online portal. This will usually be completed by your school’s Induction Tutor.
This is a statutory requirement, and it is your school’s responsibility to register you with the appropriate body. If you have any questions about our ECF programme, please get in touch with our friendly team today.
Frequently asked questions:
Why this programme?
With retention an issue across the education sector, investment in teachers’ development has never been more important, especially for those who are just starting out. This brand new, Department for Education-funded programme builds on the thinking behind the Early Career Framework to help educators early in their careers develop expertise, and improve wellbeing and job satisfaction.
How is the ECF course structured?
ECf courses are carefully designed to include a combination of face-to-face training, virtual peer-learning groups, expert-led webinars and weekly video tutorials. These all sit alongside support for effective mentoring.
All of the content is designed and delivered by experts in teacher education, drawing upon the best available evidence in how teachers learn.
The programme components have been designed intentionally to fit with the demands of schools and the busy lives of teachers. This keeps travel and cover requirements to a minimum, and provides online learning that can be undertaken at any time, in any place, on any device.