Trainee Teachers: What to ask at interview when applying for an ECT role

By Katie Small, ECF Lead at Inspire Learning Teaching School Hub

As we enter the summer term, the amount of teaching vacancies on Tes, Eteach and council websites will begin to steadily increase as staff at schools start to give their notice to leave at the end of the academic year.  

If you’re currently a Trainee Teacher still looking for your first Early Career Teacher (ECT) role, don’t worry if you haven’t secured anything yet as now is the perfect opportunity to set up your email alerts and have a bank of questions prepped for interview. 

As Liverpool and Wirral’s designated teaching school hub, and partner of University College London (UCL), we’ve worked with more than 1,400 Early Career Teachers since 2021 and know that securing your first teaching role can be a daunting prospect, so we’re here to ease the burden. 

With guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) surrounding the training ECTs should receive recently changing (April 2025), it’s more important than ever that you get some of the interview questions ticked off your list and know the answers you should be looking for with our guide on what to ask schools to ensure you get the correct support as an ECT in September 2025.  

How will I be supported in my first year as an ECT?

From September 2025 all schools must, as a statutory requirement, adhere to the guidance set out in the Early Career Teacher Entitlement (ECTE). This two-year programme, which replaces the Early Career Framework (ECF) based training and induction, has been created following feedback from previous ECTs to further support your professional skills and provide you with the knowledge to meet the teachers’ standards which you will be assessed against at the end of the two years. 

Training under the ECTE will combine information from the Core Content Frame (CCF), that you will be aware of from your Initial Teacher Training (ITT), and the previous ECF to create a new, thorough framework called the Initial teaching Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF). 

We would anticipate when asking this question, schools will explain these changes before going on to discuss that this entitles you to:

• A thorough training programme

• Mentor support from trained members of staff

• Time off timetable, in addition to 10% planning, preparation and assessment (PPA). 

The above outlines the basic legal requirements a school must provide, however many schools choose to offer extra support such as setting up group ECT meetings so you can meet with other ECTs in your school to learn, share and seek advice from one another; arranging visits to other local schools for you to broaden your knowledge away from your context and build up your own network; and offering extra CPD sessions outside of the ECTE.  

Will I have a mentor?

It is recommended practice that every ECT has their own mentor and it’s ideal if that mentor works in a similar phase or year group (if you’re a primary teacher) or teaches the same subject (secondary), however this isn’t always possible due to staffing and would not put you at a disadvantage.

Your mentor, who should have completed an ECF Mentor Training programme, is not there to ‘assess’ you but instead be someone you can go to for one-to-one support and feedback. They will give you the opportunity to discuss and reflect on your practice and can support you in your completion of modules. They can also observe you to offer practical feedback. 

You will also have an induction tutor (this is typically someone in the school’s Senior Leadership Team) who looks after the formal side of things for all ECTs in your school. They will be the person who assesses you against the teachers’ standards and you will have progress reviews and assessment meetings with them throughout the induction period. Your mentor will work closely with your induction tutor and may share feedback from observations they have carried out to contribute to your termly progress reviews and assessments. 

To find out what to expect during an interview and for general advice, take a look at our previous blog here from Director of Inspire Learning TSH, Jane Kennedy, who shares practical hints and tips from her 34 years’ experience in the profession. 

At Inspire Learning TSH, our vision is to help Early Career Teachers become great practitioners by providing you with the knowledge and expertise needed to deliver world class education. This academic year alone we have supported over 660 ECTs across 250 schools and empowered over 600 mentors through our University College London’s ECT Induction Programme and ECF Mentor Training Programme.

We are currently recruiting our next cohort of expert facilitators to deliver the new ECTE programme from September 2025. If you are a middle or senior leader and would like to support ECTs in their first two years of teaching (or you know someone who would make a fantastic facilitator), head to https://inspirelearningtsh.co.uk/ to find out more.