DfE are making changes to the way schools register and manage ECTs and mentors online with the DfE.

ECTE: Registration:

School’s and Induction Tutor’s can login to the Register Early Career Teachers (RECT) DfE service to set up and manage the ECTE for any ECTs or Mentors who start training at any point during the academic year.

In addition to registering ECTs on the Register Early Career Teachers (RECT) DfE service, they must be registered directly with the school’s appointed Appropriate Body (AB) before the start of their induction.

If you wish to appoint HISP Teaching School Hub as your AB, please click here.

What these changes mean for your school: 

Signing into the service is different

You’ll need a DfE Sign-in account to use the service.

DfE Sign-in is a single sign-on service that provides access to DfE services. Your school might already use it for other DfE services and you might already have a DfE Sign-in account.

If you do not have a DfE Sign-in account, you can create one.

How DfE Sign-in works

1. Schools need to appoint a DfE Sign-in approver. This person verifies the identity of users before giving access to services. The approver is often the headteacher or administrator.
2. Users who want access to DfE services need to create a DfE Sign-in account. They use their account to select their school and request access to services.

You can get help with DfE Sign-in.

What you need to do now

You do not need to do anything now, although you can use the service to manage your existing ECTs and mentors.

Registration for the 2026-2027 academic year is NOT open yet.

We expect this to be in June 2026.

Induction Tutors will receive an email from DfE when registration opens.

Please note DfE will be staggering the communications sent to schools for the opening of the registration service, starting from 15 June 2026, so not all schools will receive these communications at the same time.

Changes to the service:

More than one school user can use the register service

Your school’s DfE Sign-in approver can give access to the register early career teachers service to multiple users.

Lead provider training for ECTs and mentors

Lead providers can be selected for individual ECTs and mentors (if your school uses a provider-led training programme).

Manage ECTs and mentors leaving schools

You can now tell DfE when an ECT or mentor has left your school and is not expected to return.

HISP Teaching School Hub’s DfE funded provider-led training programme: 

HISP TSH continue to partner with Education Development Trust (EDT) and we are proud to deliver the ‘Early Career Training Programme (ECTP) to all ECTs and Mentors.

Who can I contact at HISP Teaching School Hub for advice, guidance and support?

ECTE and/ or ECTP Registration	Appropriate Body Registration
Email: ecte@hisptsh.org Telephone: 02382 357517	Email: ab@hisptsh.org Telephone: 02382 145526