Reflecting on Tracey Maloney’s latest piece for SecEd

In her recent article for SecEd, e-Qualitas’ ITT Director Tracey Maloney offers practical and inspiring advice for Early Career Teachers as they move beyond their training year.

While the ability to ‘run the room’ is a vital foundation, Tracey argues that the ECT year brings new opportunities to expand your practice – not just in your own classroom, but across the wider life of the school.

“Domains increase and widen with experience. As trainees move into their ECT year we see this expansion into areas beyond the room, along with greater independence and responsibility.”

From building belonging through storytelling and student engagement, to learning from pastoral teams and other departments, Tracey encourages ECTs to seek out opportunities for collaboration and professional growth.

“Be curious about what people do to support the students in the school. Ask questions about how they do it and what insights their role brings.”

The article is a reminder that professional reflection doesn’t end with your training year, and that teaching is a career defined by continuous development.

📖 Read the full article here: – SecEd

About the author:

Tracey Maloney leads e-Qualitas’ ITT strategy and curriculum development. A former English teacher, subject advisor, SLT leader and MAT trustee, Tracey brings over 25 years’ experience in education. Her work spans trust-wide curriculum reform, literacy consultancy and national policy engagement.