Welcome

Hello! And welcome to our first newsletter of the term, where you find us basking in the lovely weather. Actual footage, coming to you live from Norwich:

This week we have welcomed our spring NPQ cohorts by way of their introductory conferences, as well as meeting our April cohort of ECTs for the first time. We look forward to working with you all!

BREAKING NEWS

Tickets are now on sale for the Eastern EYFS Conference on 2 July, brought to you by VNET: "We know children are joining our settings with complex emotional needs, communication challenges, and behaviours reflecting their inner worlds. They need calm, connected adults offering empathy, consistency, and care. At this Eastern EYFS conference, join us to discover the latest insights and practical strategies to address these issues."

Find out more, and book your place.

And finally...

We are delighted to invite you to the eastern region teaching school hubs' ITT into ECT conference on Tuesday 22 May 2025, 4.30-6pm.

This online conference is aimed at current trainee teachers who will become early career teachers (ECTs) in September 2025.

Find out more in the news feed below.

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... Empathy Lab Schools Programme

 Join Empathy Lab Schools Programme in the coming year!

Harness the power of reading to embed empathy as a core practice and value in your school community. Enrich PSHE, SMSC or Literacy curricula, and improve outcomes across wellbeing, reading for pleasure, and active citizenship.

We are recruiting a cohort of schools in Norfolk for next academic year who will benefit from a reduced cost and work collaboratively on developing teacher practice to build real-life empathy through books.

Join an online briefing to find out more on 19 May at 4-4.45pm.

Explore an overview of the programme and hear from school leaders about the sustained impact. Plus a Q&A to answer questions you might have.

To read more about the programme visit our website, and to attend the briefing, complete the expression of interest form at the bottom of the page. 

Focus on... ECTE 25: what you need to know

You may have seen that DfE has published updated guidance to reflect the changes being made to the training and support for early career teachers starting September 2025. You can find all the details here, but we've broken down what the changes actually mean for schools.

• The term early career teacher entitlement (ECTE) replaces ECF-based training and induction.
• ECTE training programmes will be based on the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF).

For schools already using the Julian TSH/Ambition Institute ECT programme, changes will feel minimal. MyAmbition will be replaced by a new platform, MyECT, but all learning will continue to take place on StepLab. 

The cadence of self-study for ECTs will change slightly, to look like this: 

And finally, mentor training events will only take place in year 1 of the programme, although observations and instructional coaching will continue in year 2 as they do now.

Schools will register their ECTs and mentors on the programme in the same way as before:

1. Let your ECTE programme provider know that you wish to register with them – they will need to contact DfE and let them know. 
2. Choose your Appropriate Body (AB) and let them know that you wish to register with them. If you wish to join the Julian TSH AB, please contact us to request a service level agreement.
3. Identify your induction tutor and make sure they have access to the DfE online service, Manage Training for Early Career Teachers.
4. Register your ECT(s) and their mentor(s) on Manage Training for Early Career Teachers. Your school’s induction tutor should do this; they will be asked to specify your chosen AB and your chosen ECTE training programme.
5. When your chosen AB confirms you can do so, register your ECT(s) on ECT Manager. Induction cannot begin until you have done this, and your AB has authorised the registration.
6. Your chosen ECTE training provider will receive the information that you have entered on Manage Training for Early Career Teachers and will send you an email with next steps.

Focus on... Mental Health Awareness Week, 12-18 May

This year's Mental Health Awareness Week focus is on community: being part of a safe, positive community is vital for our mental health and wellbeing. We thrive when we have strong connections with other people and supportive communities that remind us we are not alone. Communities can provide a sense of belonging, safety, support in hard times, and give us a sense of purpose. 

The Mental Health Foundation has a wealth of useful resources, from posters to shareable pdfs with tips on getting involved in your community. Find them here.

Additionally, Mentally Healthy Schools has both primary and secondary/FE toolkits available to help educators celebrate Mental Health Awareness Week in their setting. Find them here.