Guidance

How to set up training for early career teachers

Guidance for school leaders and induction tutors on setting up training based on the early career framework.

Applies to England

Early career teachers are entitled to 2 years of training based on the early career framework.

To set up training for your early career teachers, you’ll need to:

  • appoint an appropriate body to quality assure their induction
  • nominate an induction tutor to monitor their progress and report back to the Department for Education (DfE)
  • choose a training option
  • arrange mentoring to give them support and feedback

Appoint an appropriate body

Early career teachers cannot start their induction until you’ve appointed an appropriate body.

What an appropriate body does

Appropriate bodies quality assure the induction of early career teachers. For example, they:

  • check that your early career teachers receive their statutory entitlements, such as mentoring throughout their 2 year induction period
  • make sure formal assessments conducted by your induction tutor are fair and appropriate

Unless you use a training provider to deliver your training, your appropriate body will also check that your training covers the full depth of the early career framework.

Your appropriate body can also give advice if your early career teachers are serving a reduced or part time induction. They’ll need to agree to any reduction to the induction period.

Find an appropriate body

Find an appropriate body and contact them to appoint them.

Who you can and cannot appoint

You can appoint one appropriate body for all of your early career teachers, but you may need or choose to appoint different ones.

You may have previously used a local authority as an appropriate body. From September 2023, you cannot use a local authority for new inductions, so you’ll need to choose another appropriate body for any new early career teachers.

If an early career teacher did their initial teacher training (ITT) through an accredited ITT provider who is also an appropriate body, you cannot appoint that appropriate body for that teacher.

Early career teachers may be serving their induction at an appropriate body. For example, they may work at a teaching school hub that is also an appropriate body. If this is the case, you cannot appoint that appropriate body for that teacher.

Learn more about who you can and cannot appoint in section 2 of the statutory guidance on induction for early career teachers.

Nominate an induction tutor

Induction tutors monitor and support your early career teachers. They conduct:

  • regular progress reviews
  • 2 formal assessment meetings with early career teachers during the 2-year induction period - one midway through and one at the end

Read about the roles and responsibilities of induction tutors in section 5 of the statutory guidance on induction for early career teachers.

Induction tutors also need to use the ‘Manage training for early careers teachers’ service to give details of your mentors, early career teachers and training option to DfE. This ensures that your school receives the correct funding to support induction and training.

Who to nominate

Choose someone who:

  • holds qualified teacher status
  • can assess early career teachers’ progress against the teachers’ standards

Schools commonly choose someone in a senior leadership position, such as an assistant head.

Try to choose someone who is not also a mentor. The 2 roles have separate and different responsibilities.

Schools can only have one registered user at a time for the Manage training for early career teachers service.

Nominate your first induction tutor

Use the Manage training for early career teachers service to do this.

  1. Visit Send your school a link to use this service.

  2. Follow the instructions to find your school in the database, then select ‘Confirm and send’.

  3. DfE will send an access link to the email address your school provided to the Get Information About Schools (GIAS) register.

Choose a training option

Option 1: use a lead provider

Lead providers work with delivery partners such as trusts, teaching school hubs and universities to deliver training directly to your early career teachers and mentors.

This is fully funded by the DfE, so there’s no cost for eligible schools. Learn about funding for training based on the early career framework.

Providers may need to use face to face sessions as part of their training, so contact them to check where they’re based before signing up.

To sign up with a lead provider, contact them:

If you choose to use a lead provider, your induction tutor will need to report this through ‘Manage training for early career teachers’.

Option 2: deliver your own training using DfE-accredited materials

DfE-accredited materials include mentor session guidelines and self-directed study materials.

You can choose materials from one of the following suppliers:

  • Ambition Institute
  • Education Development Trust
  • Teach First
  • UCL Early Career Teacher Consortium

If you choose to deliver your own training using DfE-accredited materials, your induction tutor will need to report this through ‘Manage training for early career teachers’.

Your appropriate body will check your programme to make sure it covers the full depth of the early career framework.

Option 3: design and deliver your own training

You can design and deliver your own 2-year training programme covering every ‘learn that’ and ‘learn how to’ statement in the early career framework.

You can use DfE-accredited materials for reference. These include mentor session guidelines and self-directed study materials.

Talk to your appropriate body for advice on next steps.

Your appropriate body will check your programme to make sure it covers the early career framework.

Avoid changing your training option part way through induction.

Arrange mentoring

Early career teachers are entitled to mentor support throughout their 2-year induction period.

What mentors do

Mentors make sure that your early career teachers receive a high quality induction. They:

  • meet regularly with early career teachers to provide support and feedback
  • take prompt, appropriate action if their early career teacher is experiencing difficulties

If you use a provider to deliver your training for early career teachers, mentors may also be asked to observe your early career teachers. This is for professional development purposes and must not be used for formal assessment.

Read about the role and responsibilities of mentors in section 5 of the statutory guidance on induction for early career teachers.

Share the guidance for mentors to help them understand their role.

Who to choose as a mentor

Choose mentors who have the skills to provide mentoring for specific phases and subject areas. This will normally be someone who has qualified teacher status.

If you choose someone who does not have qualified teacher status, you should check this decision with your appropriate body.

Try to choose someone who is not also the induction tutor. The 2 roles have separate and different responsibilities.

Manage mentor time

Timetable mentor sessions during teaching hours wherever possible.

Make sure your mentors have enough time to meet with their early career teachers regularly.

Schools receive funding to cover mentor time off timetable.

Mentor training

If you use a training provider to deliver training for your early career teachers, mentors will be given 36 hours of training over 2 years.

Schools receive funding for 36 hours of mentor time off timetable if mentors attend this training. Learn more about funding.

Mentors can only do this training and receive funded time off timetable for this training once. However, they can keep being a mentor as many times as they like.

Mentors can continue their training even if their early career teacher transfers school or withdraws part way through their induction.

Mentor concerns

If a mentor has concerns or difficulties, they should contact your school induction tutor.

If a mentor does not have the time or ability to carry out their role effectively, talk to your appropriate body.

Published 11 May 2023
Last updated 31 August 2023 + show all updates
  1. Added information on how schools should nominate their first induction tutor to access the Manage training for early career teachers service. Removed out-of-date information on the 2023 summer term.

  2. First published.