Early career teacher induction

Induction for early career teachers (ECTs) in England lasts the full-time equivalent of two school years, usually six terms. You must hold QTS before you start, and you must complete it satisfactorily to carry on teaching in maintained schools. During those two years you get a reduced timetable, a named mentor, a programme of training based on the early career framework, and two formal assessments against the Teachers’ Standards.

Who has to complete induction

Statutory induction is required if you want to work as a qualified teacher in a maintained school, a maintained nursery school or a non-maintained special school in England. It is not a legal requirement in academies, free schools, independent schools or further education. In practice most academies run induction exactly as maintained schools do, because a teacher who has not passed it cannot later move into the maintained sector.

If you are offered a job in a setting that does not provide induction, ask about it before you accept. Skipping it does not stop you working there, but it limits where you can go next.

Where you can serve it

Induction has to be done in a post that suits it: a school with a headteacher willing to provide the support, a suitable timetable and an appropriate body to oversee it. An appropriate body is an independent organisation (often a teaching school hub or a local authority) that checks your school is meeting its duties and makes the final decision on whether you pass.

Supply teaching can count if each post lasts at least a term. Shorter supply bookings generally do not count, though you can do them while you look for an induction post.

The support you are entitled to

Your school must give you:

• a reduced timetable in both years, larger in the first year than the second, on top of the normal planning, preparation and assessment time
• a mentor who meets you regularly and supports your development
• an induction tutor (sometimes the same person) who carries out progress reviews and formal assessments
• a training programme based on the initial teacher training and early career framework

The training programme is usually delivered by a DfE-funded lead provider, with online materials, sessions with other ECTs and work with your mentor in school. Some schools design their own programme using the framework.

The time off timetable is your entitlement. If you find that cover lessons or extra duties are eating into it, raise it with your induction tutor first and, if that does not fix it, with your appropriate body. A union can also help. Teacher workload covers the directed time rules that apply to all teachers.

How progress is assessed

Through the two years your induction tutor holds regular progress reviews, normally once a term when there is no formal assessment. The two formal assessments come at the end of the first year and at the end of the second, and both are made against the Teachers’ Standards.

After the final assessment, your headteacher recommends to the appropriate body whether you have passed. The appropriate body makes the decision and records it with the Department for Education. You will be told whether you have passed, failed or had your induction extended.

If your progress is falling short, the school should tell you early, in writing, and put a support plan in place. You can attach your own comments to any formal assessment. If the outcome is a fail or an extension, you can appeal to the Teaching Regulation Agency within the time limit given in the decision letter. A union rep is worth contacting at the first sign of a concern.

Pay during induction

You are paid as a qualified teacher from day one. In England outside London, M1 is £34,069 from September 2026 and M2 is £36,042. London and fringe schools pay more: M1 is £41,729 in inner London. Movement up the main range depends on your school’s pay policy and appraisal; induction itself does not decide your pay progression. Full figures are on teacher pay scales in England.

Part-time, absence and extensions

If you work part-time, induction is pro rata. A teacher on 0.5 of a full timetable takes four years to complete the equivalent of two full-time years, although the appropriate body can reduce this if you have met the standards sooner.

Long absences, such as maternity leave or sickness, extend induction automatically once they pass a set threshold, so the time still adds up to two full years. Your induction tutor and appropriate body will tell you how your dates change. Maternity leave cannot count against you, and you can choose whether a formal assessment due during leave waits until you return.

An appropriate body can also extend induction when it thinks you need more time to meet the standards. That is a decision about time, and it is different from failing.

If you fail

A failed induction means you cannot be employed as a teacher in a maintained school or non-maintained special school in England. You keep QTS, but your record shows the failed induction. You cannot repeat it. You may still be able to work in an academy, independent school or FE college, depending on their policies.

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate systems for new teachers. Scotland, for example, has a probationary year with its own pay point (£36,159 from 1 August 2026). If you plan to move, check how that nation treats induction completed in England, and see what is QTS? for how qualifications transfer.