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Definitions and states

Key concepts

Concept Definition
cohort The grouping of participants who begin their induction or training in a given academic year under a given funding contract. For example, a participant who started their training in the 2024/25 academic year is assigned to the 2024 cohort. This is because funding for their training comes from the 2024/25 call-off contract. In most cases providers cannot change a participant’s cohort once they have started their training
course_identifier The participant’s training as either an early career teacher (ECT) or mentor
declaration The notification submitted by providers via the API as the sole means for triggering output payments from DfE. Declarations are submitted where there is evidence of a participant’s engagement in training for a given milestone period
participant An early career teacher (ECT) or mentor registered for training
partnership The relationship created between schools, delivery partners and providers who work together to deliver ECF-based training to participants
schedule The expected timeframe in which a participant will complete their ECF-based training. Schedules include defined milestone dates against which DfE validates the declarations submitted by providers
statement A record of output payments (based on declarations), service fees and any adjustments the DfE may pay lead providers at the end of a contractually agreed payment period. Statements sent to providers by DfE at the end of milestone periods can be used for invoicing purposes
unfunded-mentor Mentors linked to a provider’s ECTs but not eligible for funding through that provider. Typically, these mentors have either completed, or are currently doing, mentor training with a different lead provider than the one delivering training to the ECT they support

Data states

The API service uses a ‘state’ model to reflect the ECF participant journey, meet contractual requirements for how providers should report participants’ training and how the DfE will pay for this training.

Partnership states

Partnership states are defined by the status attribute.

Providers must confirm their partnerships with schools for each cohort. Once a partnership has been established the status value will become active and providers will receive participant information via the API.

Schools can challenge existing partnerships at any time. Once a partnership status becomes challenged, providers will no longer be able to update partnership details.

status Definition Action
active A partnership between a provider, school and delivery partner has been agreed and confirmed by the provider Providers can view, confirm and update active partnerships
challenged A partnership between a provider, school and delivery partner has been changed or dissolved by the school Providers can only view challenged partnerships

View more detailed specifications for the partnerships schema.

Participant states

Participant states are defined by the training_status attribute.

A participant’s training_status value will determine whether a provider can:

training_status Definition Action
active Participants currently in training Providers can update participant data and submit declarations for active participants
deferred Participants who have deferred training Providers cannot update participant data or submit declarations for deferred participants. Providers must notify DfE when the participant resumes training
withdrawn Participants who have withdrawn from training Providers cannot update participant data for withdrawn participants. Providers can only submit declarations for withdrawn participants if the declaration_date is backdated to before the withdrawal_date

View more detailed specifications for the ECF participant schema.

Providers should note:

A participant’s training_status highlights data entered by providers via the API. It then determines what onward actions providers can take via the API. Providers should also consider supplementary data available via the API, including the participant_status.

A participant’s participant_status highlights information given by school induction tutors via the DfE service. Values include active, joining, leaving, left and withdrawn, and will update according to the associated transfer or withdrawal dates induction tutors have given. For example, the participant_status will change from leaving to left after the date an induction tutor has given for when a participant is leaving their school. Note, values can occasionally be inaccurate due to induction tutor human error.

Declaration states

Declaration states are defined by the state attribute.

Providers must submit declarations to confirm a participant has engaged in training within a given milestone period. A declaration’s state value will reflect if and when the DfE will pay providers for the training delivered.

state Definition Action
submitted A declaration associated with to a participant who has not yet been confirmed to be eligible for funding Providers can view and void submitted declarations
eligible A declaration associated with a participant who has been confirmed to be eligible for funding Providers can view and void eligible declarations
ineligible A declaration associated with 1) a participant who is not eligible for funding 2) a duplicate submission for a given participant Providers can view and void ineligible declarations
payable A declaration that has been approved and is ready for payment by DfE Providers can view and void payable declarations
voided A declaration that has been retracted by a provider Providers can only view voided declarations
paid A declaration that has been paid for by DfE Providers can view and void paid declarations
awaiting_clawback A paid declaration that has since been voided by a provider Providers can only view awaiting_clawback declarations
clawed_back An awaiting_clawback declaration that has since had its value deducted from payment by DfE to a provider Providers can only view clawed_back declarations

View more detailed specifications for the declaration schema.

IDs explained

We use various unique identifiers (IDs) in the endpoint requests and responses to help make the API reliable, efficient, and unambiguous.

ID What the ID is for
clawback_statement_id Identifies a clawback statement we’ve attached when funding paid to a lead provider needs to be returned due to overpayments or participant data changes (for example, someone withdraws from training or is found to be ineligible). Enables lead providers using the declarations endpoints to identify which clawback statement a participant’s funding adjustment relates to and reconcile clawbacks against their monthly or cumulative funding reports
declaration_id Created when providers submit a declaration. This ID can also be used to void a declaration. It’s shown as simply id at the top of successful responses in the declarations endpoints
delivery_partner_id Identifies delivery partners. Used when providers form partnerships as part of the POST partnerships endpoint. It’s also listed in GET participants/ecf and GET participants/ecf/{id} responses in API v3
mentor_id Identifies individual ECT mentors within the API. This ID is used to link mentors to ECTs they’re supporting, and tracks their training status, funding eligibility, and contact information. The same mentor_id is used whether the mentor is funded or unfunded, including those trained by a different lead provider than the one supporting their ECT
participant_id Identifies participants registered for training. This is used for declarations, changing schedules, notifying us of a change in circumstances related to their training as well as other endpoints to monitor training and progress
participant_id_changes A record of changes where a participant’s ID has been updated, usually to fix a data issue like a duplicate or incorrect registration. In such cases, the from_participant_id field is the original ID that has been retired or replaced. The to_participant_id is the new ID that should now be used when referring to this participant
partnership_id Identifies the partnership between schools, delivery partners and providers for a specific cohort who work together to deliver ECF-based training to participants. It’s shown as simply id at the top of successful responses in the partnership endpoints
statement_id Identifies a financial statement we’ve attached to a lead provider. It acts as a reference for each individual payment cycle or statement and allows lead providers to retrieve financial data using the GET statements endpoints
school_id Identifies schools. Used when providers form partnerships as part of the POST partnerships endpoint
training_record_id Identifies participants with multiple enrolments, such as an ECT who later becomes a mentor. Providers using the participants endpoints will see separate records for the same participant, each with a different training_record_id based on their role