Capita plc today announces it has been appointed to the Department for Education’s (DfE) Early Career Framework (ECF). The framework will see suppliers bid for up to £250m worth of work over four years.
The ECF was established by the DfE to improve the quality of training and support for teachers in the early stages of their careers and help boost teacher retention rates in England. Currently, 33% of teachers leave the profession within five years of joining it. The ECF reforms mark the largest investment in continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers in a generation.
The ECF reforms aim to increase levels of teacher retention by improving the quality of training for early career teachers and providing them with more training materials, support, and more consistent mentoring.
Now Capita has joined the framework, the company will be able to bid to train cohorts of early career teachers and their mentors. The first training will commence in September 2021.
Capita’s solution is based on a successful early roll-out of the ECF reforms, run by DfE in 2020, and will be further enhanced by Capita’s technology and education expertise and additional support from lead academic partner, the University of Birmingham.
The company will lead a network of teaching school hubs, universities, charities, and education sector organisations to undertake the delivery of the programme. The solution will combine face-to-face and virtual training as well as online learning, enabling teachers to develop skills that are most relevant to them.
Damian Riley, Capita’s Managing Director & Client Partner, Education Sector, said: “We are delighted to be appointed to this new £250m framework, which will enable us to support teachers in the early stages of their careers and help the Government boost teacher retention rates.
“This framework will see us build on our strategic relationship with DfE and the sector, drawing on our delivery skills and our education expertise, working with academic partners, teaching schools and SMEs, to deliver digitally enabled services for government, and enhance social value in our communities.”
Professor Deborah Youdell, Head of the University of Birmingham School of Education, said: "The University of Birmingham is excited to partner with Capita on this ECF project. We look forward to supporting new teachers and their mentors with the highest quality programmes which ensure teachers flourish and remain in the profession. Drawing on our School of Education’s wide-ranging expertise in initial teacher education and continuing professional development, we are delighted to play our part in this step-change for the teaching profession."
Nick Gibb, School Standards Minister, said: “Every child needs a great teacher, and every new teacher deserves the best training and effective mentoring at the start of their career.
“Our reforms to teacher training and the introduction of the Early Career Framework are designed to improve the experience of teachers as they take up their first teaching post. It will provide them with structured support, a dedicated mentor and training based on the best available evidence of what works in the classroom. The six successful training providers announced today will play a pivotal role in delivering these reforms from September.
“After all the disruption to our schools over the past year, investing in our next generation of teachers is vital. These reforms will directly support those who will be educating our children for years to come.”
