IOE informs report outlining plans to allow teachers more time for professional development

The strategy comes following consultation with UCL Institute of Education (IOE), as well as teachers, teacher unions, teacher training providers and other industry experts. 

Professor Becky Francis, IOE Director, was part of the Department for Education (DfE) working group that developed the teacher Early Career Framework. The plans will extend the length of the induction phase to two years and see teachers receive a sustained and structured package of support over the first two years of their career.

The move comes in a bid to recruit and retain more teachers, with the report acknowledging that the country is ‘losing more teachers from the profession than we can afford’.

The Early Career Framework will ensure that teachers receive time off in their second year for early career training, which will equate to a 5% timetable reduction. The reforms are set to come into place from September 2021 with an investment of £130 million per year to deliver the project.

Other priorities within the strategy include developing specialist qualifications to support clearer non-leadership career pathways for teachers, launching a new job-share service to help flexible working, and a reduction in workload.

Plans also include simplifying the process for becoming a teacher with a new application system, and financial rewards of £5,000 for some secondary teachers in their third and fifth years in the classroom, in addition to £20,000 training bursaries.

Professor Francis said: “It is excellent to see the Teacher Early Career Framework sitting at the heart of the DfE’s Recruitment and Retention Strategy, launched today. 

“I have been proud to be part of the development of the Framework, which seeks to support the profession by building support and development of early career teachers into the professional pathway. This puts teaching better in line with our other leading professions, as well as providing both support and stimulation for teachers in their first years of teaching. 

“The introduction of the framework comprises an important step in securing excellence and fulfilment in teacher careers.”

Media contact

Rowan Walker, UCL Media Relations
T: +44 (0) 20 3108 8515 / +44 (0) 7769 141006 
E: rowan.walker@ucl.ac.uk

Links

• Read the report ‘Teacher recruitment and retention strategy’
• Teacher Training
• Q&A with Professor Becky Francis
• View Professor Becky Francis’ research profile