In our role as an Associate College of the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT), SWIFT was pleased to be involved in a recent study that resonated with our Teaching School Hubs (TSHs) area.

The study was designed to understand experiences of delivering Early Career Framework (ECF)-based programmes in different school contexts across England, with a particular focus on schools in rural and coastal communities, and especially small schools (the definition is intentionally broad).
 
Working alongside the David Ross Education Trust (DRET), a Multi Academy Trust with a Teaching School Hub in North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire, the one-year collaborative study also aimed to identify good practice delivered by these rural, coastal and small schools to deliver ECF programmes and to support Early Career Teachers (ECTs), and to understand how these can be adapted to better support schools.
 
It is pleasing that the impetus came from conversations between the NIoT and our SWIFT Team in highlighting the importance of generating formal evidence into how small schools in Devon are experiencing the ECF, and what support they may need. It is particularly pleasing our Director of TSHs, Jen Knowles was part of the study author team and Director of Business Development, Fiona McNeile provided feedback through the RAG board for the Research Team.

This was a mixed methods study, conducted between February to May 2024.
It involved a survey of 132 participants in 68 schools across England, and qualitative interviews with staff from nine schools within six Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) in rural and coastal communities.

The study found that whilst the ECF was valued, and most experiences were positive overall, all schools are facing similar challenges. Some schools are struggling to deliver ECF programmes, but this did not appear linked to school context.
 
80% of all ECTs were very or somewhat satisfied by their induction offer.
91% of Mentors felt able to manage their mentoring workload alongside their other duties, which was a consistent trend across schools of different sizes and locations.
 
There were some differences in the delivery of ECF programmes for schools in rural and coastal communities, compared to urban and inland schools, but this did not seem to affect overall satisfaction. Overall, there were different approaches to delivering the ECF, linked to school culture and context.
 
Small schools had particular strengths in delivering ECF programmes. For example, offering whole-school support to ECTs. However, fulfilling the requirements of the ECF, particularly around staff time and timetabling, could be challenging for schools with small staff bodies, and the support of Trusts (or other external) was very important, particularly in rural and coastal communities.

The Early Career Framework
The ECF is an established two-year package of support and training for state schools in England.

In-school Mentors are essential in supporting Early Career Teachers (ECTs) and this support is mutually valued. However, it can place a burden on Mentors alongside their existing workloads and equally for schools, the Government-required entitlement for time off-timetable for the training and mentoring activities can pose logistical and financial challenges for schools.

Key questions that are currently being considered in Initial Teacher Education and also questions around content repetitiveness, and suitedness of ECF programme content for different school contexts.
 

Value-Added Research 
After asking the questions, the value of any research is putting into practice the findings and the onwards work and this study has highlighted some important signposts that the NIoT, SWIFT and DRET, as providers of the Early Career Framework (ECF) will be considering in the continued design and deliver of the NIoT ECF programme.

Similarly, the signposts will be useful for other ECF providers and schools across the country as a platform for discussion about how to continue to strengthen support for Early Career Teachers. 

We are pleased to start this new year collaborating with the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) on a research project.  

The National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) aims to root their research and programmes in schools.
They seek to design research that addresses areas that teachers and leaders care most about and feeds directly back into programmes to strengthen training and development.

SWIFT aims to create high-quality opportunities for staff to learn, develop and connect so that all children, especially the disadvantaged, achieve the best educational outcomes.
 
This year, the NIoT and SWIFT are collaborating on a research project to learn more about the Early Career Framework (ECF) programme delivery, and how the ECF can be designed for schools in rural and coastal communities.
 
Purpose of the Study
Early evaluations of the ECF have shown that Early Career Teachers (ECTs) hugely value the support from Mentors. However, workload and balancing responsibilities for ECT Mentors remains a challenge (DfE, 2023).
 
In addition, some schools in rural and coastal communities are reporting particular challenges in delivering aspects of the ECF. For example, schools with small staff bodies may find it more challenging to provide adequate time for Mentors off-timetable to meet the demands of the role. For some schools, the distance required for ECTs and Mentors to travel to in-person training may require greater time outside of school.
 
However, little is known across the country, and more evidence is needed in order to understand the types of approaches that might be needed to deliver the ECF in different geographic locations.
 
The Aim of the Study
The intention is to support ECF design for schools in rural and coastal communities, with an intention to build towards a larger study to pilot promising strategies in order to:

• learn more about how the ECF is being delivered in rural and coastal communities, as opposed to urban communities;
• understand if schools in rural and coastal communities are facing any particular challenges, what they are, and how these vary in different areas across England;
• learn from great practice that schools are currently using to address these challenges;
• identify possible strategies for an ECF package designed specifically for schools in rural and coastal communities.

 
How will the findings be used?
This research will be used to tailor the NIoT’s own ECF design to be suited to different geographic locations, and to make sure that schools, ECTs, ECT Mentors and school leaders have the support they need to deliver the ECF.

There is also the intention to build towards a larger study to pilot promising strategies.
The NIoT will also use the research to make recommendations to the sector, and for awareness-raising and advocacy to shape future policy revisions. 

How can I get involved?
If this study sounds like something you are interested in, we would like to hear from you!

The study will run from January to October 2024 and will involve a national survey, and qualitative research with selected schools in the North East and South West regions of England. 
​
Research Interviews 
The NIoT are currently looking for schools to take part in the qualitative research strand between March to May 2024 and would like to interview six to ten Early Career Teachers (ECTs), ECT Mentors, Induction Tutors and/School Leaders across a range of schools in the North East and South West England.

Interviews will last for about 45 minutes, and a member of the NIoT Team will come to your school in person at a time that is convenient to you. There is no obligation for any other member of staff in your school to take part, if only one staff member is interested and each individual who participates will receive a £10 book token as a thank you for their time. 

Advisory Group 
In addition, they are also looking for a small number of teachers and leaders to participate in an advisory group for this study. This will involve two to three sessions throughout the year, held remotely and at a time agreed with the group, depending on availability. The group will guide the study team in making sure the findings are useful, and will share them in the most impactful way.

We welcome your interest in participating in the research or joining the advisory group. 
By the National Institute of Teaching and SWIFT Team

1. How do you anticipate the work of the Associate Colleges/Teaching School Hubs in working with the National Institute of Teaching will benefit their schools?
The National Institute of Teaching offers genuinely schools-led programmes.  We are led by the School Led Development Trust, an organisation set up by four leading School Multi Academy Trusts: the Harris Federation, Star Academies, Oasis Community Learning and Outwood Grange Academies Trust. They are responsible for 188 primary, secondary and Post-16 schools and colleges and educate 100,000+ children in communities ranging from Southampton to Middlesbrough and from Blackpool to Battersea.
 
This provides a very rich national network for the National Institute of Teaching to tap into when it comes to the delivery and design of our programmes. For example, our suite of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) all provide national Masterclasses led by the best experts from that national network. This provides new insights for schools in Associate Colleges to tap into, alongside the regionally-run aspects of the programme, which are grounded in local context e.g. termly in-person conferences.  We also host Virtual School Visits for our NPQ programme members in schools in our founding MATs, which similarly provide a window into areas of good practice nationally.
 
The focus of these is driven by our research and feedback from our programme members about their needs. For example, for the NPQ in Leading Teacher Development, if schools were struggling in getting early teachers to buy into practice-based learning, the National Institute of Teaching could share a virtual visit of a school that has successfully embedded this into their school and look at some of the key factors and principles underpinning successful implementation.  It is vital for us that all our delivery is facilitated by those working in schools and leading this work day in, day out.
 
We also have a rich network of national experts outside of our four founding Trusts; providing speakers that more isolated schools and communities might not necessarily be able to hear from or might have to travel to London to hear from.  For example, programme members on our ECF programme are able to attend a series of Masterclasses with experts, such as Tom Bennett leading sessions on behaviour. We provide these national webinars free of charge for colleagues who are on a National Institute of Teaching programme.
 
Thirdly, we have a strong research arm to our work and are continually being commissioned to deliver research in key areas of development for the educational sector.  For example, we are working in partnership on a piece of research in how artificial intelligence (AI) could be used in education and we are interested in how AI could be used in professional development to increase efficiency and teacher well-being, recognising the potential challenges of achieving a good work-life balance in education. 
 
We are also keen to look at research in areas of particular interest for our Associate Colleges. For example, we are currently working on a piece of research with SWIFT about how the Early Career Framework (ECF) is running in small schools, particularly small primary schools.  We also include the experience and feedback from our Associate Colleges when considering future policy developments.
 
Finally, we are working towards becoming a university that is dedicated to the professional development of teachers and leaders and this will hopefully provide exciting opportunities for our Associate Colleges.

2. What do you believe is the greatest challenge for the National Institute of Teaching?
I think the greatest challenge for the National Institute of Teaching is the pace of the work - going from the design, to implementation to delivery stage in a short space of time in a relatively small organisation across several programmes. 
 
In year one, we are delivering initial teacher training for 500+ trainees and delivering the ECF to thousands of programme members and delivering the full suite of NPQs, so there's lots of piloting and learning in a short space of time.  We have also recently been successful in our bid to be accredited to deliver the new NPQ in Leading Primary Maths.

3. What do you hope to achieve personally from working with Associate Colleges?
I genuinely love working with our Associate Colleges because all our Associate Colleges want to build a really strong partnership with us, that genuinely ensures the programmes we develop and deliver together are of maximum benefit for teachers and leaders.

So, if colleagues from SWIFT schools take part in these programmes, they have to feel like it was a good use of their time...that is fundamental - we both understand that time is precious for teachers and school leaders, so are both motivated by impact and efficiency. 

We thank Jenny for her insights into the work of the National Institute of Teaching and SWIFT is pleased to be supporting their work as two of the Associate Colleges. 

Interview by Jude Owens, PA to the Executive Team and Governance 

“The NIoT is going to revolutionise the way teachers receive training in this country, with cutting edge research alongside training delivered by national experts.” The Rt Hon. Nadhim Zahawi MP, Secretary of State for Education

At the end of last term, the Department for Education announced that the School Led Development Trust had been awarded the contract to deliver the new National Institute of Teaching (NIoT).
 
The National Institute of Teaching is a new, ambitious, Government-funded body that sets out to transform teacher development. It is led by a school-led partnership of four Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) with outstanding track records in school-led university-accredited teacher development:
Harris Federation, Oasis Community Learning, Outwood Grange Academies Trust and Star Academies.
 
Each of the founding MATs will lead one of the four Regional Campuses, and each campus is supported by three Associate Colleges. We are delighted that Education South West (ESW) has been appointed as one of the founding Associate Colleges and will be working directly with Oasis Community Learning. As an Associate College, ESW will be responsible for supporting the Regional Campus to ensure scale, reach cold spots in current provision and deliver the NIoT training programmes.
 
This is exciting news for the SWIFT partnership and SWIFT's collective expertise and experience will play a key role in the design and delivery of the NIoT programmes within the region and evolve and build on our Teaching School Hub responsibilities within Devon, Plymouth and Torbay.
 
So, what is the National Institute of Teaching?

• A truly school-led organisation: the NIoT will be run by schools for schools. Programme participants will have an experience that is school-based with programme design and delivery benefitting from the input of current practitioners – teachers, senior leaders, Headteachers and Executive Leaders– who understand the demands of teaching workloads.
• A best practice incubator: the NIoT will find, interpret, generate and communicate research, applying the insights to the design and delivery of professional development programmes.
• A substantial investment in teacher and leader training research in England: the NIoT will make its research available for free to all teacher training providers so that it can be applied to improve teacher development across the country.
• An impact-focused organisation: its unique position gives the NIoT the opportunity to link data on teacher and leader development with data sets on pupil achievement, enabling it to see what truly makes an impact on children’s outcomes. This is something not done anywhere in the world outside North America.
• Once Degree awarding powers are granted, the NIoT will become the only university in the UK solely focused on the development of teachers and school leaders combining academic awards with outstanding practice in schools.
• A key provider of the full “Golden Thread” of qualifications throughout teachers’, school leaders’ and system leaders’ careers, setting exemplary standards in the delivery of courses from initial teacher training onwards. This will mean participants seamlessly progress from one programme to the next throughout their professional lives.

 
What opportunities does the NIoT create for the SWIFT partnership?

• It enables us to be part of the design and delivery of world-class professional development for teachers and leaders.
• A new ITT programme will be available from September 2022 for first delivery from September 2023; which will support the creation of excellent choices for prospective applicants between high quality local, regional and national programmes.
• Extend the role of SWIFT, so that it has a part to play in training and support NLEs and in supporting research into best practice.
• Make a significant contribution to developing an evidence base about what works for teacher development.
• Opportunity to access degrees that bring together research and school practice in innovative ways.

 
These are very early days, so there is much to develop our thinking around and we look forward to future developments of the National Institute of Teaching.