The Smart Choice

Newly Qualified Teachers, Ready For Your Classrooms

Hire ECTs and NQTs

Ready To Hire5

Hire newly qualified teachers for your high school

Smart Education Recruitment helps high schools and local authorities appoint Early Career Teachers — still often advertised as NQTs — for permanent posts and fixed-term cover. We shortlist graduates who hold QTS, understand the two-year induction, and can teach the subject and age range you need.

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High schools and secondary settings that need an Early Career Teacher

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Local authorities recruiting on behalf of maintained schools

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Heads, deputies, faculty leads and LA education HR teams filling a main-scale teaching post

Smart Education Recruitment

What you get when you appoint an ECT

An ECT holds Qualified Teacher Status and is in their first two years of statutory induction.

They should arrive able to plan and teach their subject, but they are not a finished practitioner. In return, the school (or the school with its appropriate body) must provide:

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A two-year Early Career Teacher Entitlement (ECTE)

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10% time off timetable in year one and 5% in year two, on top of usual PPA

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Progress reviews and two formal assessments against the Teachers’ Standards

Safer recruitment

Every ECT we put forward is treated as a regulated role with children. That includes:

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Identity and right to work

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Enhanced DBS with children’s barred list

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Prohibition-from-teaching check

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Qualifications and QTS

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References

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Overseas checks where the candidate has lived or worked abroad

How it works – Our Process

Step-01

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Share the vacancy

Subject, key stage, contract type, start date, pay and how ECT induction will be delivered.

Step-02

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Briefing call

We confirm what “a good ECT for this school” looks like — including mentor capacity and any shortage-subject constraints.

Step-03

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Shortlist

You meet candidates who hold (or are about to hold) QTS and want your setting, not a generic secondary post.

Step-04

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Appointment and aftercare

Further checks, offer and start date are handled in order. If a fixed-term ECT should become permanent, we already know both sides.

Frequently Asked Questions For Liverpool High Schools

What is the difference between an NQT and an ECT?

NQT (newly qualified teacher) is the older title. In England the statutory term is Early Career Teacher. It means a teacher with QTS who is completing the two-year induction. Schools and LAs still search for “NQT”; we treat the two as the same hiring brief.

Can we appoint an ECT on a fixed-term contract?

Yes, if the post and the induction arrangements are suitable. The teacher still needs a proper mentor, the reduced timetable and an appropriate body. A short supply booking is not the same as hosting induction.

Do they need QTS before they start?

For teaching posts in maintained schools in England, yes — QTS is required, and induction follows. Some academies have historically appointed without QTS; if that is your policy, state it in the brief so we do not send the wrong people.

What must our school provide?

The two-year Early Career Teacher Entitlement: mentor, 10% off timetable in year one, 5% in year two (plus PPA), training, progress reviews and two formal assessments against the Teachers’ Standards.

Will an ECT be able to teach a full timetable?

Not in the first two years. Build the reduced timetable into staffing from the start. An ECT given a full load with no mentor time is more likely to leave.

Can a local authority use you to recruit for several high schools?

Yes. Brief us once on the LA process and per-school needs (subject, site, induction lead). We will not send the same candidate to two of your schools at once without agreement.

What about shortage subjects?

We still search. The field may be smaller in maths, physics, chemistry and computing. In those cases we discuss realistic start dates, final-year trainees, and whether temporary cover is needed until an ECT can begin.