AB & Statutory Induction

Appropriate Bodies (AB) will continue to play an important role in Statutory Induction of teachers. As they have always done, Appropriate Bodies will be expected to check that all teachers are receiving their statutory entitlements (such as reduced timetable) and they will continue to have a role in assessment for all teachers.

The Appropriate Body role has recently expanded to reflect the expectation that every new teacher has access to an Early Career Framework-based Induction. Appropriate Bodies will be expected to check that teachers are receiving a programme of support and training based on the Early Career Framework (ECF), alongside the other checks that they already do. The Department for Education (DfE) is referring to this as ‘Early Career Framework-fidelity checking’ – i.e. checking that an induction programme is faithful to the Early Career Framework. The Appropriate Body role and the level of fidelity checking will vary depending on the induction route a school has chosen:

1. For schools who have enrolled on the provider-led Early Career Framework programme, the Appropriate Body does not need to carry out fidelity checks at all, because the providers of the programme will be subject to a separate Quality Assurance process. This is referred to as using a DfE-funded training provider.
2. Where schools choose to deliver the high quality DfE materials or the Appropriate Body will be expected to check that the support and training being provided is faithful to the Early Career Framework. This is referred to as using DfE-accredited materials to deliver your own programme.
3. Where schools choose to design their own induction programme using the Early Career Framework, the Appropriate Body will be expected to check that the support and training being provided is faithful to the Early Career Framework. (A more in-depth level of checking will be expected where schools are designing their own programme.) This is referred to as designing and delivering your own ECF-based programme.

Full details about the Statutory Induction of teachers can be found below.