A lifeline for teachers of physics
Early career support building confidence, resilience and pedagogy.
Published: 16 April 2025
Applications for our 2025/26 Early Career programme are now open.
The ongoing challenges in teacher recruitment and retention are well-documented with recruitment targets missed again this past year and the national roll-out of the Early Career Framework having little impact on retention of early career teachers. To support early career teachers who are teaching physics in English state schools, the Ogden Trust offers free physics mentoring and support.
Science teachers increasingly find themselves teaching physics out of specialism, and physics specialists may find themselves isolated as the only physics teacher. Coaching, mentoring and support from an experienced physics practitioner can help early career teachers build their subject knowledge, pedagogy and teaching confidence – helping to bring physics to life in the classroom and inspire the next generation.
Raji Gaydhani is a teacher of science at Ashton on Mersey School. She has a physics specialism and a degree in physics and is currently in her third year of teaching having retrained as a teacher.
“As the sole physics teacher in a large comprehensive secondary school, the early career programme has been a lifeline. It has provided invaluable subject-specific and pedagogical support – particularly vital when the school made the exciting decision to offer A-level physics for the first time. I was responsible for designing our KS5 physics scheme of work and now deliver the A-level course to a cohort of 22 students, over one quarter who are female.
“When I first joined Ashton, I had no one within the school to bounce around ideas or share subject-specific challenges with. Having an Ogden mentor to talk through gaps in my knowledge, decide what equipment to invest in for the new course, and explore ways of making complex content more accessible has helped lighten what initially felt like an overwhelming workload.
“The Ogden summer conferences have been a real highlight. Whether visiting the National Space Centre in Leicester or the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, hearing inspiring talks and connecting with other physics educators has reignited my passion for the subject each year. These experiences have sparked new ideas for the classroom and reminded me that I’m part of a wider, supportive physics community; helping to ease the isolation that can come with being the only physics specialist in a school.
“The programme has played a crucial role in building my confidence and resilience and has undoubtedly helped keep me in the profession. My mentor has been consistently positive, empathetic, and encouraging, especially with resolving issues. Beyond personal growth, the impact has been tangible in the classroom: two of my triple science classes showed the most improvement in physics GCSE outcomes on the school’s SPI (schedule performance index) in our school’s history.
Expand your physics knowledge, confidence and support network
Applications for our 2025/26 Early Career programme are now open.
Teaching core physics
Teaching core physics offers half termly coaching sessions in a local peer group. Each session focuses on a different area of physics, relevant teaching approaches and resources, and can be used to provide additional subject-specific support to the Early Career Framework provision.
The local peer group enables teachers to build a support network and share ideas across schools; the sessions provide time for reflection and discussion, and consider pedagogy and student misconceptions, and support early career teachers to build their physics content knowledge for KS3/KS4 classroom teaching.
Developing Physics Specialism
For those teaching a significant physics timetable (usually including some triple science or A-level classes) in their second to fifth year of teaching, developing physics specialism provides bespoke individual mentoring. Teachers will agree goals with their mentor at the start of the year and will be supported as they work towards them, enhancing professional development and teaching practice. Participants will also get a funded place for a conference of their choice and receive books relevant to their development.
Visit our Early Career pages on this website to find out more and to make you application.
References
- Initial teacher training census
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census/2024-25
- Teacher Labour Market in England Annual Report 2025
https://www.nfer.ac.uk/publications/teacher-labour-market-in-england-annual-report-2025/