Spotlight on Red Kite Appropriate Body
Posted 6th November 2023
Jen Berry, Appropriate Body Director at Red Kite Teaching School Hub, introduces the AB team, explains more about the role of the AB and highlights the benefits of working with Red Kite. Jen provides some useful advice and guidance for schools employing Early Career Teachers.
What is an Appropriate Body?
Appropriate bodies (ABs) are organisations that have the main quality assurance role in statutory teacher induction. They ensure that Early Career Teachers (ECTs) receive their statutory entitlements and that the support, assessment and guidance in place is fair and appropriate.
From September 2024 Teaching School Hubs (TSHs) will become the main provider of appropriate body (AB) services (except for specialist ABs for some independent and overseas schools).
Who are the Red Kite AB team?
Red Kite AB works with schools across the North Yorkshire Hub region and beyond; we have supported schools and beginning teachers since 2014. Our experienced and friendly team is led by the Director of the AB, Jen Berry. Jen is a former primary school teacher and specialises in SEND; she led Red Kite Teacher Training’s SEND programme until recently and has led our AB for the last two years. Early Career Leads (ECLs) work across our AB, Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and Early Career Framework (ECF) training. Any of our ECLs may visit your school or support your ECTs, however the main ECLs working for the AB are Clare Heron and Jo Mottram. Clare is a secondary specialist, and Jo is a primary specialist. Between them, they have many years of teaching experience, and significant experience in supporting trainees and ECTs. Katie Arthur, our ECF and AB Co-ordinator oversees our administrative function and can help schools and ECTs with many of their queries.
What are the benefits of working with Red Kite AB?
- Approachable, knowledgeable and experienced team
- Timely responses and clear advice
- We support you with in school processes
- Regular communication and information (including Induction Tutor briefings)
- Personal and bespoke approaches to meet ECT and school needs
- High levels of support, advice and guidance (including mediation and HR issues)
- We aim to facilitate the retention of excellent, professional teachers
What does the AB do?
As your Appropriate Body we have 2 main roles in the statutory induction for your ECTs:
- Monitoring of Support: ensuring that ECTs are receiving their statutory entitlements and ensuring schools are supported to provide ECTs with an ECF-based induction.
- Monitoring of Assessment: making the final decision as to whether the ECT has satisfactorily met the Teachers’ Standards, based on the Headteacher’s recommendation.
When you register with us, we will enrol you on our online system, ECT Manager and this will be used to communicate with you, provide you with resources and act as a portal for your ECT’s documentation. We will monitor entitlements and progress reviews and may come to visit your schools to carry out quality assurance of your ECT’s induction period. We carry out QA in a third of the schools annually we work with as part of our duties, so please don’t worry if we come to see you! We will also offer bespoke support if there are any issues during induction. This may include observing the ECT and giving feedback, team planning and teaching, modelling, coaching and mentoring.
How is the Appropriate Body and ECF different?
The Early Career Framework (ECF) is a programme which provides training for ECTs and Mentors to be followed during the induction period, whereas the AB monitors the induction statutory entitlements, support and assessment provided by the school. As part of this monitoring the AB may consider engagement with the ECF.
Your choice of ECF professional development programme is independent from your Appropriate Body. We work with all ECTs, regardless of induction route, ECF programme or school type.
What do schools need to do?
The Headteacher should identify suitable teachers to hold the roles of Induction Tutor and Mentor. Ideally these roles should be distinct and separate, with differing responsibilities. It is expected that these roles should be held by different individuals and they should be given time to carry out the role effectively.
An ECT is expected to be observed at regular intervals. As best practice we suggest half termly and ideally within the first 4 weeks of an ECT starting to establish a baseline. Observations may be undertaken by the Induction Tutor or other suitable person. Prompt feedback should be given, including a written record indicating any identified development needs.
The Induction Tutor should complete termly reviews of the ECT’s teaching practice, conduct and efficiency. Progress reviews happen in terms 1, 2, 4 and 5 and are a snapshot of what is going well and areas to developments. Formal assessments against the Teachers’ Standards are written at the end of term 3 and 6. These reviews will then be reported to the Appropriate Body as a progress review or assessment through ECT Manager.
How do I contact the AB?
Your first point of contact if you have queries about registering with the AB or if you are already registered and need support is AB@rklt.co.uk. Katie and the admin team will respond as soon as possible and the ECLs, or Jen will be in touch to help you if necessary.