FAQs and Mentor Testimonials

Find out more about the programme!

Mentor Testimonials

Quotes from mentors:

‘My ECT has made so much progress; the deliberate practice has been transformational. She said that no-one has ever ‘showed’ her before, they just ‘told her and showing, and rehearsing, has made such a difference.’

‘The coaching and modelling is so effective and the progress I’ve seen in my ECT is incredible.’

‘There are so many aspects of the programme that are helping other teachers in the school.’

‘Being a mentor has meant the learning has seeped into my own practice and I’m a much better teacher as a result.’

‘The weekly structure is so specific and manageable; the progress my ECT has made is staggering  and she sees it herself and feels great.’

‘The deliberate practice feels a little uncomfortable to start with, but very quickly you see the difference it’s making and now I’m doing it when I’m supporting other teachers.’

Primary Key Stage 2 Mentor in Newham:

‘Both my ECT and I found the instructional coaching extremely beneficial, particularly the deliberate practice and scripting. The programme has had a huge impact on embedding best practice into my ECT’s teaching.’

Secondary English Head of Department and Mentor in Newham:

‘The ECT Programme has also been an excellent model for improving teaching with more experienced members of staff. It has had a multiplier effect across the school.’

Secondary Science Head of Department and Mentor in Barking & Dagenham:

‘Our year 1 ECT made so much progress by following the ECT programme, they are now second in charge in Science in Year 2.’

Early Years Lead and Mentor in a Havering Primary School:

‘It has been lovely to see that, with the support of Steplab and the instructional coaching, my mentee has made significant progress throughout the academic year.’

Secondary Humanities Lead and Mentor in Havering:

‘My ECT 1 was promoted to the Head of Sociology at the start of ECT 2 in a department with many sociology classes… Her Year 11s made progress of +1 SPI and the Sociology SPI was the highest in the school overall.’

Frequently Asked Questions

Please see the links below to answer some of your questions, and some of our more frequently asked questions. If you can’t find an answer to your question, then please contact us: craig.lilleyman@londondistricteast.org

Questions about funding?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/funding-and-eligibility-for-ecf-based-training

Q. What if I am having trouble with the My Ambition portal or Steplab?

Email the Hub and we will try our best to help. If it is a really technical problem, email: ectsupport@ambition.org.uk

Q. We have Year 2 ECTs that are joining in September from another programme, what happens for them?

If they are starting at your school and they have completed Year 1 of the Ambition programme elsewhere we can have their records transferred over to your school.

Q.  Is the DfE portal registration for all ECTs? 

Yes, it is where you keep all details about your schools ECTs and Mentors up to date. Here’ s link for the DfE portal:  https://manage-training-for-early-career-teachers.education.gov.uk/

Q. Should we be re-registering the Year 2 ECT’s who are currently here?

No, there’s no need to re-register Year 2, but they should all be on the DfE portal anyway aleady.

Q.  Do we need to re-register Year 2’s with the appropriate body or do they roll over?

You only register them at the beginning of the 2 years, for the whole two years.

Q.  Would our January starter be impacted by the new portal arrangements?

No – but they should be registered since Jan on the DfE portal anyway. January and April starters follow a separate pathway of events. Please see the January and April pages on this website.

DfE FAQs