The ECT and the mentor

How can a maths department and mentor best support their maths ECT?

Sarah Williams is one of 2021/22’s maths Early Career Teachers (ECTs), and Scott Gibson is her mentor, with two decades of experience teaching maths. We talk to them about how department collaborative planning procedures and open, approachable mentoring have made Sarah’s first year in teaching ‘fantastic’!

Show notes

Taking part in the discussion are:

• Sarah Williams, maths ECT at David Nieper Academy
• Scott Gibson, maths teacher at David Nieper Academy
• Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager

Episodes:

• 01:06 – Introducing Sarah, Scott and their school
• 06:20 – Y7 maths project: Mini-olympics
• 07:26 – Teaching Y7 fractions/probability unit
• 10:41 – How department collaborative planning has been supportive
• 21:21 – The advantages of being a mature ECT
• 24:06 – Tips for new ECTs
• 25:09 – The mentoring role
• 27:31 – Advice for new mentors

Useful links:

Planning collaboratively and learning together as a department | NCETM (an article written in June 2022 about collaborative planning at David Nieper Academy, mentioned in the conversation)

Specialist Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics - Secondary Early Career Teachers | NCETM Details of a maths-specific CPD project run in Maths Hubs around the country, specifically for ECTs

Early career framework A framework of standards to help early career teachers succeed at the start of their careers