Eligibility and funding for the early career teacher entitlement
Early career teacher entitlement (ECTE) eligibility criteria and DfE grant funding for schools, early career teachers and mentors.
Applies to England
Eligibility
Eligible schools and establishments
Schools and establishments eligible for Department for Education (DfE) funding include:
- state-funded schools
- maintained and non-maintained special schools
- independent schools that receive Section 41 funding
- colleges
- sixth forms
- children’s homes
- nurseries
If your school or establishment is not eligible, you can arrange and self-fund a programme with a provider directly.
Eligible early career teachers (ECTs)
ECTs should be eligible for DfE funding if they:
- hold qualified teacher status (QTS)
- start their ECTE on or after 1 September 2021
- work in an eligible school or establishment
ECTs who started their one year induction before 1 September 2021 but did not complete it by 31 August 2023 should take up the 2-year ECTE. They’re eligible for DfE funded training and mentor support for the remainder of their induction period.
ECTs with qualified teacher learning and skills status (QTLS) are not eligible for DfE funding because they’re exempt from statutory induction.
How DfE check the eligibility of ECTs and mentors
DfE check to make sure that that ECTs and mentors are eligible for funding and access to training materials.
We check that the ECT:
- holds QTS
- has not completed statutory induction before
- has not started an induction before 1 September 2021
We check that the mentor:
- does not have any prohibitions, sanctions or restrictions on their record
- has not received funded training for early career framework (ECF)-based mentoring before
Your school must register ECTs with an appropriate body. The appropriate body will register the induction with the DfE. When your school registers ECTs and mentors with us, we check the teacher’s details in the Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) records.
You can see the status of these checks through the Manage training for early career teachers service.
How funding works
Schools are funded to cover ECT time off timetable and mentor support during the 2-year early career teacher entitlement (ECTE). Funding comes from 2 sources.
This normally means:
- year 1 funding comes from the core funding your school gets through the dedicated schools grant (DSG)
- year 2 funding comes from additional support from the DfE (we call this ‘grant funding’) - for academies and others we pay this to your school directly or, if you’re a maintained school, your local authority will pass the funding to you
If your school is eligible and uses a lead provider, we also fund ECT and mentor training given by the lead provider. We pay this to the lead provider directly.
Year 1 funding
Schools should use their core funding from the DSG to fund the ECTs first year of their entitlement.
Core funding is not ‘earmarked’ for ECTE, but headteachers should use it to cover the cost of ECTs 10% time off timetable.
Year 2 funding
Year 2 funding is covered by grant funding. Schools will get a one payment at the end of the ECT’s second academic year.
Year 2 grant funding covers the cost of each ECT’s:
- 5% time off timetable
- 20 hours of mentor support (from September 2025)
We calculate funding using the average hourly rate for mentors and ECTs, split by region.
Read more about funding for time off timetable for ECTs and mentors.
Non-standard induction funding
For ECTs who are part-time or start after September, funding can be paid partly in arrears and in advance.
Funding can be used to support ECTs beyond the academic year to help them complete their induction. It’s up to your school to decide how the funding is managed.
If an ECT moves to another school during the second year of their ECTE, funding will be allocated to the school where the ECT moves to where possible. It’s the responsibility of the ECT’s new school to discuss and agree with the previous school how funding is shared.
Mentor training funding for September 2025 onwards
Grant funding for mentor training is available to schools and establishments that use DfE funded training providers to deliver training as part of the ECTE.
Mentors will be given up to 20 hours to carry out mentor training for one year. Schools will be funded to support the mentor to undertake the training.
This funding will be paid in arrears at the end of each academic year. Payments will be based on evidence that the mentor participated in the training, as confirmed by the lead provider.
Mentors can only do this training once. They can continue their training even if their ECT transfers school or withdraws part way through their ECTE.
ECTs and mentors who started training and induction before the September 2025 cohort
By cohort, we mean participants who begin their ECTE in a given academic year. For example, a participant starting their training in the 2024 to 2025 academic year will have a cohort of 2024.
Grant funding and what it covers is different for ECTs and mentors who started ECF-based training and induction (now ECTE) before 2025.
ECTs who started before the September 2025 cohort
Grant funding for ECTs who are in year 2 of ECTE in 2025 covers:
- 5% time off timetable
- 20 hours of mentor support
Read more about funding for time off timetable for ECTs and mentors.
Mentors who started before September 2025
Schools and establishments using one of the DfE’s funded training providers will receive backfill payments to cover up to 36 hours of mentor of training, over 2 years.
This funding will be paid in arrears at the end of each academic year. Payments will be based on evidence that the mentor participated in the training, as confirmed by the lead provider.
Read more about backfill payments for mentor training.
Updates to this page
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Added early career teacher and mentor funding information for early career teacher entitlement starting in the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
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Edited the 'How DfE checks the eligibility of ECTs and mentors' section to make the process clearer.
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Added funding information for early career teachers from the pre-September 2021 cohort.
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Table showing the year 2 funding rates for ECF-based training has been updated.
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We have made clear that establishments including colleges, sixth forms, children’s centres and nurseries are eligible for funded ECF-based training. DfE no longer emails teachers to request their details when checking the eligibility of ECTs and mentors – these are now entered directly into the registration system. A link to guidance on backfill payments for time off timetable for ECF mentor training has replaced previous details on those payments.
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First published.