Guidance for new or returning ECTP mentors

Provided that you have been registered in full by your School via the DfE service, account activation will take place between 1^st September and 14^th September, with further rolling activations taking place for anyone registered after those dates.

Please work through the following guidance to troubleshoot any log in issues.

If you are a mentor on the Early Career Training Programme and you are unable to access the Teach First platforms / have not received login details, this is usually due to one of the following reasons: 

• Your account activation email is in your spam/junk folder or has been missed. 
• Your Department for Education (DfE) registered email address is incorrect or is a different address from the one you are expecting. 
• The registration process has not been fully completed. 
• Your registration and subsequent account activation is in progress. 

Step 1: Check for the Welcome / activation email:  

• Please ensure that you have checked your main Inbox, Spam, Junk, and Quarantine folders for the welcome/activation email. 
• Make sure you are checking the correct email address. This could be your work email, personal email, or another email address that your school has on record for you. 
• If you cannot find the email, try resetting your password using any email addresses that your school may have used to register you on the Programme. You can reset your password here: https://my.teachfirst.org.uk/connect/password  

If you have completed these steps and are still unable to access your account, it is possible that: 

• There is a typo in the email address used during registration; or 
• Your registration has not yet been fully completed by your school. 

Step 2: Check your DfE Registered Email Address 

If you believe the wrong email address may have been used during registration, your school's induction tutor will need to update it through the DfE service. 

How to update an ECT's or mentor's email address in the DfE service 

1. Log in to the DfE service. 
2. Select manage mentors and ECTs from the main dashboard. 
3. Select the relevant ECT or mentor. 
4. Click Change next to their email address. 
5. Enter the correct email address and select Continue to confirm the update. 

If your school induction tutor experiences any difficulties using the DfE service, The DfE can provide support via the following options: 

• Online Help Portal: DfE Customer Help Portal (opens in a new tab) 
• DfE Helpline: 0370 000 2288 (Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm) 
• Email Support: continuing-professional-development@digital.education.gov.uk 

Any changes made on the DfE Service will take a maximum of 5 days to flow through to our systems but you will receive an automatic email when your email address is updated and your account becomes accessible. Alternatively, you can request a password reset here: https://my.teachfirst.org.uk/connect/password  

If you have not received access by 14^th September, you have worked through the steps in other entries on this page and 5 days have passed since you were registered with the DfE, please raise a case with us via the following link: https://my.teachfirst.org.uk/contact-us and provide a screenshot of what is visible on the DfE Service on your school induction tutor’s end relating to your registration. Providing screenshots will help us investigate the issue more quickly and identify any outstanding registration or account activation issues.

For an overview on getting starting with Brightspace please see the following video guidance: 

Before mentor modules are made available in Brightspace, mentors are required to complete a short eligibility questionnaire to confirm their role on the programme. The questionnaire will automatically appear when you log in to your My Teach First account for the first time - https://my.teachfirst.org.uk

Once the questionnaire has been submitted, your mentor modules will appear in your Brightspace account within 5 working days. 

If more than 5 working days have passed since you submitted the questionnaire and you still cannot access your mentor modules, please get in touch with us using our contact us form for further assistance: https://my.teachfirst.org.uk/contact-us

If you need more information on the Diagnostic Activity and guidance on how to complete it, please refer to your Programme Guide, which can be found on My Teach First under the 'Programme Guides' section on the right-hand side of the screen.

Please also refer to the following video: 

If you need more information on the Diagnostic Activity and guidance on how to complete it, please refer to your Programme Guide, which can be found on My Teach First under the 'Programme Guides' section on the right-hand side of the screen.

Please also refer to the following video: 

Training events for the Early Career Training Programme (ECTP) are delivered by Teach First Delivery partners.

If you have not received information about an upcoming training event, or if you have any questions about an event, access, or attendance, please contact your Delivery partner directly via the contact details they have provided. Should you need to, you can find your Delivery partner's contact details using the link below: 

https://www.teachfirst.org.uk/early-career-training-programme/delivery-partners

To monitor the progress of your Early career teachers (ECTs), follow the steps below: 

1. From your Brightspace homepage, select the cohort year tab for the ECT you wish to view. 
2. Open the module that the ECT has been working on. 
3. Select ‘Audit Users’ from the auditor widget. 
4. Choose the relevant ECT from the list to view their progress and activity within the module. 

Please note: 

• Programme members' names will appear in blue if they are enrolled on the module and available for auditing. 
• Names shown in grey indicate that the individual is not enrolled on that module and cannot be audited. 

For further guidance please see the following video: 

If after following the above guidance you are unable to locate your ECT(s)’ details to audit their progress, please double check with your School Induction Tutor that you are linked to your ECT(s) on the DfE Service. Please note that any updates made on the DfE Service can take up to 5 days to flow through to our systems and trigger updates on your Brightspace account. 

Should you require assistance, please do get in touch via our contact us form: https://my.teachfirst.org.uk/contact-us