The Early Career Framework – A Guide for Mentors and Early Career Teachers

This guide has been developed from findings from the Early Career Teacher Support pilot evaluation (Hardman et al., 2020), funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). It is one of three guides intended to summarise the key messages from the evaluation and provide strategic and practical suggestions that can inform planning to support the development of Early Career Teachers (ECTs) in schools. The guidance is applicable to all school contexts and is not specific to particular programmes of support. The Early Career Framework (ECF) has been introduced in some parts of England from September 2020 and will be rolled out nationally in September 2021 along with guidance to support participating Early Career Teachers and mentors. Stemming from the Recruitment and Retention Strategy (DfE, 2019) the ECF seeks to ensure that all teachers in England receive high quality support in the first two years of their career. During 2019-20 the Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research at UCL Institute of Education undertook an evaluation of three pilot programmes which were designed to test different ways of supporting Early Career Teachers and their mentors. We worked with the Chartered College of Teaching, Ambition Institute and The Education Endowment Foundation as well as 98 schools (both primary and secondary) to evaluate the impact of these pilot programmes. Following the pilot which we evaluated, the DfE selected four suppliers to develop freely available resources for schools to use. This included a separate team from UCL Institute of Education. We shared our initial findings with these suppliers to inform their materials. From 2021 there will be six suppliers, including UCL Institute of Education, offering programmes based on one of these four initial programmes. Schools now have three options around how they implement the ECF. The guidance in this document is relevant to all three options

The Early Career Framework – A Guide for Implementation

This guide has been developed from findings from the Early Career Teacher Support pilot evaluation (Hardman et al., 2020), funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). It is one of three guides intended to summarise the key messages from the evaluation and provide strategic and practical suggestions that can inform planning to support the development of Early Career Teachers (ECTs) in schools. The guidance is applicable to all school contexts and is not specific to particular programmes of support. The Early Career Framework (ECF) has been introduced in some parts of England from September 2020 and will be rolled out nationally in September 2021 along with guidance to support participating Early Career Teachers and mentors. Stemming from the Recruitment and Retention Strategy (DfE, 2019) the ECF seeks to ensure that all teachers in England receive high quality support in the first two years of their career. During 2019-20 the Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research at UCL Institute of Education undertook an evaluation of three pilot programmes which were designed to test different ways of supporting Early Career Teachers and their mentors. We worked with the Chartered College of Teaching, Ambition Institute and The Education Endowment Foundation as well as 98 schools (both primary and secondary) to evaluate the impact of these pilot programmes. Following the pilot which we evaluated, the DfE selected four suppliers to develop freely available resources for schools to use. This included a separate team from UCL Institute of Education. We shared our initial findings with these suppliers to inform their materials. From 2021 there will be six suppliers, including UCL Institute of Education, offering programmes based on one of these four initial programmes. Schools now have three options around how they implement the ECF. The guidance in this document is relevant to all three options

Early Career Teacher Support - Pilot Report, EEF Evaluation

In order to provide timely feedback in the development of policy and programmes around the rollout of the Early Career Framework (DfE, 2019a), three pilot programmes were developed to investigate the promise, feasibility, and scalability of differing models for developing Early Career Teachers (ECTs), mentors, and induction leads. Two programmes were developed by Ambition Institute and a third by the Chartered College of Teaching. All aimed to provide mentors with the resources to deliver instructional coaching sessions to ECTs, coaching that uses expert teachers to deliver recurring, classroom-practice focused sessions, using observation and targeted feedback to develop practice. • Programme A (Ambition Institute) provided face-to-face training, a coaching guide, weekly online resources, and regular online coaching and support sessions to in-school mentors. School induction leads also received face-to-face training, designed to enable them to support mentors. Mentors used the programme to deliver instructional coaching to ECTs, either weekly or fortnightly. • Programme B (Ambition Institute) provided the same training as Programme A to mentors and school induction leads. In addition, this programme also delivered weekly online content and regular online support sessions directly to ECTs. The programme was also used to enable in-school mentors to deliver weekly or fortnightly instructional coaching sessions to ECTs. • Programme C (Chartered College of Teaching) provided online support to mentors, school induction leads, and ECTs. All received a selection of online modules providing weekly content to mentors and ECTs that were used to facilitate either weekly or fortnightly instructional coaching sessions, delivered by mentors to ECTs. The intention was not to undertake a comparative evaluation of these programmes but instead to evaluate the modes of support and delivery within them. Each programme was delivered to teachers teaching a variety of different year groups and subjects spanning primary and secondary education. Schools opted to receive one of these programmes. At the end of the evaluation there was a total of 98 schools across the pilot programmes: 50 primary schools, 45 secondary schools, and three all-through schools. The pilot evaluation was designed to run from June 2019 to July 2020. However, delivery and evaluation were modified due to the COVID-19 outbreak and this report covers the initial set-up period until February 2020. The pilot aimed to examine the evidence of promise, feasibility, and scalability of the programmes using a mixed methods approach using three waves of survey, 20 school case studies, online engagement data, observation of sessions, and evaluation of materials

The Early Career Framework – A Guide for School Leaders and Induction Leads

This guide has been developed from findings from the Early Career Teacher Support pilot evaluation (Hardman et al., 2020), funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). It is one of three guides intended to summarise the key messages from the evaluation and provide strategic and practical suggestions that can inform planning to support the development of Early Career Teachers (ECTs) in schools. The guidance is applicable to all school contexts and is not specific to particular programmes of support. The Early Career Framework (ECF) has been introduced in some parts of England from September 2020 and will be rolled out nationally in September 2021 along with guidance to support participating Early Career Teachers and mentors. Stemming from the Recruitment and Retention Strategy (DfE, 2019) the ECF seeks to ensure that all teachers in England receive high quality support in the first two years of their career. During 2019-20 the Centre for Teachers and Teaching Research at UCL Institute of Education undertook an evaluation of three pilot programmes which were designed to test different ways of supporting Early Career Teachers and their mentors. We worked with the Chartered College of Teaching, Ambition Institute and The Education Endowment Foundation as well as 98 schools (both primary and secondary) to evaluate the impact of these pilot programmes. Following the pilot which we evaluated, the DfE selected four suppliers to develop freely available resources for schools to use. This included a separate team from UCL Institute of Education. We shared our initial findings with these suppliers to inform their materials. From 2021 there will be six suppliers, including UCL Institute of Education, offering programmes based on one of these four initial programmes. Schools now have three options around how they implement the ECF. The guidance in this document is relevant to all three options

Pilot study to investigate the effect of long-term exposure to high pCO2 on adult cod (Gadus morhua) otolith morphology and calcium carbonate deposition

Funding was provided by the Bonus Baltic Sea research and development programme (Art 185) BIO-C3 project, funded jointly by the EU and the BMBF (Grant No. 03F0682A), BIOACID project (Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification: Grant No. 03F0655K) funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), and the EU AQUAEXCEL transnational access grant for aquaculture infrastructures. Part of the work was supported by the FINEAQUA-project (Grant Number 12212001) funded by the Program for the Future Economy (financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the Federal Republic of Germany and the state of Schleswig–Holstein), the Centre for Marine Aquaculture, Tromsø, and the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) Small Grant initiative (SG330 and SG407), and their support especially by the staff of the centre for Marine Aquaculture is gratefully acknowledged. MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions. PBW would like to thank the Royal Society for the award of an Industry Fellowship. DGS is a Serra Húnter Tenure-Track lecturer.To date the study of ocean acidification on fish otolith formation has been mainly focused on larval and juvenile stages. In the present pilot study, wild-captured adult Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were exposed to two different levels of pCO2, 422µatm (ambient, low pCO2) or 1091µatm (high pCO2), for a period of 30 weeks (from mid-October to early April 2014–2015) in order to study the effects on otolith size, shape and CaCO3 crystallization amongst other biological parameters. We found that otoliths from cod exposed to high pCO2 were slightly smaller (− 3.4% in length; − 3.3% in perimeter), rounder (− 2.9% circularity and + 4% roundness) but heavier (+ 5%) than the low pCO2 group. Interestingly, there were different effects in males and females; for instance, male cods exposed to high pCO2 exhibited significant changes in circularity (− 3%) and roundness (+ 4%) compared to the low pCO2 males, but without significant changes on otolith dimensions, while females exposed to high pCO2 had smaller otoliths as shown for length (− 5.6%), width (− 2%), perimeter (− 3.5%) and area (− 4.8%). Furthermore, while the majority of the otoliths analysed showed normal aragonite deposition, 10% of fish exposed to 1091µatm of pCO2 had an abnormal accretion of calcite, suggesting a shift on calcium carbonate polymorph crystallization in some individuals under high pCO2 conditions. Our preliminary results indicate that high levels of pCO2 in adult Atlantic cod might affect otolith growth in a gender-specific way. Our findings reveal that otoliths from adult cod are affected by ocean acidification, and we believe that the present study will prompt further research into this currently under-explored areaPublisher PDFPeer reviewe

Divergent responses of Atlantic cod to ocean acidification and food limitation

In order to understand the effect of global change on marine fishes, it is imperative to quantify the effects on fundamental parameters such as survival and growth. Larval survival and recruitment of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) were found to be heavily impaired by end-of-century levels of ocean acidification. Here, we analysed larval growth among 35–36 days old surviving larvae, along with organ development and ossification of the skeleton. We combined CO2treatments (ambient: 503 µatm, elevated: 1,179 µatm) with food availability in order to evaluate the effect of energy limitation in addition to the ocean acidification stressor. As expected, larval size (as a proxy for growth) and skeletogenesis were positively affected by high food availability. We found significant interactions between acidification and food availability. Larvae fed ad libitum showed little difference in growth and skeletogenesis due to the CO2 treatment. Larvae under energy limitation were significantly larger and had further developed skeletal structures in the elevated CO2 treatment compared to the ambient CO2 treatment. However, the elevated CO2 group revealed impairments in critically important organs, such as the liver, and had comparatively smaller functional gills indicating a mismatch between size and function. It is therefore likely that individual larvae that had survived acidification treatments will suffer from impairments later during ontogeny. Our study highlights important allocation trade-off between growth and organ development, which is critically important to interpret acidification effects on early life stages of fish

Capturing a Flavivirus Pre-Fusion Intermediate

During cell entry of flaviviruses, low endosomal pH triggers the rearrangement of the viral surface glycoproteins to a fusion-active state that allows the release of the infectious RNA into the cytoplasm. In this work, West Nile virus was complexed with Fab fragments of the neutralizing mAb E16 and was subsequently exposed to low pH, trapping the virions in a pre-fusion intermediate state. The structure of the complex was studied by cryo-electron microscopy and provides the first structural glimpse of a flavivirus fusion intermediate near physiological conditions. A radial expansion of the outer protein layer of the virion was observed compared to the structure at pH 8. The resulting ∼60 Å-wide shell of low density between lipid bilayer and outer protein layer is likely traversed by the stem region of the E glycoprotein. By using antibody fragments, we have captured a structural intermediate of a virus that likely occurs during cell entry. The trapping of structural transition states by antibody fragments will be applicable for other processes in the flavivirus life cycle and delineating other cellular events that involve conformational rearrangements

Transcriptome profiling reveals exposure to predicted end-of-century ocean acidification as a stealth stressor for Atlantic cod larvae

Ocean acidification (OA), a direct consequence of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration dissolving in ocean waters, is impacting many fish species. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the observed physiological impacts in fish. We used RNAseq to characterize the transcriptome of 3 different larval stages of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) exposed to simulated OA at levels (1179 µatm CO2) representing end-of-century predictions compared to controls (503 µatm CO2), which were shown to induce tissue damage and elevated mortality in G. morhua. Only few genes were differentially expressed in 6 and 13 days-post-hatching (dph) (3 and 16 genes, respectively), during a period when maximal mortality as a response to elevated pCO2 occurred. At 36 dph, 1413 genes were differentially expressed, most likely caused by developmental asynchrony between the treatment groups, with individuals under OA growing faster. A target gene analysis revealed only few genes of the universal and well-defined cellular stress response to be differentially expressed. We thus suggest that predicted ocean acidification levels constitute a “stealth stress” for early Atlantic cod larvae, with a rapid breakdown of cellular homeostasis leading to organismal death that was missed even with an 8-fold replication implemented in this study

Water dispersible microbicidal cellulose acetate phthalate film

BACKGROUND: Cellulose acetate phthalate (CAP) has been used for several decades in the pharmaceutical industry for enteric film coating of oral tablets and capsules. Micronized CAP, available commercially as "Aquateric" and containing additional ingredients required for micronization, used for tablet coating from water dispersions, was shown to adsorb and inactivate the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1), herpesviruses (HSV) and other sexually transmitted disease (STD) pathogens. Earlier studies indicate that a gel formulation of micronized CAP has a potential as a topical microbicide for prevention of STDs including the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The objective of endeavors described here was to develop a water dispersible CAP film amenable to inexpensive industrial mass production. METHODS: CAP and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) were dissolved in different organic solvent mixtures, poured into dishes, and the solvents evaporated. Graded quantities of a resulting selected film were mixed for 5 min at 37°C with HIV-1, HSV and other STD pathogens, respectively. Residual infectivity of the treated viruses and bacteria was determined. RESULTS: The prerequisites for producing CAP films which are soft, flexible and dispersible in water, resulting in smooth gels, are combining CAP with HPC (other cellulose derivatives are unsuitable), and casting from organic solvent mixtures containing ≈50 to ≈65% ethanol (EtOH). The films are ≈100 µ thick and have a textured surface with alternating protrusions and depressions revealed by scanning electron microscopy. The films, before complete conversion into a gel, rapidly inactivated HIV-1 and HSV and reduced the infectivity of non-viral STD pathogens >1,000-fold. CONCLUSIONS: Soft pliable CAP-HPC composite films can be generated by casting from organic solvent mixtures containing EtOH. The films rapidly reduce the infectivity of several STD pathogens, including HIV-1. They are converted into gels and thus do not have to be removed following application and use. In addition to their potential as topical microbicides, the films have promise for mucosal delivery of pharmaceuticals other than CAP