Glossary for lead providers

Appropriate body

Appropriate bodies are responsible for assuring the quality of statutory teacher induction by ensuring that those involved understand and can fulfil their responsibilities, and that monitoring, support, assessment, and guidance arrangements are fair and appropriate.

They provide the overall induction start date and induction end date, which we show over the API.

Cohort

The grouping of participants who begin their induction or training in a given academic year under a given funding contract.

For example, a participant who started their training in the 2024 to 2025 academic year is assigned to the 2024 cohort.

This is because funding for their training comes from the 2024 to 2025 call-off contract.

Declaration

The notification submitted by lead providers via the API to receive payment from DfE when participants complete training milestones.

Delivery partner

A role played by an organisation where they deliver training events. Lead providers are required each year to submit to DfE what delivery partners they expect to work with for the new cohort. Delivery partners may also be appropriate bodies.

Early career framework (ECF)

The Early Career Framework set out what early career teachers should learn during their first 2 years of teaching. It was replaced by the initial teacher training and early career framework from 2025 cohorts onwards.

Early career teacher entitlement (ECTE)

The Early career teacher entitlement is a 2-year programme that supports early career teachers (ECTs) when they start their teaching career. It’s designed to:

  • develop their professional skills
  • provide them with the knowledge and skills to meet the teachers’ standards

It includes:

  • a training programme for ECTs
  • mentor support for ECTs
  • a training programme for new mentors (if the school uses a Department for Education (DfE) funded lead provider)
  • time off timetable for ECTs and mentors
  • regular progress reviews and 2 formal assessments for ECTs against the teachers’ standards

Eligibility for funding

To be eligible for funding, an ECT must:

  • have started their induction, which has been recorded by an appropriate body
  • hold QTS
  • not be prohibited from teaching
  • not be exempt from induction
  • not have started induction before 1 September 2021
  • not have completed statutory induction before

To be eligible for funding, a mentor must:

  • not be prohibited from teaching
  • not have completed early career teacher mentor training before
  • not have been marked as ineligible for future training by DfE, for example, because they started mentor training but took too long to complete it

Expression of interest

This is a term used over the API when a school has indicated they want to train one or more of their ECTs and mentors with you. Lead providers can then submit a partnership, if one doesn’t already exist, to confirm they’re training at least one participant at that school.

Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework​ (ITTECF)

The Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework covers the training and induction periods at the start of a teacher’s career.

It combines and replaces the previously separate Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) and Early Career Framework (ECF) following a review.

The ITTECF sets out the entitlement of every trainee and early career teacher (ECT) to the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching, and to the mentoring and support from expert colleagues they should receive throughout the three or more years at the start of their career.

Milestone dates

The deadline to submit declarations for each milestone period to receive payment from DfE.

Milestone periods are the dates a declaration must be made between to be valid for payment by DfE.

Participant

An early career teacher (ECT) or mentor who is registered for training.

Participant status

participant_status records the participant’s status as reported by the school, for example, when:

  • a school reports the participant’s lead provider has changed
  • an ECT has moved to school-led training
  • a participant has been reported as leaving a school
  • a participant has been reported as joining a new school

It also turns to ‘left’ when a lead provider defers or withdraws a participant.

Partnership

A 3 way relationship between school, lead provider, and delivery partner. The lead provider and delivery partner are providing training for at least 1 ECT or mentor at the school.

Partners

Partners are the delivery partners and lead providers approved to train ECTs and mentors for each cohort.

Qualified teaching status (QTS)

Early career teachers require QTS to be eligible for training with lead providers. See the qualified teacher status (QTS) guidance.

Replacement mentors

A mentor starting provider-led training to replace an existing mentor for an ECT. They receive funding for their training but don’t count towards the lead provider’s contract performance metrics - only the first mentor for an ECT counts towards those metrics.

Replacement mentors in pre-2025 cohorts were not eligible for any uplift fees.

Schedule

These are set when new early career teachers or mentors are registered, based on when they are starting at a school, when they’re registered, and if they’re a replacement mentor. They are then updated and corrected by lead providers via the API.

Schedules give DfE information about how participants are being trained, and can also set the milestone periods when lead providers can submit declarations for.

Statement

A record of output payments (based on declarations), fees, and any adjustments the DfE may pay lead providers at the end of a contractually agreed payment period.

Statements sent to providers by DfE at the end of milestone periods can be used for invoicing purposes.

Output payments

The sum of money paid by DfE to providers per valid declaration.

Teacher reference number (TRN)

A unique identifier issued by the Teaching Regulation Agency to an individual teacher.

Training status

The training_status is set to ‘active’ when an ECT or mentor is registered. Lead providers must update this status when an ECT defers or withdraws from training.

The training status can impact how you can submit declarations, or update other information for withdrawn or deferred participants.

Withdrawing or deferring a participant also notifies the school to update their records.

Transfers

Transfers record when an ECT or mentor leaves a school. This includes when they move to a new school or when they leave without a new school.

Unfunded mentor

Mentors who are mentoring ECTs that a lead provider trains, but are not eligible for funded training through that lead provider.

This is typically because they have completed, or are currently doing, mentor training with a different lead provider.

Lead providers will be funded to give these mentors access to learning materials to support their ECT.