Finding the right role as an ECT
Our ECT tips guides through how to find your right first role
Your ECT tips on finding the right role for you is important as its essential you are placed in the best role to begin with because your first teaching assignment will have an enormous impact on your view of teaching for the future. Statistics suggest 20% of ECTs leave within their first two years, so being placed in an unsuitable school where the culture is not a match, can often cause a disconnection between your love of teaching and the actual role.
Why choose a specialist education recruiter
You will find choosing to register with a specialist education recruiter rather than a general recruitment agency more tuned in to your needs. A specialist education recruiter will have strong insights into their clients/schools and a better understanding of the type of support you will need and this will increase your chances of getting the right role for you.
The recruiter should be able to provide you with school background including:
• the atmosphere of the school
• what kind of after-school activities are on offer
• what support is given to ECTs.
What research you should conduct beforehand
In addition, you should conduct your own research to reinforce your insight. We recommend you:
• Read the Ofsted reports for the school and review achievement tables from the Department of Education to see how well the school is doing.
• Give the school’s name a quick google and see if they have been in the local press at any point.
• Checkout Glassdoor, you will find reviews from employees on this website, although not all schools are registered.
• Of course, the school website is a great starting point, so take your time to explore that too.
We often arrange for our candidates to speak to previous ECTs who were placed last year, to provide ‘on the ground’ insight.
If you are an ECT and have not secured a role for September, then do not worry, we have roles available, so why not get in touch.
You can view our ECT support page here