Steplab
How do I navigate Steplab as an ECT?
There are a range of useful training articles under the ‘Support’ tab to help ECTs, Mentors and Induction Tutors to get to know Steplab. For ECT support, click on ‘Help for Ambition Participants (ECF and NPQ).
For more information, please watch these helpful tutorials.
Year 1 ECT Video:
/i/video/Steplab/ECT_Year_1_Steplab_Training_1.mp4
Year 2 ECT video:
/i/video/Steplab/ECT_Year_2_Steplab_Training_1.mp4
2. Where can I find self-study materials?
To access self-study materials in Steplab:
- Go to the ‘Learn’ tab
- In the ‘Early Career Teachers’ box, you’ll see your progress within each strand
- Click on the strand to show its released modules
3. Where can I find clinic and conference workbooks?
To find workbooks for clinics and conferences:
- Go to the ‘Library’ tab
- In the ‘Course Library’ click ‘Ambition Institute’
- Click on ‘ECT [cohort year] Key Programme Resources’
- You should see: ‘Clinic Workbooks and accompanying materials’ and ‘Conference Workbooks’
- Select one and click ‘Start reading’
4. Why don’t I have access to the latest modules?
If a new module has been released and you don’t have access on Steplab, we might have your term dates wrong in our records. Please ask your school’s ECT Induction Tutor to check the term dates they’ve logged in Steplab are correct and update if necessary.
If your term dates are correct and you still can’t access your self-study content, please get in touch.
5. I’m in Year 2 – why can’t I find my modules in ‘courses’?
The ‘Courses’ tab shows everything you completed in the first year of your ECT induction, as well as new Year 2 content (e.g. stretch modules and the diagnostic tool).
To find incomplete Year 1 modules, go to the ‘Learn’ tab and click on ‘See all studies’. You’ll be able to access all the strands from there.
6. How do I save and export my Steplab progress?
You can save your Steplab progress and export you work by following these steps:
- Go to the ‘Profile’ tab
- Click on ‘Explore my portfolio’
- Click ‘Export portfolio’
A download link will be sent to your email, allowing you to save your progress as a PDF.
Using Steplab as a Mentor
1. How do I navigate Steplab?
There are a range of useful training articles under the ‘Support’ tab to help ECTs, Mentors and Induction Tutors to get the know Steplab. For Mentor support, click on ‘Help for Ambition Mentors’.
For more information, please watch this tutorial:
/i/video/Steplab/Mentor_Steplab_Training_1.mp4
2. How do I ‘coach’ on Steplab?
You can coach your ECT by following these steps:
- Go to the 'Coach' tab
- Select the relevant ECT's name
- At the start of your observation, select 'Observe' and work through the sections
- Following this, 'Select next step'
- After the observation, select 'Give feedback' and work through the sections
When both sections are complete and have turned blue, your coaching cycle is complete.
If you would like further information about coaching, there are some useful instructional videos within the 'Support' tab under 'Help for Coaches’.
3. I missed a coaching cycle – what do I do?
Don’t worry about missing a coaching session! You can log any missed sessions using the ‘Coach
Again’ button after you’ve logged your latest weekly session. This will let you log multiple sessions within the same week.
Remember, you can catch up on anything missed throughout the programme either at the end of the year or in Year 2 of the programme too.
4. What is the ‘coach again’ function?
The ‘Coach Again' function on Steplab lets you complete an observation and feedback session outside of the weekly (Year 1) or fortnightly (Year 2) coaching cycle. It could be used when you want to retrospectively fill in the observation and feedback notes in the coaching tool from historical weeks.
You could also use it to repeat a ‘step’ with your ECT. To use it, you need to have already submitted an observation and feedback session on Steplab within the default timeframe – if not, the option to ‘coach again’ won’t appear.
There is no limit to the number of times mentors can use the ‘coach again’ function within a coaching cycle, but we strongly recommend that you try to stick to the weekly/fortnightly coaching cadence with your ECT wherever possible.
5. How do I use the ‘drop-in’ feature?
You only use the 'Drop-in' feature when you have observed your ECT for the second time that week or if you would like to plan a drop-in from another teacher within your school.
If you are coaching for the first time in the week, you can log this by selecting 'Observe' and 'Give
feedback' via the 'Coach' tab.
6. Can I create a custom ‘step’ for my ECT?
If you want, you can set a custom step or edit steps in order to best fit your ECT's development.
You can find the 'Create custom step' option in the 'Step selector' when you click on 'Select step'
during your coaching.
You can also edit a pre-existing step by clicking 'Customise this step' once you've selected your ECT’s next step.
7. How do I know if my ECT is completing modules?
You can see if your ECT has completed their modules by following these steps:
- Go the 'Coach' tab
- Click on the ECT's name
- Scroll down to the 'Study for coaching' tile
- Click on 'See all modules'
- Click on the module group you'd like to see
- Here you can see whether your ECT has completed the module and the date of completion.
Using Steplab as an Induction Tutor
1. How do I navigate Steplab?
There are a range of useful training articles under the ‘Support’ tab to help ECTs, mentors and induction tutors to get to know Steplab. For induction tutor support, click on ‘Help for Ambition Induction Tutors'.
For more information, please watch this tutorial video:
/i/video/Steplab/ECT_Induction_Tutor_Training_1.mp4
2. How do I edit term dates?
You can check and edit your school’s term dates in Steplab by clicking on the ‘Manage’ tab and going to ‘Edit term dates’.
3. How do I view different cohorts?
You can view different cohorts by following these steps:
- Click into the 'Lead' or 'Manage' tabs
- Click on the orange button with arrows next to your school name (top right-hand corner)
- Click on the cohort you'd like to view
4. How do I assign a mentor to an ECT?
Once we receive the ECT and mentor matching information from the DfE, this will feed through to Steplab and should mean that this matching has already taken place for you.
Should you need to make any changes or you need to troubleshoot, induction tutors can assign an ECT to their mentor by following these steps:
- Click on the 'Manage' tab
- Select 'Coaching relationships'
- Click 'Tap to add'
- Select the mentor they to assign to the ECT
- Select 'Confirm' when this is complete
5. How do I know if my ECTs and mentors have logged onto Steplab?
You can track your ECT and mentor progress by visiting the 'Lead' tab. If you scroll down to the 'Individual performance data' box, you can view coaching participation and teacher progress.
Here, you can nudge your ECTs and mentors to complete their study/coaching and praise them when they have completed it. You can also download a PDF report of this data to keep for your records by clicking 'Download report'.
To learn more about navigating Steplab as an induction tutor, please visit the 'Support' tab and select 'Help for Leads' where you will find useful instructional videos.
6. I don’t think my Steplab statistics are accurate.
Mentors need to complete their 'Observe' and 'Give feedback' sessions within the same week (between Monday and Friday). If this doesn't occur, engagement statistics do not accurately reflect the work that has been completed.
If you think this isn’t the issue, please get in touch.