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TEACHERS STILL IN THE DARK ABOUT THE EARLY CAREER FRAMEWORK

  • Chartered College of Teaching poll asks 6k teachers whether they “feel that I am well-informed about the Early Career Framework”
  • 75% of teachers disagree that they feel informed
  • Chartered College running Early Career Fest – week of free events for teachers preparing for the classroom

A huge majority of teachers still feel in the dark about the government’s Early Career Framework (ECF).  A poll of 6,000 teachers for the Chartered College of Teaching found that over three-quarters (75%) disagreed that they had been well-informed about the plans despite the national roll-out less than four months away. 

As part of the poll, teachers were asked whether they felt they had been “well-informed about the Early Career Framework”. Despite the compulsory requirement for all schools in the country to offer an ECF-based programme, teachers in every region felt uninformed, the highest being in the South East (80%). The poll results highlight the challenges in preparing teachers for the roll-out with only one-fifth of early career teachers feeling informed. 

Dame Alison Peacock, CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching said: 

“The Early Career Framework is going to have a huge impact. However, the results of this poll clearly show that our teachers are not receiving the information from the government they need to prepare. We know that over the past year early career teachers – like much of the profession – have experienced huge challenges and will need a great deal of support as they enter the classroom. Yet members constantly tell us that they are still in the dark about the framework. 

The Chartered College of Teaching is supporting the profession to prepare with events and resources, however, it is quite clear that more needs to be done to ensure our profession is ready. The framework has the potential to stem the tide of new teachers leaving the profession within their first few years by supporting their development and ensuring they have access to high quality mentoring and professional learning.” 

The Chartered College of Teaching is running the Early Career Fest – a series of free events for early career teachers to access support and build their expertise. The Chartered College has also published The Early Career Framework Handbook – a guide covering all aspects of the framework. A specialist Early Career Hub full of resources is also available.