Teacher and leader development: ECTE and NPQs
Statistics on ECTs participating in the Early Career Teacher Entitlement and teachers and leaders participating in National Professional Qualifications.
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Headline facts and figures
Golden thread CPD coverage
49.0%
4.8 percentage point increase
Golden thread
Golden thread CPD cover teacher participation across all government-funded professional development programmes, including Early Career Teacher Entitlement (ECTE) induction and/or National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) between the academic years 2021/22 and 2025/26.
ECTE workforce coverage
18.5%
2.8 percentage point increase
ECTE workforce coverage
Percentage of the current teaching workforce who have started an ECTE-based induction since 2021.
NPQ workforce coverage
22.2%
1.9 percentage point increase
NPQ workforce coverage
Percentage of the current teaching workforce who have started a NPQ since 2021.
ECTs retained after one year
89.8%
0.1 percentage point decrease
Retained after one year
The number of ECTs in the 2024 school workforce census who started ECTE-based induction and were retained in the census in the following year (2025).
ECTs retained after two years
83.0%
2.3 percentage point increase
Retained after two years
The number of ECTs in the 2023 school workforce census who started ECTE-based induction and were retained in the census after two years (2025).
ECTs retained after three years
75.9%
2.3 percentage point increase
Retained after three years
The number of ECTs in the 2021 school workforce census who started ECTE-based induction and were retained in the census after three years (2025).
ECTs who started an ECTE-based induction
22,473
500 fewer than 2024/25
ECTs
Early career teachers (ECTs) starting an Early career teacher entitlement (ECTE) based induction
New mentors trained for provider-led induction
13,789
2,300 fewer than 2024/25
Mentors
As part of the provider-led approach, delivery partners train mentors to support early career teachers.
NPQ participants
18,740
8,600 fewer than 2024/25
NPQ
National professional qualification
- By 2025/26, 49.0% of the teacher workforce had participated in at least one golden thread CPD programme, compared with 14.2% in 2021/22.
- In 2025/26, 22,473 ECTs started ECTE-based induction training. First year ECTs undertaking provider-led induction accounted for 2.9% of the state school teaching workforce, while those undertaking school-led induction accounted for 0.1%. In addition, 13,789 new mentors started training for provider-led induction.
- 89.8% of ECTs who started induction in 2024/25 were retained in state schools the following year, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared with the 2023/24 cohort (89.9%).
- 83.0% of ECTs who started induction in 2023/24 were retained in state schools after two years, an increase of 2.3 percentage points compared with the 2022/23 cohort (80.7%).
- 75.9% of ECTs who started induction in 2022/23 were retained in state schools after three years, an increase of 2.3 percentage points compared with the 2021/22 cohort (73.6%).
- By 2025/26, 18.5% of the state school teaching workforce had started an ECTE-based induction since its roll-out in 2021.
- There were 18,740 unique NPQ participants in 2025/26, representing 3.1% of the state school teaching workforce. Of these 16,284 were eligible for scholarship funding and 2,459 were not eligible for scholarship funding.
- By 2025/26, 90.4% of schools had employed a teacher who started a reformed NPQ since the roll-out in 2021, up from 88.3% in 2024/25.
- By 2025/26, 22.2% of the state school teaching workforce had started a reformed NPQ since 2021 roll-out, up from 20.3% in 2024/25.
Background information
This Official Statistics release provides information on participation in the Early Career Teacher Entitlement (ECTE) induction programme and reformed National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) in England. It includes the number of starts recorded in the 2025/26 academic year. Figures for previous academic years are revised with each release to reflect updates to records held on administrative systems; the latest publication should be used when analysing both current and historical data.
For ECTE, the publication reports on the number of early career teachers (ECTs) participating in provider-led and school-led induction programmes, as well as their retention rates. Retention analysis focuses on the four ECTE cohorts: 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25, comparing the number of ECTs recorded in the School Workforce Census (SWC) with those retained in subsequent census years.
For NPQs, the publication includes participants who were eligible for scholarship funding as well as those who were not eligible, referred to as funded and non-funded NPQ participants. The release also presents information on the number of schools employing a teacher who started an NPQ.
NPQ outcome statistics show the number and percentage of starts that have been completed and, among completers, the percentage who passed.
The publication now includes new data and a section on ‘golden thread’ CPD participation. These measures account for cumulative workforce participation across ECTE induction, ECTE mentor training and NPQs from 2021 onwards.
All metrics are available with breakdowns by individual characteristics, school characteristics and region and can also be found in the accompanying underlying datasets.
This release is based on data from the Department for Education's Teacher CPD Service, which contains management information submitted by lead providers, together with data from the School Workforce Census (SWC) and Get Information about Schools (GIAS) (opens in new tab). The SWC collects information from schools and local authorities on the workforce in state-funded schools in England, while GIAS is the department's register of educational establishments in England and Wales.
Golden thread CPD
“Golden thread” CPD measures account for participation across ECTE, ECTE mentor training and NPQs. These courses have been designed to build on and complement each other as a teacher progresses through their career, and draw on a common evidence base that is independently reviewed by the Education Endowment Foundation (opens in new tab).
The cumulative reach of golden thread CPD has increased over time. By 2025/26, 49.0% of the teacher workforce had participated in at least one golden thread CPD programme, compared with 14.2% in 2021/22.
Cumulative participation in individual strands has also grown. By 2025/26, ECTE-based induction participation had reached 18.5% of the teacher workforce, ECTE mentor training had reached 17.0%, and NPQ participation had reached 22.2%. There is some overlap between the different strands of golden thread CPD; by 2025/26, 29.1% of teachers who started an NPQ had also started ECTE mentor training.
Looking in more detail at different groups of teachers, by 2025/26:
- Deputy heads and assistant heads had higher golden thread CPD participation than classroom teachers, 61.4% and 60.3% respectively compared to 47.7%. This was driven by higher participation in mentor training and NPQs.
- Teachers in secondary schools had higher participation than those in primary schools, 50.6% vs 49.2% respectively.
- Teachers working in schools in London had the highest participation, 52.3%, while teachers in schools in the East of England had the lowest, 47.0%.
- Male teachers had slightly higher participation, at 50.4%, compared with 48.6% for female teachers.
- Teachers aged under 25 had the highest participation, at 84.4%, while those aged 60 and over had the lowest, at 15.3%.
- Participation was notably higher for full-time teachers, at 56.0%, than for part-time teachers, at 28.2%.
Further breakdowns of the golden thread workforce measure by school and teacher characteristics are available via the table creation tool. Featured tables are available for:
ECTE-based induction
This section provides information on early career teachers (ECTs) who have undertaken ECTE-based induction since its national rollout in September 2021, including breakdowns by provider-led and school-led delivery models. Throughout the following sections, these teachers are referred to as ECTs.
Schools have flexibility in how they deliver ECTE-based induction. Under the provider-led approach, a DfE-funded lead provider and delivery partner deliver training directly to ECTs and prepare mentors to support them. These programmes are DfE-accredited and quality assured by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) (opens in new tab). Alternatively, schools may opt for a school-led approach, using DfE-accredited materials or designing and delivering their own induction programme based on the early career framework.
Since 2021/22, the number of ECTs starting induction has declined, falling from 28,912 in 2021/22 to 22,473 in 2025/26. Although overall numbers declined, the proportional distribution across programme types remained broadly consistent. The majority of ECTs, over 95%, have followed a provider-led route. The share undertaking school-led induction has decreased from 4.4% in 2021/22 to 2.9% in 2025/26.
ECT workforce share
This release introduces a new measure for the share of the teaching workforce accounted for by ECTs. Since 2021, all new ECTs have been required to undertake an ECTE-based induction programme (previously known as the Early Career Framework, or ECF). This measure shows the concentration of ECTs starting induction within the teaching workforce. Breakdowns by school and teacher characteristics are included.
The ECT workforce share is calculated by:
- Identifying the ECTE participants we can match to the SWC.
- Restricting participants to those identified as newly qualified teachers in the SWC.
- Dividing by the overall size of the workforce.
Some ECTs are recruited after the school workforce census date, which means they will not appear in the census until the following year. We account for this by looking for ECTs in both the current year and the following year once this becomes available. This means figures for the 2025/26 academic year are provisional and will be updated once next year's school workforce census becomes available.
In 2025/26, first-year ECTs undertaking an ECTE-based induction accounted for 3.0% of the workforce. Of these, 2.9% were undertaking provider-led training and 0.1% were undertaking school-led training. Since the roll-out of the early career framework in 2021, the ECT share of the workforce has declined from 4.9%.
ECTE: characteristics
Teacher characteristics
This section includes ECT volumes broken down by individual characteristics. To keep the commentary succinct and accessible, we do not present an exhaustive summary of all characteristics here. Overall trends and patterns have remained relatively stable, and we highlight a selected subset to illustrate this. Additional detail is provided in the featured tables below, which summarise key figures for 2025/26.
Inclusion in the ‘Unknown’ category may indicate that either the teacher could not be matched in the SWC, or that the information is missing in the SWC.
Ethnicity
In 2025/26, teachers who identify as White made up the largest group of ECTs (11,663), followed by those who identify as Asian or Asian British (1,688). White teachers had a lower ECT workforce share than Asian or Asian British teachers, at 2.5% compared with 5.1%.
Teachers who identify as Black or Black British (841), Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups (621), and Other ethnic groups (285) formed smaller groups but had higher workforce shares (5.2%, 5.5% and 6.6%).
School characteristics
This section presents ECTs by school characteristics. The ‘Unknown’ category indicates that the school could not be matched in Get Information About Schools.
Region
London and the South East had the most ECTs (4,415 and 3,615 in 2025/26), while the North East had the fewest (873). London also had the highest workforce share, though it fell from 6.1% in 2021/22 to 3.8% in 2025/26.
School phase-type
Secondary academies had the most ECTs and highest workforce share (9,993; 3.7%) in 2025/26, followed by primary academies (5,299; 3.0%) and primary maintained schools (4,131; 2.3%).
Secondary LA maintained schools had 1,753 ECTs (3.1%), while special schools (513; 2.1%) and other academies (616; 2.1%) were smaller. The share of provider-led participants was similar across combinations of school phase and type, while school-led participation remained small.
Further breakdowns of the ECTE participants and school characteristics are available via the table creation tool. Featured tables are available for:
- Age: In 2025/26, most ECTs were under 25 (7,241), followed by ages 25–29 (4,658), and these groups had the highest workforce shares (33.1% and 6.3%).
- Sex: ECTs make up a slightly higher share of male than female teachers, but this has declined for both since 2021 (5.1% vs 4.8% in 2021/22 to 3.1% vs 2.9% in 2025/26).
- Working pattern : ECTs are more common among full-time than part-time teachers, though both have fallen since 2021 (6.1% vs 1.0% in 2021/22 to 3.8% vs 0.6% in 2025/26).
- School phase: ECTs make up a larger workforce share in secondary than primary or other phases, though all have declined since 2021 (5.8%, 4.4%, 3.0% in 2021/22 to 3.6%, 2.6%, 1.9% in 2025/26).
- School type: ECT workforce shares are higher in academies than LA-maintained and special schools, but have fallen across all between 2021/22 and 2025/26 (5.6%, 4.0%, 3.4% to 3.4%, 2.5%, 2.1%).
- Pupil premium decile: ECTs are more common in schools in areas of high relative deprivation, though workforce shares have decreased across all deciles between 2021/22 and 2025/26 (5.3% vs 3.6% to 3.3% vs 2.2%).
- Urban/rural: ECTs are more prevalent in urban than rural schools, with both declining between 2021/22 and 2025/26 (5.1% vs 4.1% to 3.1% vs 2.3%).
ECTE: mentors
This section presents statistics on mentors who have undertaken training as part of the provider-led ECTE-based induction programme. The figures are derived from the Teacher CPD Service dataset and include all mentors recorded as having started mentor training. This total also includes mentors who replaced others who withdrew from the programme.
In 2025/26, 13,789 mentors started training to support ECTs during their induction programme. Since 2021/22, there has been a decline, reflecting the decline in the number of ECTs and the fact that schools can re-use mentors who have previously received training.
Mentor experience
In 2025/26, most mentors had 10-19 years’ experience (35.5%), followed by 5-9 years (26.2%) and 20-29 years (18.6%); fewer had under 5 years (9.5%) or 30+ years (4.6%).
The profile has been broadly stable since 2021, with a slight shift towards more experienced mentors.
A more detailed breakdown of characteristics such as age, sex, working pattern, and grade is available in the underlying dataset. The featured table for mentor experience is found below:
ECTE: teacher retention
This section provides information on the retention of early career teachers (ECTs) participating in Early Career Teacher Entitlement (ECTE)-based induction who work in state-funded schools in England and appear in the School Workforce Census (SWC). It focuses on those starting in cohorts 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25, respectively.
The tables in the following sections focus on retention following the start of ECTE-based induction and present:
- ECTs from the 2021/22 cohort who remained in the workforce in the 2022 census (1-year retention), 2023 census (2-year retention), 2024 census (3-year retention).
- ECTs from the 2022/23 cohort who remained in the workforce in the 2023 census (1-year retention), 2024 census (2-year retention), and 2025 census (3-year retention).
- ECTs from the 2023/24 cohort who remained in the workforce in the 2024 census (1-year retention) and 2025 census (2-year retention).
- ECTs from the 2024/25 cohort who remained in the workforce in the 2025 census (1-year retention).
Retention outcomes for the 2025/26 cohort are not yet available and will be reported in future releases as additional School Workforce Census data become available.
The underlying data file also includes the 4-year retention figures for the 2021/22 cohort, alongside further breakdowns of ECTE retention by ECT characteristics and school.
One-year retention
Retention of ECTs in the state sector after one year, by programme type:
- Overall, one-year retention remained high and stable, at 89.9% in 2023/24 and 89.8% in 2024/25.
- Retention was generally slightly higher for provider-led ECTs in all years, except in 2023/24 when school-led retention (91.5%) exceeded provider-led (89.9%) among 17,589 starters.
- In 2024/25, 16,359 ECTs started induction, with 89.8% retained after one year; retention was higher for provider-led ECTs (90.0%) than school-led (86.9%).
- Between 2021/22 and 2024/25, one-year retention has increased from 87.8% to 89.8%.
Two-year retention
Retention of ECTs in the state sector after two years, by programme type:
- Overall, two-year retention has increased across cohorts, from 79.5% in 2021/22 to 80.7% in 2022/23 and 83.0% in 2023/24.
- For provider-led ECTs, retention closely followed the overall pattern, rising from 79.7% in 2021/22 to 80.8% in 2022/23 and 83.0% in 2023/24.
- For school-led ECTs, retention increased from 75.8% in 2021/22 to 78.0% in 2022/23 and 83.4% in 2023/24, slightly exceeding both provider-led and overall rates in the latest cohort.
Three-year retention
Retention of ECTs in the state sector after three years, by programme type
- Overall, three‑year retention increased between cohorts, from 73.6% for the 2021/22 cohort to 75.9% for 2022/23.
- For provider‑led ECTs, retention was slightly higher than the overall rate in both cohorts, rising from 73.9% to 76.0%.
- For school‑led ECTs, retention also improved, rising more notably from 69.0% to 73.7%.
ECTE: teacher retention characteristics
Teacher and school characteristic breakdowns of provider-led ECT retention are available as featured tables, including age, sex, working pattern, ethnicity, school phase and school type. Additional breakdowns are available in the underlying data.
NPQs
This section provides information on the number of teachers and leaders who undertook an NPQ from the reformed suite of NPQs in the five academic years from 2021/22. We provide the number of starts and funded and non-funded NPQ participants.
NPQ starts are the total number of NPQ course starts, with each start counted separately, including multiple starts by the same teacher. NPQ participants are the total number of teachers who started at least one NPQ, with each teacher counted only once. NPQ starts in international schools are removed from the figures in this release; see the methodology note for more detail.
Since 2024/25, scholarship funding for NPQs has been targeted towards teachers and leaders in the most disadvantaged schools and 16–19 institutions, in line with the department's strategic priorities.
- In 2024/25, fully funded training places were available for the NPQ for SENCOs, NPQ for Headship and NPQ for Leading Primary Mathematics for participants in all eligible institutions. Funded places for the remaining suite of NPQs were available in the most disadvantaged settings.
- In 2025/26, fully funded training places were available for the NPQ for SENCOs and NPQ for Headship for participants in all eligible institutions. Funded places for the remaining suite of NPQs were available for participants in the most disadvantaged settings.
These changes to funding arrangements coincided with a reduction in funded NPQ starts and a corresponding increase in self-funded starts compared to previous years.
There was a total of 18,926 NPQ starts in 2025/26, with 18,740 unique participants. Of these, 16,284 were funded and 2,459 were non-funded.
Of total participants, 15,917 were present in the School Workforce Census (SWC), representing 3.1% of the overall teaching workforce. Of the SWC NPQ participants, 14,304 were funded, representing 2.8% of the teaching workforce, while 1,614 were non-funded, accounting for 0.3%. This is a decline compared to the previous year, when participation was 4.5%.
NPQ starts by school leaders
NPQ leaders are participants whose grade is deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher, or headteacher. This section shows the proportion of leaders in the workforce that are taking an NPQ.
In 2025/26, there were 3,957 leaders who took an NPQ representing 5.4% of leaders in the workforce. There was an upward trend of leadership participation in NPQ until 2024/25. Following this, the leadership participation rate fell in 2024/25 and also in 2025/26.
In 2025/26, 6.0% of assistant head teachers and 6.0% deputy headteachers started NPQs, compared to 3.9% of headteachers and 2.7% of classroom teachers. More detail on teacher grade is available in featured table linked in NPQ characteristics section below.
Course type
In 2025/26, the NPQ for SENCOs was the most frequently started course (5,306 starts), followed by Senior Leadership (4,043) and Headship (2,900). With the exception of Early Headship Coaching Offer (EHCO) and Leading Literacy, there was a decline in starts across all courses compared to previous years.
Starts by funding and course type available as featured tables:
- Funded NPQ starts: In total, there were 18,926 NPQ starts across all course types. There were 16,438 funded NPQ starts in 2025/26. The largest numbers were in SENCOs (5,044) and Senior Leadership (3,065).
- Non-funded NPQ starts: There were 2,488 non-funded NPQ starts in 2025/26. The highest numbers were in Senior Leadership (978) and Leading Teaching (366).
NPQ: characteristics
This section provides information on the individual and school characteristics of teachers and leaders who started a funded NPQ from the reformed suites of NPQs in the academic years from 2021/22 to 2025/26. To keep the commentary succinct and accessible, we do not present an exhaustive summary of all characteristics here.
Below we have included characteristic examples of ethnicity, region, school phase and type, pupil premium, and urban and rural classification. To see further characteristic breakdowns please use the ‘Create your own tables’ function, and see the featured tables below for:
Inclusion in the ‘Unknown’ category may indicate that either the teacher could not be matched in the SWC, or that the information is missing in the SWC.
Ethnicity
In the academic year 2025/26, teachers and leaders who identified as Black or Black British continued to have the highest rate of NPQ participation at 4.3%, following the same pattern since 2021/22. Teachers who identified as Any Other ethnic group or Asian or Asian British continued to have the lowest participation rate among all groups, 2.7% and 2.9% respectively in 2025/26.
Between 2024/25 and 2025/26, NPQ participation declined across all ethnic groups.
Region
In 2025/26, the North West and the West Midlands had the highest participation rates, both at 3.6%. The South East had the lowest participation rate (2.6%).
While the rankings change slightly from year to year, there are regions that have consistently higher participation rates than others. The North West, North East, and West Midlands typically have greater participation rates than the South West, South East, and East of England.
Breakdowns of NPQ participation by local authority are provided in the underlying data.
School phase and type
In both primary and secondary phases, academies consistently have higher participation rates than local authority maintained schools. Within both academies and local authority maintained schools, primary schools typically have higher participation rates than secondary schools.
In 2025/26 primary academies had a 3.9% participation rate, primary LA-maintained schools had 3.2%, secondary academies had 2.6%, and secondary local authority maintained schools had 2.4%.
Urban and rural classification
Excluding 2021/22, rural schools had higher participation than urban schools until the scholarship funding change in 2024/25. Following this, urban and rural had the same participation rate (4.6%) in 2024/25 and then in 2025/26 urban schools had higher participation rates (3.2%) than rural schools (2.8%). This shift may be partly explained by urban schools having higher pupil premium rates on average, as pupil premium formed part of the scholarship funding criteria introduced in 2024/25.
Pupil premium decile
NPQ workforce participation per pupil premium decile has tended to be higher for more disadvantaged schools than less disadvantaged schools. The strength of this pattern increased with the introduction of funding eligibility in 2024/25.
In 2025/26, schools in decile 1, representing the highest pupil premium rates, had a 4.5% participation rate, while schools in decile 10, representing the lowest pupil premium rates, had a 2.2% participation rate. The lowest participation rates (1.9%) were from the 7th and 8th deciles.
NPQ: outcomes
This section provides information on completions and pass rates for all NPQ courses started between 2021/22 and 2023/24. Further information on NPQ outcomes broken down by individual and school characteristics is included in the underlying data files.
In 2021/22, 29,888 funded NPQ courses were started by teachers and leaders. Of these, 84.9% have been completed to date, with a pass rate of 98.7%.
- In the same year, 662 non-funded NPQ courses were started, with a completion rate of 85.5% and a pass rate of 99.5% of completions.
- Across all NPQs, 30,550 courses were started, 84.9% completed, and 98.7% of those completions passed.
In 2022/23, 36,628 funded NPQ courses were started, 83.5% have been completed so far, with a pass rate of 97.9%.
- For non-funded NPQs, 572 courses were started, with 87.8% completed and a pass rate of 97.8%.
- Overall, 37,200 NPQ courses were started that year, with 83.5% completed and a 97.9% pass rate.
In 2023/24, 41,587 funded NPQ courses were started, with 82.3% completed to date and a pass rate of 96.2%.
- For non-funded NPQs, 592 courses were started, with 82.6% completed and a pass rate of 95.5%.
- Overall, 42,179 NPQ courses were started, with 82.3% completed and a 96.2% pass rate.
The underlying data files provide early completion and pass rate data for courses started in 2024/25. Most courses are still ongoing, particularly leadership NPQs (Early Years Leadership, Senior Leadership, Headship and Executive Leadership), which typically last between 18 and 22 months. Further breakdowns are available by individual and school characteristics.
Course type
Across all programmes, pass rates remained consistently high (generally above 95% - except for Executive Leadership in 2023/24), while completion rates varied by course but were typically between around 80% and 86% (except for Early Years Leadership in 2022/23 and 2023/24).
NPQ school engagement
This section provides information on the number of state schools employing teachers and leaders who started NPQ courses between 2021/22 and 2025/26. The underlying data files published as part of this statistics release include additional breakdowns by school phase and school type.
In 2021/22, a total of 10,913 state schools had at least one employee start an NPQ, representing 47.4% of all schools. Of these, 10,758 schools had employees start a funded NPQ (46.7%), while 239 schools had employees start a non-funded NPQ (1.0%).
By 2025/26, the cumulative number of participating schools increased to 21,143, representing 90.4% of all state schools. Of these, 20,960 schools had employees start a state-funded NPQ (89.6%), and 3,421 schools had employees start a non-funded NPQ (14.6%).
Almost all secondary schools have now engaged with reformed NPQs (99.3%), compared with 90.9% of primary schools. This partly reflects the higher number and smaller size of primary schools in comparison to secondary schools.
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