As a specialist recruitment agency in the education sector, we work with over 500 schools across the West Midlands area to support their permanent and supply staffing needs and as a lot of ECTs tend to choose short-term supply work to complete their ECT years, we know what schools are looking for and what you need to do to pass you ECT years.

With so much knowledge it would be selfish to keep it to ourselves so we wanted to give you a few pointers on how to pass with flying colours!

Choosing your school

It’s always tempting to accept your first offer but you need to ensure you don’t do this when choosing what school you will complete your ECT years in. All schools should offer the same amount of support but some schools may be able to meet your needs better than others. This is something you’ll be able to find out in your interviews so make sure to put a lot of thought into what job offer you accept. Read our blog on what schools are looking for so that you can have lots of offers to choose from!

Plan ahead

Before starting your ECT year you can begin planning by collecting documents you might need and a USB stick to keep everything on. Planning your lessons ahead of time is key to not getting too overwhelmed with the workload. When planning keep in mind what your students already know and the core objective of the lesson, and be realistic about how much you will be able to fit into your lesson! We have loads of resources on our website to help you out, all you need to do is create an account to get access.

Prioritise professional development

This stage of your career should be dedicated to professional and personal development so make sure you take advantage of any training offered and stay up to date with your subject and school knowledge. All of our candidates have access to a variety of training designed to equip them with skills for the classroom and all you need to do is sign up to get started.

Get to know your colleagues

One of the best pieces of advice we could give you is to get to know your colleagues. Not only will it make your transition into the school easier but you will also have a support system whilst you’re there making your time more enjoyable and giving you the opportunity to ask for help when you need it. After all, who knows the school better than those who have been working there for years? 

Don't forget: LinkedIn is a great platform for connecting with both teachers in your school and a wider community of teachers from across the country so making an account might be a great idea when starting out, our blog on sprucing up your LinkedIn will help you make the most out of the platform so make sure to check it out!

We hope our advice helps you start your career in teaching, if you’re looking for a new school staff role have a look at our latest roles.