Programmes Who said being a teacher was easy?

WHO SAID BEING A TEACHER WAS EASY?

Jess Grimmel is a Teacher of Psychology and a second year Early Career Teacher. Here, she reflects on the first year of the Early Career Framework (ECF) at STAHS.

At STAHS we are somewhat sheltered from the gloomy storm clouds of teacher supply and retention issues that cast a depressing shadow over the sector. 15% of teachers will leave the profession within the first two years of employment, with a third leaving within five years. Reasons given are a lack of support and training coupled with the ‘reality shock’ due to unexpected personal and professional demands, and the unpredictability and complexity of the role.

The solution proposed by the DfE Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in 2019 was the Early Career Framework (ECF). Introduced in all schools from September 2021, the ECF underpins the entitlement to two years of high-quality training, mentoring, and support for Early Career Teachers (ECTs) linked to the most advanced research evidence. Early in 2021, we committed to creating our own bespoke approach to delivering this entitlement – including a time allocation above mandatory requirements, a two-tier mentoring system, and a high-quality curriculum written by 24 members of teaching staff from 11 different subject areas. One year on, our delivery model has been described by the Independent Schools Teacher Induction Panel (IStip) as ‘creative and innovative’ with ‘the quality of provision such that IStip consider the School to be an example of best practice induction ... [with] a strong whole school commitment to teacher training.’ But, more importantly, what do our ECTs think about the ECF at STAHS?

What have been the highlights of year one of the ECF?

I have particularly enjoyed the opportunity to explore such a wide variety of resources that have been put together by a plethora of different members of staff at STAHS – it really does feel like you are getting to learn from the expertise of your colleagues, which is a great feeling! A particular highlight has been reflecting on my own growth in confidence. When I was training, I always felt restrained by lesson plans, fearful that if something did not go exactly to plan and I did not have every question written down on paper in front of me, I would end up caught out like a deer in headlights. However, expanding my toolkit through the ECF curriculum has given me the confidence to 'think on my feet' and adapt my lessons on the spot where necessary, which has made the whole experience of teaching so much more enjoyable!

What have you found most helpful about the ECF at STAHS?

guides that we have had access to as part of the weekly readings and tasks. I found the short examples of ways in which you could bring modelling into the classroom particularly useful. The early module on cognitive science was potentially the most useful part of the ECF curriculum for me. It completely changed my mindset to stop viewing teaching as a 'performance' and instead focus on how the pupils are learning. Realising this took so much pressure off me too.

How has the ECF challenged your thinking?

The sessions on the value of teacher talk particularly challenged my thinking. During my initial teacher training, I was always told to 'talk less' and that I should talk for no more than 10 minutes in an hour's lesson. However, reviewing more up to date evidence on this in ECF sessions completely debunked this myth.

Have you got any sense of how the ECF at STAHS compares to elsewhere?

Many of the friends who I trained with are completing their ECT programme through large, centralised hubs and must complete online courses as their ECF provision. This is similar to what we had to do during our SCITT (School Centred Initial Teacher Training) programme. It can feel more like a tick-box exercise rather than something useful. I feel like the activities on the ECF curriculum at STAHS are more useful as each week they encourage you to work on a part of a lesson you have coming up in the following week – so it feels like you are constantly making progress.

What would you change about the ECF curriculum at STAHS?

I would reduce the list of reading – sometimes it is difficult to read all the sources in an hour and complete the activities. I often finding reading the main information on the SharePoint page most useful but do not always have time to manage all the external links.

What are your aspirations for year two of the ECF?

I really hope the second year of my ECF induction will be as positive as the first. I hope to grow in confidence and ability even more, by continuing to refine my practice. I feel like now I have the basics in my toolkit I can focus on really improving and refining my teaching and resources.