TTR0073

Written evidence submitted by Sue Cronin, Liverpool Hope University

Introduction

I am an experienced Teacher Educator who has worked for more than 20 years in the HE sector across the range of provision including School Direct and SCITT as well as university led Undergraduate and PGCE programmes. Although my work has been focused on Initial Teacher Education (ITE) I have gained much knowledge of the experiences of trainees who have entered the profession as NQTs and now ECTs. Over many years the feedback from former trainees has indicated a massive range in the quality and nature of the support they have received in their first schools. There has been an unacceptable element of ‘postcode lottery’ with winners and losers in terms of the induction experiences from excellent to non-existent. The introduction of a minimum entitlement within the ECF is an important defining statement of intent which will support greater consistency and quality of induction experienced by ECTs. As such the ECF is a positive development that should support teacher quality and retention, but it needs to be far more flexible in meeting the different needs of different ECTs working in very different contexts.

The views and evidence submitted are those of my own based on my experience and doctoral research focus on ECT mentoring.

 

General welcome across the sector for the ECF

Generally, the Head Teachers and MAT CEOs I have spoken to have been positive about the aims and intent of the ECF. However, they have all been less positive about its implementation on the ground. The resources provided through the ECF have been seen as beneficial but often the time to engage with these has been seen as difficult to find and competes with many additional aspects of work for the ECT mentors. Relevance is an important motivation for ECT mentors.

It develops me in terms of the research, keeping an eye out on what is going on keeps me on top of my game like being an ITT mentor ………..before the ECF framework, I wouldn't have necessarily been given ECTs research to look at, to back up the practice, whereas I'm doing more of that now. So when so when we have our mentor meetings, we will talk about research that backs up the practice. (Secondary ECT Mentor)

 

The resources keep research fresh in my mind but it is usually something I already have come across in school and most (resources) don’t fit our school or the needs of our ECT. (Secondary ECT Mentor )

 

There is a concern about the level of extra work generated which creates unintended consequences for the well-being of both the ECTs and their mentors. This has been compounded where schools, particularly from my experience, primary and special schools, have required their ECTs to undertake parallel additional training such as that provided by the local Maths or Literacy Hub. This is partly due to a dissatisfaction of the relevance of the content of the ECF particularly in regard to subject specific content and school priorities.

I know the quality of the training that comes out of the Maths Hub. So straightaway, I put them on the specialist knowledge (programme) for ECTs….. they've been going on that every half term, and then we've got that coming back into school. So, it ties in with everything that we were doing in school, and then got them on some of the literacy stuff next year via them (the Hub), because I think they (ECTs) deserve that sort of quality. (Primary ECT Mentor)

 

In certain cases, the additional pressures maybe contributing, ironically, to ECTs leaving the school or school leaders stating they will look in the future to recruit teachers after they have completed their ECT years.

Part of the solution going forward could be to require different DfE Providers to focus on different phases and subject content rather than all six providers creating versions of the same generic content. Additionally, the programmes need to have a greater degree of flexibility in terms of content delivery to align with the identified needs of the ECT and their mentor.

 

Based on research (Weimer, 2021; Clarke & Mena, 2020; Ingersoll & Strong, 2015) and my own ITE experiences, a fundamental element of high quality, successful development of beginning teachers relies on the power of good mentoring. I see the ECF policy as an important step forwards in acknowledging the need to prepare and professionally develop mentors for the important work they undertake. This needs to be given greater prominence by the DfE policy team and by school leaders who need to make sure they commit time and resources for mentors to engage with their own development, so they are in turn, well prepared to support their ECT. The mentor training content offered by the Provider-led programmes has not been given sufficient attention and remains a significant missed opportunity. Not only is this not recognised by either the policy makers or providers but most significantly and concerning it is not being recognised sufficiently by those mentoring the ECTs themselves (Cronin, 2022). Those responsible for the induction of new teachers into the profession also influence the future retention trajectories. It is critical to build on the intentions of the ECF policy to further develop this group of professionals.

 

Content v context

Where schools have rigidly followed the Provider-led programme, the lack of flexibility has created varying degrees of tension in providing the ECT with the professional development most suited to their needs at the appropriate stage in their career journey. The one size fits all approach is unrealistic as the ECTs start their careers with different levels of confidence and competence - which is not solely the result of different ITE training experiences but also their own personal biographies, prior learning and life experiences. There has been an imbalance between content and context for the implementation of the ECF programme. The emphasis on an inflexible delivery schedule of content already covered on the ITE programme has been at the expense of considering the context in which the ECT is working. The latter is in terms of both phase e.g. primary, secondary or SEND and the stage of development of the ECT, e.g. confident and component possibly due to a degree of familiarity with the school from prior ITE placements. Interview data from special school mentors suggest the content is seen particularly difficult to relate to relevant practice for their ECTs.

So the issue would be that it was very hard to follow the (ECT) programme to the letter. I think that's what we found the hardest. you know, when it's a behaviour focus -behaviour for a mainstream school is so, so very different (to Special schools). We include elements, you know, of the sensory and all the regulations (Special School ECT mentor)

 

Often ITE trainees secure jobs in their final placement schools so start with a higher degree of understanding of behaviour management, planning and assessment strategies etc deployed in the school.

We've deviated a lot from the materials, because our ECTs joined us last year through the COVID catch up money. We thought wow you are fabulous, so we knew what we were inheriting…... So, then this year, we gave them full time jobs, we already knew that they fitted in with the staff and things like that. So, they were ahead and needed better materials (Primary ECT mentor)

 

Creating a more flexible approach to the modules within the ECT programmes both in terms of order and length of time spent on them may allow mentors to use their professional discretion to adapt the programmes to meet the needs of their ECTs more precisely. This would increase the impact of the ECT training.

Mentors’ engagement with professional development

My own current research has been focused on the ECT mentors as I believe them to be a key group of professionals who have a critical role in the future trajectory of the ECTs. The ECF has identified and formally introduced a new role of the ECT mentor separate from the induction tutor for the ECT and this is a positive development. If we want good teachers in the profession, we have to invest in those who play a critical role in their development. Mentors are influencers, not in the virtual world but more importantly in the real world of education. They provide the beginning teacher with a role model, confidant, coach, advisor, and advocate. We need to improve the understanding of the work of those who mentor and how they are supported and professionally developed to do this critical work better. Mentors are the superheroes of the teaching world who turn rookie novices into highly competent professional teachers with little recognition or investment. The status and training of mentors needs to improve; policy makers and school leaders need to recognise and value the hidden talents of the mentor superheroes who are at work in schools. The leadership culture is a key enabling factor in developing the quality of mentors, in many schools mentoring is not viewed as an additional specialist professional expertise (Mart et al, 2016) requiring training and ongoing support. It has been argued that school leaders can create and influence the conditions for high quality mentoring (Cronin, 2023; Hong and Matsko, 2019).

The NPQLTD was designed to be a qualification for mentors, but it does not align closely enough to the work of those who mentor beginning teachers. Creating a bespoke qualification that takes account and builds on the work undertaken by ECT and ITE mentors could incentivise more staff to become mentors and help to raise the status.

Summary

In summary the ECF has been broadly welcomed as a positive development with the right intentions in relation to supporting teacher retention. The current inflexibility and generic nature of the content and delivery of training has been less well received by busy, stretched schools. The balance of training and workload needs recalibrating allowing greater flexibility to meet differing needs of those ECTs entering the profession. It is an easy win to utilise the knowledge and exit data from ITE providers via an exit passport to create bespoke ECT programmes that build on identified areas of strength and areas for development for individual trainees.

 

The existing Providers should not all be creating materials to support the same ECF content but should be tasked with focused development of materials that work for different contexts. Greater trust in the discretion of schools and mentors to select the right training content to best develop their ECTs should be built into the system. This could be monitored by the TS Hubs to ensure appropriateness.

Similarly, the ECF programmes need to place greater emphasis on developing the mentors who support the ECF delivery. The mentor development needs to take account of the different starting points of mentors. Mentors who are experienced through ITE partnership work will require different content to those who have not mentored before. All mentors may need to become familiar with current evidence bases that underpin the ECF content. But all mentors need to be recognised for the importance of their contribution to the formation and retention of high-quality teachers.

 

Not all teachers naturally make good mentors, but good teachers can’t be made without good mentors. Investing in creating a cadre of highly trained, qualified mentors will have an impact on the quality and longevity of the next generation of teachers.

 

Sue Cronin

Director of Quality and Accreditation

Liverpool Hope University

 

 

References

Clarke, A., & Mena, J. (2020). An international comparative study of practicum mentors: Learning about ourselves by learning about others. Teaching and Teacher Education, 90, 103026

Cronin, S (2023) Early career mentoring in England: a case study of professional discretion and policy disconnection. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-10-2022-0088

Hong, Y., & Matsko, K. K. (2019). Looking inside and outside of mentoring: Effects on new teachers’ organizational commitment. American educational research journal, 56(6), 2368-2407.

Ingersoll, R. M. and Strong, M. (2015) The Impact of Induction and Mentoring Programs for Beginning Teachers: A Critical Review of the Research, Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 201–233

Weimer, K. (2021) Mentor Identification, Selection, Preparation, and Development: A Literature Review National Association for Music Education,39(3) 20–28

 

April 2023

S.Cronin 2023