CEL STAFF INTERVIEWS

An insight into UCL – An Early Career Framework Lead Provider

An interview with Hilary Adli Director – Early Career Framework- UCL and learn about future plans.

How do Teachers at the beginning of their careers benefit from this programme?

The Early Career Framework was introduced to support the recruitment and retention of teachers in the UK as a mechanism to support teachers throughout their careers. UCL’s Early Career Teacher Development Programme, fully funded by The Department for Education, is a well-established, high-quality programme of professional learning that is rooted in the best available evidence and provides a seamless transition from initial teacher education to becoming a qualified teacher as part of the DfE’s ‘Golden Thread’ of professional development.

Over two years the programme covers all eight of the Teachers Standards, i.e:

1. Set high expectations which inspire, motivate and challenge pupils

If you are starting your teaching career in the UK, you are now entitled to a 2-year programme of professional learning to support your statutory induction. UCL's Early Career Teacher Development Programme provides Early Career Teachers and their mentors with a high-quality professional learning experience. Here, in an interview with Hilary Adli, Director- Early Career Framework for UCL, we explore the reasons behind the programme’s success

2. Promote good progress and outcomes by pupils

3. Demonstrate good subject and curriculum knowledge

4. Plan and teach well-structured lessons

5. Make accurate and productive use of assessment.

6. Manage behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment

7. Fulfil wider professional responsibilities

Designed and run by IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education and Society, in the Centre for Educational Leadership (CEL), Hilary emphasises the programme’s academic underpinning and its strong moral purpose.

This commitment to building a system that invests in schools, helps improve them, and leads to positive student outcomes, and their lives, keeps CEL working to connect the best of academic research from around the world to school practice.

The programme has received positive feedback from the Department for Education (DfE), 22,000 ECT and mentor participants and 21 Delivery Partners who have taken part since it started in 2021. With a 95% satisfaction rate, it has proven to be invaluable for Early Career Teachers whatever their phase or specialism.

How has the project progressed, and what challenges have been encountered?

The national roll out of the ECF has been running since September 2021. With 2 cohorts running simultaneously, the CEL team continue to refine the programme in a cycle of continuous improvement. To encourage more practitioners to get involved, CEL has designed a Moodle platform where participants can access all aspects of the programme. In addition, CEL has created a community of learners through a blog and forum.

According to Hilary, one of the main challenges of the project so far has been that some experienced teachers initially needed help understanding the rationale behind the research base that is the Early Career Framework and felt that the content could be more varied. Additionally, some teachers had busy schedules, limiting the programme's expansion. The CEL team continues to work to respond effectively to these issues.

Advice for educational leaders and a vision for the future

When asked to offer advice for education leaders, Hilary highlights two critical points from the perspective of programme: the first of these is that teacher development programmes must be relevant to teachers' starting points and ongoing development needs. Secondly, teachers need to be able to fit professional development within their often-considerable work demands.

Educational leaders can do much to support this, by listening to what their teachers are saying they need and by creating the conditions that teachers and their mentors need to thrive and engage fully in the programme.

The UCL ECF delivery model involves the Centre in an undertaking that stretches over the next few years and beyond; developing content and strategy centrally and ensuring high-quality, contextualised delivery in local regions. UCL are committed to work with and for the profession and adopt a truly collaborative approach with their Delivery Partners.

Looking to the future, the team at CEL will continue to improve the programme, with a focus on integrating research and practice, and are excited about expanding its implementation in more countries worldwide.