ECT

Early Career Support at Mercia Learning Alliance

Making a great start to your career is an essential. At Mercia Learning Alliance we build on our Initial Teacher Training work with a structured Early Career Support offer. This is part of our Mercia Pledge to support the careers of teachers working in Mercia Trust Schools, and those associated with Mercia Learning Alliance through our teaching school work.

Early Career Professional Development

Our philosophy is teachers never stop learning and never stop improving. Our CPD career ladder ensures there are formal professional development opportunities at every stage.

That said, the first three years of teaching (Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and ECT) are where learning is steepest and support needs to be intensive.

We were heavily involved in the design of the Early Career Framework (ECF) and are pleased to be working closely with The South Yorkshire Teaching Hub to roll this out.

As a Trust we have ensured all ECTs have the support they need:

CPD based on school experience

We provide CPD for ECTs based on visits to other schools, build professional networks and forge partnerships with fellow ECTs who can share their experiences.

ECT coaching

We offer ECT visits from a senior leader to observe their teaching, and provide coaching and feedback to enable them to meet the targets on their ECT action plans.

Onwards to a Master’s Degree

Teachers who have followed our PGDE programme will have 120 Master’s credits already. We support those who want to work to top up to the full Master’s degree of 180 credits through providing support around school based projects, mentoring and release from school to attend university sessions.

To enquire about Early Career Support please click here.

ECT Induction

In partnership with The South Yorkshire Teaching Hub and The Education Development Trust, Mercia Learning Alliance will guide you through your ECT Induction, providing you with:

• Two years of funded high-quality training.
• A range of development materials based on the Early Career Framework & its priorities.
• Additional funding for 5% time away from the classroom for teachers in their second year to develop their ‘craft’.
• A dedicated mentor for two years
• Ongoing support for your mentor to develop their practice and the support they offer.
• Funding to cover your mentors’ time with you in your second year of teaching.

All schools will be required to deliver the ECF Programme and must register on one of the following:

• Use a funded provider-led programme (FIP). The South Yorkshire Teaching Hub and Mercia Learning Alliance deliver this in partnership with The Education Development Trust (EDT)
• Draw on the content of the high-quality DfE accredited professional development core materials and resources to deliver their own ECT and mentor programmes. (CIP)
• Design and deliver their own school ECF-based induction programme based on the ECF (SIP).

To facilitate this we provide a friendly and supportive administrative service where high standards of customer care are important to us. Schools will have a dedicated and experienced ECT Manager to guide them through their responsibilities and answer any queries in a prompt and friendly manner.