Changes for the 2025/26 academic year
Published: 25 February 2025
Updated: 15 April 2025
This is a summary of planned changes to API processes lead providers will see when early career teacher (ECT) and mentor registrations open (date to be confirmed).
We’ll update this section with any further details providers might need to help them test their endpoint integrations in the run up to registrations opening.
Reduced declarations for mentors starting training in the 2025/26 academic year
We’re removing the following declarations from the POST participant-declarations
endpoint for mentors starting in the 2025/26 academic year:
retained-1
retained-2
retained-3
retained-4
extended-1
extended-2
extended-3
This means there’ll be just 2 mentor declarations from the 2025/26 academic year onwards:
started
completed
Evidence types for the 2025/26 academic year
We’ll be updating the evidence_held
values lead providers will be able to use when they submit participant declarations for the 2025/26 academic year intake of ECTs and mentors.
These values represent the evidence lead providers hold to show participants have met the retention criteria for the current milestone period.
For the 2025/26 academic year, every declaration_type
will have its own evidence_held
values (see tables). In previous years we’d applied the training-event-attended
, self-study-material-completed
and other
values across all declaration types.
Declaration and evidence types for ECTs
Declaration type | Evidence held values |
---|---|
started |
|
retained-1 |
|
retained-2 |
|
retained-3 |
|
retained-4 |
|
extended-1 |
|
extended-2 |
|
extended-3 |
|
completed |
|
Declaration and evidence types for mentors
Declaration type | Evidence held values |
---|---|
started |
|
completed |
|
Changes to induction programme types
We’ll be making the following changes to the induction_programme_choice
field options in the GET schools/ecf
and GET schools/ecf/{id}
endpoints:
core-induction-programme
anddiy
will change toschool-led
full-induction-programme
andschool-funded-full-induction-programme
will change toprovider-led
Change to withdrawal reason value to reflect new programme types terminology
To align with the new programme types terminology, we’ll be changing one of the options in the reason
field for the PUT participants/ecf/{id}/withdraw
endpoint:
school-left-fip
will change toswitched-to-school-led
As a result, we’ll update records across all cohorts that have previously used the school-left-fip
value. This is not expected to affect how the endpoint functions. However, lead providers will need to update the options when submitting withdrawal requests to pass through the new value.
Records that have already been withdrawn using the old value will surface the new value and have a modified updated_at
timestamp.
API testing and integration
The introduction of the 2025 contracts requires updates to the API service.
To help lead providers prepare for the opening of ECF registration, we’ll run a testing window throughout May 2025.
Refer to our release notes for all the relevant spec changes.
Timelines
As set out in the Model Call-off Contract, lead providers must complete testing by 1 June 2025. This is to ensure there’s enough time to resolve any urgent issues or integration challenges ahead of registration opening for the 2025/26 academic year on 30 June 2025.
Timeline overview
Date | Activity |
---|---|
By 22 April | Test data added to test environment (sandbox) |
By 30 April | Test scenarios shared with lead providers |
Throughout May | DfE product team will join digital check-ins |
By 16 May | Providers should attempt all test scenarios |
By 1 June | Deadline for providers to submit testing evidence |
By 6 June | Deadline for providers to raise any issues or defects |
By 13 June | DfE will have resolved any identified defects |
16 June | Soft launch of registration (for selected schools) |
30 June | Full registration opens |
Affected API endpoints
These changes affect the following endpoints:
GET schools
– affected by induction type changesGET participants
andPUT participants/ecf/{id}/withdraw
– includes new withdrawal reasonsPOST participant-declarations
– updated for mentor funding and evidence typesGET participant-declarations
– updated for mentor funding and evidence types
Support from DfE
During testing, we recommend lead providers:
- use existing Slack channels and check-in sessions to raise questions
- review all provided API documentation and guidance
We will:
- give timely access to technical support, including one to one sessions (contact digital engagement leads for more details)
- monitor testing to anticipate provider needs
Integration changes to consider
Evidence types
New values must be added to evidence types to meet 2025 policy requirements. Pay close attention to:
retained-2
declarations for ECTscompleted
declarations for all participants
Mentor declarations
Providers will only be able to submit started
and completed
declarations for mentors who start training from June 2025 onwards. The API will return a 422 error if providers submit retained
or extended
declarations, as these are not accepted.
School induction types
Language used in the GET schools
endpoint will change. This is not expected to affect how the endpoint functions. However, lead providers should:
- resync with the API
- review downstream systems for impacts
Withdrawal reasons
We’re adding a new value for participant withdrawals: switched-to-school-led
Providers must ensure their systems can both submit and process this new value.
API integration testing
Lead providers must test to confirm:
- functionality has not been lost
- all common journeys work as expected
- their systems integrate correctly with the updated API
Testing areas
Providers will be expected to complete and provide evidence for the following:
Updated evidence types
Test declaration submissions using these values:
started
(ECTs and mentors)retained-1
,retained-2
,retained-3
,retained-4
(ECTs only)completed
(ECTs and mentors)extended
(ECTs only)
Declarations
Providers must demonstrate correct declaration submissions for both ECTs and mentors.
Withdrawal scenarios
Test withdrawing a participant using the new reason: switched-to-school-led
Creating partnerships
This will not be tested directly. However, to submit declarations, a lead provider must first create a partnership between an eligible school and a delivery partner.
Full sync tests
Run full syncs on:
GET schools
GET participants
GET participant-declarations
Providers must check that changes are accepted and that they remain within rate limits.
Test data
We’ll add test data to the ECF sandbox by 22 April 2025. This will include:
- schools with different induction types for the 2024 and 2025 cohorts
- assigned delivery partners for those cohorts
- participants attached to each school
If providers need additional data or encounter issues, they should contact their digital engagement lead with detailed information.
Deployment readiness checklist
Before the registration window opens, lead providers must confirm to us that:
- integrations have been reviewed and updated
- test scenarios have been completed and evidenced
- full syncs using updated APIs are functioning correctly
We also welcome providers to share their test plans, feedback and concerns via the DfE Slack channel.