If you know someone who has just completed their teacher training, then you might have heard the term ‘ECT’. An ‘Early Career Teacher’, or ECT, is the new version of NQT, or ‘Newly Qualified Teacher’. When someone has completed their teacher training and they get their first teaching job, this is what they are while they go through a 2 year period of extra support to get them started. So if you know someone who has completed their teacher training and you want to get a gift to congratulate them and wish them luck in their first teaching job, we’ve got a few ideas!
Teacher Planner
They may have been using our Teacher Training Planner last year, but now your friend or family member is a qualified teacher, they’ve also qualified for our Teacher Planner! (We’re joking, anyone can use the teacher planner – no qualifications needed!) Our Teacher Planner is the perfect one-stop-shop for teachers to plan out their school year, with weekly pages, termly plans, ideas and notes pages, key information and records pages – everything they’ll need is all in one place. If you want to send them a big ‘well done’ on becoming an ECT, and help to make that first year of teaching a little bit easier, we can’t recommend our Teacher Planner enough. Plus, it comes in lots of designs so you can choose one they’ll love.
ECT Reflective Journal
Another great option, especially if your friend or family member is about to start their first year of the ECT period, is our First Year of Teaching Reflective Journal. Your first ever year of teaching is such a whirlwind, with so much to learn and so much going on; so it’s easy to forget the little things. That’s why we created this journal! It’s a place to fill with memories from your first ever teaching job. There are lots of places to fill in your ‘firsts’, like your first display or your first school trip. There are also places to fill in your weekly reflections and places to note down your goals. Of course, setting goals and reflecting is all part of the ECT process, but this is a place where you can be a bit more personal than you would be with your mentor. Reflecting on the funniest joke one of your students told you, or making it a goal to have all your stationery match, for example!
ECT Essentials Booklet
Though we recommend our Teacher Planner to ECTs to help organise their teaching, an ECT’s needs and workload are a little different to other teachers. They have extra support, but also need to have regular meetings, continued learning, goals, and need to show they’re meeting the right criteria. And with that comes a bunch of planning! So we created the ECT Essentials Booklet to work alongside our Teacher Planner. It contains lots of helpful things an ECT will need, like the full ECT Framework for easy reference with space for notes and ideas, plus notes pages for mentor meetings, observations, and ideas for your continued professional development. It means all the notes for your ECT-related work will be in one place!
A Good Notebook
We’ve taken our love of pretty stationery one step further and created the ultimate notebook for teachers. It’s A4 and hardback, so big and sturdy and can handle being used for the whole school year. It’s divided into 4 sections: 52 numbered, lined notes pages with a contents to keep things organised, 208 To Do Lists, 51 Ideas pages with a mix of dotted pages and mind maps, and a Professional section with CPD Notes pages and Meeting Notes pages. The perfect notebook to bring to all your meetings and PPA/non-contact time and jot down all of your ideas.
To Do Lists and Sticky Notes
A nice and simple go-to gift recommendation: our To Do Lists and Sticky Notes. They both come in a range of different colourful designs so you can pick the one your friend or family member will like best, or get them a rainbow of different designs. The To Do Lists are tear off pads so you can start fresh each day and the sticky notes are perfect for leaving yourself little reminders, using in your planner, or labelling sets of books. These are great gifts because you know they’ll be well used – you can never have too many little notes on your desk!