Welcome

Hello! And a much-belated happy new (academic) year to you all. Three weeks into the new term, and we've already delivered three conferences, six NPQ sessions, and two training sessions for colleagues new to our appropriate body.

We've also welcomed 169 (and counting!) new early career teachers to our amazing profession - we're so looking forward to working with them over the two years of their induction.

BREAKING NEWS!

Our friends at Norfolk Research School are delighted to announce that ResearchED Norfolk will be happening next summer! Find out more below.

And finally...

We're working to improve accessibility across our website, so now all of our blogs are accompanied by an audio version, giving you a choice in how you access our content - find out more here.

Keep in touch

You can follow us on X, Bluesky, and LinkedIn, sign up to receive this newsletter - or just drop us an email.

Spotlight on... the ECT programme

A couple of reminders for induction tutors:

• Please ensure your school's term dates are correctly entered on StepLab - this will ensure that coaching cycles are tracked correctly. You can do this via the 'Manage' tab.
• Ambition Institute are running StepLab training sessions, aimed at both new and existing users. More details, including how to sign up, are here.
• Coaching relationships should pull through to StepLab from the DfE online service. If this hasn't happened, induction tutors can pair ECTs and mentors on StepLab via the 'Manage' tab. If you cannot see a participant on StepLab, please check with them that they have completed their StepLab Access Form.
• If you need to update a participant's details - particularly their email address - this needs to be done via the DfE online service; Ambition cannot make these changes directly.

Focus on... The Bell Foundation

Through generating and applying evidence, The Bell Foundation aims to improve policy, practice and systems to enable children, adults and communities in the UK that speak English as an Additional Language (EAL) to overcome disadvantage through language education.

In the summer, the Bell Foundation published seven calls to action for the new government to integrate children who use EAL - read them here.

They also publish research, news, and blogs. You can see evidence of their impact here.

You can find free resources and details of the training they offer on their website. 

ResearchED Norfolk 2025

Norfolk Research School (NRS) is bringing ResearchED back to our county next summer. NRS has previously run two highly successful ResearchED conferences: online in 2020 and in person in 2022. 

Everybody is welcome: classroom teachers, school leaders, researchers and anyone with an interest in education. 

"An impressive line-up of speakers will share their knowledge and expertise around how research evidence can support our work in schools and in our classrooms. Alongside passionate teachers and leaders from the region’s schools we are delighted to be welcoming leading figures to share their knowledge and expertise. Our keynote speaker is already confirmed: education powerhouse Alex Quigley.

We are inviting expressions of interest for speakers and - as ever - we are particularly keen to hear from first-time ResearchED speakers and anyone whose lived experience may be under-represented at events like this.

Contact us to find out more about speaking, and keep an eye out for tickets going on sale and more information as we have it!"

Find out more about Norfolk Research School on their website.