Early Careers Training Programme (ECTP)
UCL is a provider of the ECT Programme.
On this page
- What is the new ECT Programme?
- Why Choose the UCL ECT Programme?
- The ECT Programme Curriculum map
- ECT Programme Delivery partners
- Applying for the programme
- Updated guidance
What is the new ECT Programme?
UCL is a provider of the ECT Programme, new for ECTs and their mentors from September 2025. We have built on our experience of providing the Early Career Teacher programme since 2020, and we can now support new teachers and their schools all over England.
Working with our partners across the country, our goals are to:
- Equip teachers with professional learning opportunities which are informed by evidence and have an impact in classrooms.
- Help to create cultures in schools, where leaders support professional learning in practical, long-lasting ways.
- Create a nation of mentors – mentors are the cornerstones of our programme, learning alongside ECTs.
- Enable teachers to develop their professional voices, grow in confidence in the job and understand the value of continuous professional inquiry.
- Through all of this, boost the teaching workforce so that teachers choose to stay and improve rather than leave before their time.
If you are searching for information about our previous Early Career Framework Programme you can visit the Early Career Framework page.
Why Choose the UCL ECT Programme?
UCL Centre for Educational Leadership has been at the forefront of teacher development, supporting over 18,000 Early Career Teachers (ECTs) since 2021. As one of the Lead Providers for the Department for Education’s Early Career Teacher Programme from 2025, UCL continues to set the benchmark for evidence-informed teacher education. The UCL ECT Programme ensures:
- High-quality professional development informed by research.
- A network of expert Delivery Partners providing localised support.
- Flexible learning options tailored to individual and school needs.
- Proven impact on professional growth, and classroom practice.
The Value of Local Delivery Partners
One of the greatest strengths of the UCL ECT Programme is its national reach through a network of local Delivery Partners. Schools benefit from having:
- Regionally-based, expert facilitators who understand the local education landscape.
- Face-to-face training opportunities, reinforcing peer collaboration and networking.
- Personalised, contextually relevant support to ensure ECTs thrive within their school settings.
- Stronger mentor development, ensuring mentors learn alongside new teachers, helping them to grow in competence and agency.
By working with UCL and its trusted Delivery Partners, schools can be confident that their ECTs are receiving consistent, high-quality professional learning experiences, while benefiting from local expertise.
Flexibility: A Programme Designed for Schools
Understanding the diverse needs of schools and ECTs, the UCL ECT Programme is highly adaptable. And it builds capacity in the system to help it grow further.
- The programme accommodates the different working patterns of ECTs who are part-time, or who join a school later in the year.
- A blend of face-to-face, online and recorded sessions, ensuring accessibility while maintaining engagement. Support that aligns with school contexts, allowing for practical implementation of learning.
- Mentor development that is self-paced and which complements the ECT experience, ensuring meaningful, structured professional development.
- Formative assessment tools to ensure ECTs and mentors can tailor the programme to meet their starting points and ongoing needs.
Face-to-Face Facilitated Learning with Local Experts
Face-to-face learning with local facilitators remains a critical component of the UCL ECT Programme. It provides:
- Opportunities for collaborative learning with other ECTs and mentors.
- Context-specific discussions that directly apply to school environments.
- Expert facilitation from Delivery Partners who bring extensive teaching and leadership experience.
- A supportive professional network to foster long-term development beyond the ECT years.
This interactive, hands-on approach ensures that ECTs do not just learn about best practices but actively engage with them in a way that builds confidence and competence.
Proven Impact: Why Schools Trust the UCL ECT Programme
Feedback from ECTs who have completed the programme highlights its tangible benefits:
The support from my mentor and organisation of the UCL course delivery has been exceptional. The course content has been engaging and I have enjoyed the structured delivery of the mentor meetings against the course content.
I've found the programme to be exceptionally well-structured, with clear, explicit guidance for each session. The support provided for mentors is equally thorough, which has made me feel confident and well-supported throughout the program thus far.
I found the in-person training really boosted my confidence as we were discussing how we can officially call ourselves teachers and our hard work got us here. This helped me find my voice as a teacher and boost my confidence in the classroom.
The emphasis on wellbeing was instrumental in building a strong, trusting relationship, providing my mentee with a safe space for reflection and forward planning, which has allowed him to thrive.
The ECT Programme Curriculum map
The UCL ECT Programme is a robust, research-informed initiative that supports ECTs across ten meticulously designed modules. These modules are distributed across two years, focusing on building foundational knowledge, reflective practice, and inquiry-led professional development.
Year 1
Overview
- Independent Study (23 sessions): Guided modules provide research insights, case studies, and practical exercises for ECTs to explore at their own pace.
- Mentor Meetings (39 sessions): Regular check-ins to review learning, discuss wellbeing, and apply research to practice.
- Facilitated Learning (6 sessions): Live or recorded sessions led by expert facilitators to deepen theoretical and practical understanding.
- Local Learning Communities (6 sessions): Collaborative spaces to share experiences and extend learning.
Establishing Foundations
The first year comprises six modules designed to introduce core teaching principles and practical strategies. It focuses on professional responsibilities, effective classroom practice, and understanding pupils’ learning needs.
- Develop an understanding of teachers' roles as professionals.
- Explore effective communication with parents, carers, and colleagues.
- Focus on workload management and wellbeing.
- Address diverse learner needs and manage classroom behaviour effectively.
- Understand the impact of disadvantage and the importance of literacy in learning.
- Deepen knowledge of curriculum, subject expertise, and how prior knowledge affects learning.
- Build strategies to address misconceptions and promote deep learning.
- Enhance teaching skills such as questioning, modelling, and adaptive teaching.
- Introduce metacognitive strategies and high-quality classroom discussions.
- Understand the role of key professionals in supporting all learners.
- Use formative assessment and adaptive teaching techniques to meet specific needs.
- Applying good assessment practice in the classroom.
- Giving high-quality feedback.
- Reflection and research in professional development.
Year 2
Practitioner Inquiry and Specialization
The second year builds on foundational skills, focusing on four modules that emphasize inquiry-led professional development and specialized practice.
- Engage in structured practitioner inquiries to investigate and enhance teaching practices.
- Use evidence to support classroom interventions and promote pupil outcomes.
- Engage in structured practitioner inquiries to investigate and enhance teaching practices.
- Use evidence to support classroom interventions and promote pupil outcomes.
- A full disciplined inquiry – over a term and a half – into a problem of practice.
- Collecting evidence of impact in the classroom.
- Testing the efficacy of an intervention.
- Understanding and sharing findings from practitioner inquiry, to make a wider difference.
- Exploring the implications of being a professional.
- Building a professional network, and visiting other settings.
ECT Programme Delivery Partners
Find the UCL IOE ECT Programme Delivery Partner for your region
We are currently working with various Delivery Partners across the country.
Applying for the programme
To access the UCL programme schools need to ensure that three steps are taken:
- Register your ECT (plus Induction Tutor and Mentor if this has not been done previously) on the DfE portal: see the registering on the DfE Online Teacher CPD Service platform.
- Contact the UCL Delivery Partner for your region:
- If you represent an individual school and would like to access the full UCL ECT Programme but are not located within one of the Local Authority Districts where we already have a presence, we may be able to allocate you to a neighbouring Delivery Partner. Please contact your nearest adjacent UCL Delivery Partner to discuss the options.
- If you represent a large Multi-academy Trust (MAT) or a Teaching School Hub and would like to become a UCL Delivery Partner please contact our partnership relations Programme Leader for ECF.
- Register the ECT with your Appropriate Body.
From September 2025, building on the support available to early career teachers, we are introducing the Early Career Teacher Entitlement (ECTE). The ECTE will revise and improve the delivery of what we formerly referred to as the ECF programme, maintaining the grounding in evidence, to ensure the highest standards of professional development for new teachers.
ECTs or mentors who started training before 1st September 2025 should continue to use the same course and materials. If these ECTs have not completed their training programme by August 2027, they will be expected to receive training based on the ITTECF from September 2027 for the remainder of their ECTE.
Updated DfE guidance (released April 2025)
Updated guidance is available on GOV.UK to reflect the following:
- Introduction of new early career teacher entitlement (ECTE) terminology.
- Implementation of the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) which supersedes the Early Career Framework (ECF) from September 2025 – including transitional arrangements.
- Information on the training options available to schools (including provider-led and school-led options).
- Clarification of the roles and responsibilities for headteachers, induction tutors and mentors involved in the delivery of the ECTE.
The statutory induction guidance has also been updated to reflect these changes. Updates to the guidance for appropriate bodies, (including updated guidance on fidelity checking) will be published in the coming weeks.
Early career teacher entitlement (ECTE) support (collection page)
Information on ETCE - the 2 year programme of training and support for early career teachers (ECTs).
Early Career Teacher Entitlement
Information on the two-year programme that supports early career teachers (ECTs) when they start their teaching career. This includes the changes to the programme for 2025.
Early career teacher entitlement: roles and responsibilities
How headteachers, induction tutors and mentors can support ECTs during their ECTE.
Early career teachers: your training and support entitlement
What ECTs can expect during their ECTE.
Set up and manage the early career teacher entitlement
What schools need to do to set up and manage training, support, assessment and changing circumstances for the ECTE.
Eligibility and funding for early career teacher entitlement
ECTE eligibility criteria and DfE grant funding for schools, ECTs and mentors.
Statutory Guidance: Induction for Early Career Teachers (England)
Guidance for appropriate bodies, headteachers, school staff and governing bodies.
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