Bryan Slater Director of Education	Distribution
	To: Headteachers of all Norfolk LEA Schools

This document needs your action as detailed below:

ACTION	Title	Appointing, Registering and Supporting NQTs and meeting Statutory Requirements
	Summary of contents	Letter and details of key documents to help schools make informed decisions about employing a Newly Qualified Teacher and preparing an Induction Programme which meets local and national requirements. The key documents include the LEA's Quality Assurance arrangements, as well as an NQT Registration Form.
	Associated documents	DfES regulations and guidance on NQT Induction, including the revised Induction Standards. Ref DfES/0458/2003
	Date	April 2004
	Summary of action required	Please use to support the process of appointing and registering a Newly Qualified Teacher. If not needed immediately, please file for future reference.
	To be completed by	The Headteacher
	LEA Contact	Julia Stephens	(	01603 433276
	E-mail address	Julia.stephens@norfolk.gov.uk
	Norfolk Self Review reference	7. How well is the school led and managed? 8. How well does the school use its resources?
	Document reference	MI 81/04

The Appointment and Induction of Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs)

As you know, since May 1999 statutory requirements have been in place concerning the Induction of NQTs. The following documents should be used and referred to when preparing to appoint an NQT to your school, and when planning their Induction. All the documents are available on our Esinet pages under the ‘NQTs and Induction’ section. (www.norfolkesinet.org.uk)

‘Employing a Newly Qualified Teacher’ is for Headteachers and Governors and provides key information about the requirements for monitoring, supporting and assessing NQTs.

The ‘Overview for Schools Employing a Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT)’is designed to help schools in managing the whole process from pre-appointment to completion of the induction period. It aims to help schools reflect on the responsibilities of induction, and prioritise the associated tasks. It also aims to support the development of manageable administrative systems in schools, which ensure that the statutory requirements are being addressed.

‘Funding NQT Induction’ provides a summary of the costs involved in employing a NQT, the budgets available to schools to meet these and the support provided by the LEA.

The sheet outlining the ‘Quality Assurance by the Appropriate Body’ sets out how the LEA fulfils its own responsibilities in line with DfES requirements, whilst providing appropriate support for the teachers and schools involved in NQT Induction. If you have any comments on these arrangements, please contact Julia Stephens.

The ‘NQT Registration Form 2004-05’ needs to be completed by the Headteacher and returned to the Advisory Service after an NQT has been appointed. The (optional) facility to register your NQT electronically via an on-line link is being developed. Details can be found on the Esinet pages.

Please note that this Registration Form is needed in addition to any information you forward to Education Personnel Services concerning the appointment of a NQT for contractual purposes.

Once the registration form has been processed, we will arrange for additional funding to be paid into your budget, and the relevant ‘Induction Support Packs’ will be forwarded. These packs will contain additional guidance and information on the Induction processes, expectations and arrangements.

You will notice from the registration form that we are also asking schools to forward a copy of the teacher’s QTS certificate which is issued by the General Teaching Council (GTC). We need this confirmation of the precise date on which Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) was awarded in order to avoid unnecessary complications with schools and the GTC later in the induction process, and to confirm the teacher’s eligibility to undertake induction.

Please note that a teacher can only begin Induction once they have been officially awarded QTS by the GTC. This award is only given after the trainee has successfully completed her/his training and has also passed all the relevant Skills Tests.

‘NQT Induction: Quality Assurance by RDAs’. This checklist is designed for use by Review and Development Advisers (RDAs) when visiting schools during the early stages of induction. Schools should also use it internally to help ensure that they are making suitable induction arrangements for their NQTs, as well as be able to discuss it with their RDAs.

Even if you currently have no plans to appoint an NQT to your school, please retain this Management Information Sheet for future reference. It is not unusual for schools to appoint a NQT unexpectedly, for example when unforeseen staffing changes arise. In these circumstances it is important to have access to relevant information and guidance, particularly if such appointments are made at relatively short notice.

Please note that our Esinet pages ‘NQTs and Induction’ include the key documents from the DfES and TTA concerning NQT Induction, as well as a range of our LEA materials. If you have any questions about these documents or about NQT Induction in general, please contact Julia Stephens (Adviser, NQT Induction) at the Norwich Professional Development Centre.

Yours sincerely

Bryan Slater

Director of Education