You’re just about to finish your training course - what a feeling! Completing your career entry and development profile (CEDP) is the last step in the course and one that should lead into a successful first year in the classroom.

Unfortunately, the CEDP was introduced only recently, so your tutors may be less familiar with it than with its predecessor, the career entry profile.

Don’t regard it as just another piece of paper you have to complete. It must be done and, if you do it well, it will be useful.

The CEDP is a summary of your training and a written reflection at certain transition points: point 1, with the tutor as you approach the award of qualified teacher status; point 2, with your induction tutor at the start of induction; and point 3, with your induction tutor towards the end of induction.

The summary of your training on pages 14 and 15 asks for straightforward information about your course. You might want to add detail about your teaching practices. It’ll help your induction tutor get ideas about what sort of experience you’ve got and what you might need more help with.

Transition point 1 asks you to reflect on which aspects of teaching you find most interesting and rewarding and why, and how you want to develop these, your main strengths and achievements, and what you’d like more experience of. This is where you should outline your interests, strengths and weaknesses, and your longer-term aspirations - how do you want your career to develop?

When you start your first job, show your induction tutor your CEDP and fix a time to discuss transition point two. Schools were never au fait with what they should do with the CEP and are unlikely to know much about the CEDP, so you’ll have to take the lead.

You’ll need to think about your most important professional development priorities now you’re in the school. Why are these issues the most important for you at this time? Think about: what you wrote at transition point one and any new needs and areas for development related to the pupils you will be teaching; the context of the school; the subject(s) and year group(s) you will be teaching; the courses and schemes of work you will be using; the resources to which you will have access to support pupils’ learning; responsibilities you will be taking on; and your career plan.

Your induction tutor will help turn your priorities into objectives and draw up an plan that’ll help you meet them in half a term to a term.

Examples can be found in the Teacher Training Agency booklet, Writing Induction Action Plans And Reviewing Progress.

CEDP forms can be ordered from the TTA (0845 606 1323), or read at www.canteach.gov.uk. Sara Bubb’s new book The Insider’s Guide for New Teachers: succeed in training and induction is published by TESKogan Page in July (pound;12.99). TES readers can order a copy at the special price of pound;9.99 (see page 6 for details)