Begin Your Teaching Career at Chadwell Heath Academy

Starting your teaching career is exciting, but we know it can also be daunting.

At Chadwell Heath Academy, you will be challenged and supported. You will have opportunities to learn from experienced colleagues, work alongside other Early Career Teachers, and become part of a wider professional community.

Most importantly, you will have people around you who want you to succeed.

Our aim is not simply to help you complete induction. It is to help you become the teacher you want to be.

At Chadwell Heath Academy, we know that the first years of teaching matter. Our Early Career Teacher programme is designed to give new teachers the support, professional development and practical experience they need to become confident and successful classroom practitioners.

You will not be expected to work everything out on your own. ECTs are supported by their mentor, Curriculum Leader, the Teaching and Learning team, fellow ECTs and senior leaders.

Our aim is simple: we want you not just to complete your ECT years, but to become an excellent teacher.

 

Our Early Career Teacher Programme

At Chadwell Heath Academy, our Early Career Teachers benefit from a programme that combines high-quality external professional development with personalised support within school.

Our ECT programme is delivered through the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) in partnership with the Seven Kings Learning Partnership, with the Harris Institute of Teaching and Leadership providing our Appropriate Body service.

Through the Seven Kings Learning Partnership, ECTs have access to:

• Face-to-face professional development alongside ECTs from other local schools
• Subject and phase-specific training
• National expert webinars
• Opportunities to build networks with other Early Career Teachers
• Dedicated ECT conference opportunities
• Professional development that connects educational research with practical classroom teaching

This external programme is complemented by our own professional development at Chadwell Heath Academy, meaning ECTs benefit from both a wider professional network and personalised support within their own school.

 

Mentoring That Makes a Difference

Every ECT is assigned an experienced mentor who provides regular, structured support.

Mentor meetings provide protected time to talk honestly about teaching, reflect on what is going well, work through challenges and agree manageable next steps.

Mentors work alongside Curriculum Leaders and the ECT Induction Tutor so that professional development is connected to what is actually happening in the classroom.

We recognise that the first years of teaching are challenging. The purpose of mentoring is not simply to monitor ECTs. It is to help them become increasingly confident, reflective and independent practitioners.

 

Learning From Great Practice

We believe teachers learn from other teachers.

ECTs are encouraged to observe experienced colleagues across Chadwell Heath Academy and learn from different subjects, departments and approaches.

They also have opportunities to work with other Early Career Teachers through their Seven Kings Learning Partnership programme.

This means that professional development is not limited to courses or reading. ECTs see strategies being used in real classrooms, discuss them with experienced colleagues and consider how they might adapt them within their own teaching.

 

Teaching and Learning at Chadwell

ECT development forms part of our wider approach to Teaching and Learning rather than operating separately from it.

ECTs develop their classroom practice within our whole-school priorities, including:

• Embedding Formative Assessment
• Adaptive Teaching
• Talk for Learning and Oracy
• Effective modelling
• Questioning and checking for understanding
• Retrieval and recall
• Developing pupils' literacy and vocabulary
• Creating challenging and inclusive classrooms

Chadwell Heath Academy is an SSAT Embedding Formative Assessment Ambassador School, and formative assessment has become a central part of our approach to classroom practice.

ECTs therefore develop alongside experienced colleagues, with the whole school continuing to reflect on and improve teaching.

 

Time to Develop

Early Career Teachers receive their statutory reduced teaching timetable, ensuring that they have protected time for professional development, mentoring and engagement with their ECT programme.

We want this time to be purposeful.

ECT development is connected to classroom practice so that professional learning helps teachers address the real challenges they encounter as they develop.

 

Observation and Feedback

Observation at Chadwell Heath Academy is developmental.

ECTs receive regular opportunities to reflect on their teaching, receive constructive feedback and identify practical next steps.

Where an area for development is identified, the emphasis is on support, development and improvement.

This might include:

• Coaching from a mentor or Curriculum Leader
• Observing another teacher
• Practising a particular teaching strategy
• Additional professional development
• Revisiting an aspect of classroom practice through a subsequent observation

The aim is continuous improvement rather than expecting new teachers to get everything right immediately.

 

Part of a Wider Professional Community

One of the strengths of the programme is that ECTs do not only work with colleagues within Chadwell Heath Academy.

Through the Seven Kings Learning Partnership, ECTs participate in professional development with Early Career Teachers from other local schools. The current programme includes sessions held at Seven Kings School alongside online subject sessions and national webinars.

This gives ECTs the opportunity to share experiences, learn from other schools and begin building a professional network beyond Chadwell Heath Academy.

At the same time, ECTs remain firmly part of our own staff community and are supported by their department, mentor and the wider Teaching and Learning team.

 

Professional Development Beyond ECT

Professional development does not stop when the ECT programme finishes.

All staff at Chadwell Heath Academy take part in a continuing programme of professional learning.

This includes:

• Whole-school INSET
• Twilight professional development
• Departmental CPD
• Teaching and Learning development
• Peer observation
• Collaborative professional learning
• Leadership development
• Opportunities to contribute to whole-school improvement

We want Early Career Teachers to see Chadwell Heath Academy as somewhere they can build a career, not simply complete their induction.