Teacher at Ark Priory Primary Academy in west London
The programme is based on the Early Career Framework (ECF) and is delivered in partnership with Ambition Institute. It was developed in response to the Department for Education Recruitment and Retention strategy, which recognised that teachers deserve high-quality support throughout their careers, particularly in those first years when the learning curve is steepest.
The programme draws on the best available evidence, alongside the Early Career Framework, to help build on the skills, theory and practice learnt during training that will help Early Career teachers to keep getting better during this critical period in their career.
The best thing about working at an Ark school is the support that I receive from my coach. Each week, my coach gives me a target based on his observation of my lesson. I can honestly say that I always leave our meetings with a clear idea of what I need to do to improve my teaching.
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About our ECT programme
Our curriculum is carefully designed and evidence-based, focusing on how teachers learn, as well as what they learn. We use a model of instructional coaching which has been successfully embedded in our schools for several years. This is one of the best-evidenced forms of professional development, meaning Early Career teachers will benefit from bite-sized content and personalised, observational feedback to ensure they successfully pass their induction period and continue to impact the classroom positively.
Our Early Career Teacher programme offers a blend of clinics, conferences and online self-study modules via the Steplab platform as well as dedicated in-school support from a dedicated mentor and an induction lead. Across the two years, you will be set up for success with:
- Three full-day conferences (focused on deepening your understanding of how pupils learn, the principles of responsive teaching and effective implementation).
- Six one-hour virtual clinics to share strategies for classroom practice, based on your study materials and key areas from the Early Career Framework.
- Weekly self-study modules of online learning which engage with the latest research and ideas for practical classroom implementation.
- Weekly instructional coaching sessions where mentors will provide Early Career teachers with a specific, bite-sized action step to practise each week.
It’s such a positive environment to work in. I’ve been really supported to progress and make positive steps forward for my own development.
Why join our ECT programme and the Ark network?
There are many benefits to continuing your learning and development with our Early Career Teacher programme in an Ark school:
- A fully funded, two-year package of structured training and support at a critical time in your career.
- Dedicated in-school mentor providing regular instructional coaching sessions including elements of live modelling, multiple rounds of practice and feedback.
- 30 hours of training over the course of the programme with a minimum of 18 hours of face-to-face training.
- Salaries that are 2.5% higher than main pay scale.
- Twice the number of training days as standard, within working hours and with additional INSET days.
- Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, including nationally-accredited NPQ programmes.
- Access to diverse career opportunities allowing you to progress your career, choosing the direction you want to take it in.
- A wide variety of enrichment and extracurricular activities including network-wide programmes such as Ark Music and Ark Sport as well as opportunities to run your own enrichment based on your skills and interests.
Wellbeing and support
We know that being a teacher can be tough, so we offer wellbeing support throughout the ECT programme delivered through a dedicated module. We help you to practise and embed evidence-informed methods and strategies (such as mindfulness, resilience building, emotional self-assessment, and identifying personal, early warning signs of emotional overload) to not only improve wellbeing in the workplace, but also in your daily lives.
Alongside this, we will support your wellbeing by:
- Offering 1:1 wellbeing catch-ups with your ECT Tutor.
- Encouraging you to speak up and seek help.
- Sharing evidence-based tools to support you on this journey.
- Protecting, promoting and enhancing your wellbeing.
- Summarising all tips and tools in a weekly email to support your mental health.