From September 2023 Teaching School Hubs will become the main providers of Appropriate Body and local authorities will no longer offer this service.
During a transitional period from 1 September 2023 until 31 August 2024, local authorities can only continue to act as appropriate bodies in a limited capacity where the local authority was acting as an appropriate body for an institution immediately before 1 September 2023 for an ECT who was serving an induction period in that same institution immediately before 1 September 2023.
Local authorities will withdraw from their appropriate body role in 2 stages:
- from September 2023, they will not register any new early career teachers
- from September 2024, they will stop operating as appropriate bodies
Schools who already have ECTs registered with Edsential currently will continue with our services until September 2024. Contact ECT@edsential.co.uk for any further guidance.
Registering an ECT:
The appointment of an Appropriate Body is a statutory requirement for the induction period.
An ECT cannot start their Induction until they are registered with an Appropriate Body.
Registering for an ECF programme does not mean you are registered with an Appropriate Body service. Schools must ensure ECTs are registered for both an ECF Programme and an Appropriate Body.
There are three places a school must register their ECT:
- With an Appropriate Body service. An ECT cannot start their induction until they are registered with an Appropriate Body service, failure to register them in time could result in their first term not counting towards their induction.
- On the DfE online service.
- With an ECF provider.
Schools are encouraged to choose their local teaching school hub for appropriate body services unless they have specific reasons to go elsewhere.
Cheshire East and Cheshire West and Chester schools can register new Early Career Teachers from 1 September 2023 here: Cheshire Teaching School Hub St Joesph’s College