No longer asking non-state-funded schools to use the RECT service
Context
ECTs can serve induction at schools that are not state-funded, but they do not receive DfE funding for ECF training. These ECTs can still do unfunded training, either by using the publicly accessible materials from lead providers or by schools creating their own training following the initial teacher training early career framework.
Mainly these schools are independent schools without section 41 status (around 1100 per year) and British schools overseas (around 900 per year).
Previously, schools needed to use the service to gain access to the DfE materials if they chose this training option for their ECTs. However, these materials were made publicly available last year, so we wanted to explore whether there was still a need for non-state-funded schools (without section 41 funding) to use the Register early career teachers (RECT) service at all.
What we did
We spoke to the DfE teams who use ECF schools data, so that we could understand if there was a need to collect non-state-funded schools (without section 41 funding) data specifically.
We spoke to:
Grant funding team: As these schools don’t receive any funding, they didn’t think they needed this data.
TAD: The have a very small number of ECTs at technical colleges covered in their statistics, but they weren’t sure why these ECTs were in scope. No other ECTs at non-state funded schools (except Section 41 schools) are included in their statistics.
ECF Policy Unit: They couldn’t see any major issues with not collecting this data.
Induction policy team: They also didn’t highlight any reasons for collecting this data.
Following these conversations, we proposed that non-state-funded schools should not need to register their ECTs and mentors in RECT, for several reasons:
- There was no clear need to collect non-state-funded school data for DfE teams.
- We should try to reduce the burden for schools as much as possible.
- In line with GDPR, we shouldn’t collect and hold data in the service that we don’t need.
- ECTs at non state funded schools would still be registered by an appropriate body for induction, so data on when ECTs at these schools started induction and what training programme type they’re doing would still be available. We wouldn’t know from the appropriate body data which school these ECTs are at though.
This proposal was discussed and agreed by the ECF Working Group.
Next steps
We will be exploring how to implement this decision for the RECT service, so that non-state-funded schools don’t start or continue registering ECTs and mentors.