A shortage of teachers in the region has prompted Felsted School to devise its own programme to support new teachers and keep them in the job for longer.
Felsted School launched the programme for Early Careers Teachers (ECT) last year, and this year has seen an increased take-up.
Beth Roberts Jones, director of teacher development at Felsted, said: "We recognised the potential of instilling best practice in teachers in the formative early years of their careers, feeding their intellectual curiosity and giving them a flying start to teaching.
"It is getting harder and harder to recruit teachers, so supporting the ones who are coming through is important if we are to make sure they stay in the job for as long as possible."
Over the summer of 2021, Beth devised a concept for Felsted's ECT programme for teachers who have already got their teaching qualification, such as a PGCE.
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The programme was immediately put into action in September for the nine new teachers Felsted had recruited.
Beth said: "Inspectors from the Independent Schools Teacher Induction Panel (ISTIP) came to visit in our very first year of operation and said this was one of the highest numbers of new teachers they had ever seen on this type of programme.
"My aim was to create a personalised, school-based programme for new teachers at Felsted, aligned with the school’s academic development priorities and offering plenty of academic rigour."
The two-year programme is extended from the previous one-year one specified by the government, to give more time to develop good learning habits.
Beth added: "The importance of providing a supportive group cannot be underestimated.
"We recently ran a session on supporting neurodiverse students, and we have also covered developing strategies for effective feedback, alongside exploring how to practically implement the school’s learning goals and academic priorities."
Now in its second year, Felsted's programme has 13 ECTs, and has added mentor support and training in 'instructional coaching'.
The success of the programme has led ISTIP to recommend that the school become a regional ECT training hub, and the programme can be tailored to suit other types of school.
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