How to secure an Early Career Teacher position
So, you’re either approaching the end of your Initial Teacher Training (ITT) or have recently (or not so recently) completed it – how are you going to go about securing a position to get you through induction?
You may be lucky enough to have created a good impression during your ITT or teaching practice for a school that you’ve been at to offer you a position or invite you to apply for a vacancy they have – you’ll be in a great position, as you’ll already have a ‘feeling’ about the school, and whether this aligns with what you want from a teaching position.
If you have to actively look for a position, the majority of positions on offer, as they are across the teaching ‘board’, are full-time, permanent positions – fantastic, as these will give you the opportunity to go through the two years of your induction in the same school, getting to know the way the school works and how the staff work together to achieve the very best outcomes for their pupils.
These are usually advertised in one of two ways:
- Through an ECT Pool, run by the Local Authority
- Advertised in publications like the Times Educational Supplement (TES), on their website or on specialist education recruitment websites like ETeach
ECT Pools
ECT Pools, whilst subtly different from Local Authority to Local Authority, basically operate in the same way:
- You complete an application form, write a Personal Statement and submit them to the Pool
- These are then processed (to varying levels of thoroughness – some Pools accept all applications, leaving it to schools to read through them all, whereas others quality assure applications in an attempt to save schools time) and accepted into the Pool
- As schools become aware of vacancies, they use the applications available through the Pool to try to fill their position.
Advantages of using a Pool system include:
- For the applicant, it means that they only have to complete one application – this then allows them to be considered for all vacancies of interest – dramatically reducing time spent on applying
- For the school, they do not have to spend time and money advertising their vacancies – as ECTs have effectively applied for the ‘all ECT opportunities recruited to using the ECT Pool’ position – this means a quicker process for schools
Disadvantages of using a Pool system include:
- Whilst it will not happen, a Pool system cannot guarantee any positions will become available for applicants to be considered for – it’s the schools using the Pool, not the Pool itself, that generate the vacancies to be filled – not does it guarantee a position for every applicant; it’s not advisable pinning your hopes on one Pool…
- For the applicant, particularly those who apply early on in the process, it can feel as if nothing is happening for periods of time – don’t be alarmed by this; this is outweighed by the fact that you will be in the Pool when the earliest vacancies come to be filled
- For schools, it can be frustrating when applicants forget to update their requirements or remove their application from the Pool after securing a position, leading to unnecessary contact
Teach Lambeth’s ECT Pool is well-established, with an excellent appointment rate for those who apply to it – please make an application today.
Advertising positions
Even when a Local Authority offers an ECT Pool, not all schools will choose to use it, whilst others may not use it exclusively – some will not have bought into the service allowing them to use the Pool, some will not have been able to successfully recruit through the Pool and others may not be aware of the Pool being offered – and some Local Authorities might not offer a Pool service.
Whatever the case, it’s worth your while keeping an eye on more ‘traditional’ means of recruitment, just in case a school you’ve had your eye on pops up somewhere else.
Schools may advertise their vacancies in the Times Educational Supplement (TES), which is available in print on Fridays, and on the TES website or on the ETeach website.
If you do see an advert for a position in a school that is covered by an ECT Pool you’ve applied for, it’s worth contacting someone, just to ask whether the school uses the Pool and if your Pool application could be used as your application for the position.
If, after applying to Pools and other advertised positions, things still aren’t happening for you, you may begin to think of joining an agency to find work.
Like any service industry, there are good agencies and not-so-good agencies – do your homework about any that you’re considering joining:
- Do you know anyone currently registered with them?
- Can any of the schools you’ve built relationships with during your ITT recommend any agencies?
Advantages of working through an agency include:
- If you’ve got any requirements that might make working in a full-time position difficult (family responsibilities, for example), then you can control when and where you are available to work
- Working in short-term supply positions may allow you to understand better what you are actually looking for from any prospective school you work in on a permanent basis
- Schools will be able to build relationships with those they find to be a good fit – you may find you’re asked for when they contact the agency and they may invite you to apply for a vacancy some time in the future
Disadvantages of working through an agency include:
- Agencies are businesses, at the end of the day – schools will have to pay agency fees on top of what they pay for your wage – it’s an expensive way for schools to fill their needs
- You’re not guaranteed work on any given day
- Short-term supply work cannot count towards your ECT induction – you must be in a school on a regular basis for at least the length of a school term (one third of a school year) for induction to be applicable, and, even then, this must be known about from the outset of the assignment to be able to include it (induction cannot be backdated)
Hopefully, this article has given you some information about how to get your first teaching position – good luck with completing your induction.
