The statutory induction guidance specifies that in order for a role to be deemed “a suitable post for induction”, amongst other things, an early career teacher (ECT) must have access to “a programme of training and support based on the ITTECF” (para. 2.18). This programme is expected to include “regular one-to-one mentoring sessions from a designated mentor who is expected to hold QTS and has the time and ability, including the relevant skills, knowledge and experience, to carry out the role effectively” (para. 2.39).

In practice, what does “relevant skills, knowledge and experience” mean? What makes someone a great mentor?

The National Institute of Teaching (NIoT) conducted an evidence review on mentoring and coaching trainee and early career teachers in 2023 and, while the evidence is somewhat inconclusive, they did find that “when ‘coaches made decisions about which areas to focus on based on their own interpretation of teachers’ strengths and weaknesses […]’, there was a large impact on teacher practice” (Stevenson et al, 2023). This implies not just a positive relationship between the ECT and their mentor, but also enough experience on the mentor’s part to be able to confidently make those interpretations.

Indeed, in their key takeaways document, NIoT say that “Some of the research synthesised in this report suggests that mentors are recommended to have at least five years of teaching experience, as placing trainees with experienced mentors has been shown to result in a higher growth of trainee teaching skills” (NIoT, 2023).

As a teaching school hub that delivers the early career teacher programme (ECTP), we tend to agree: while the time commitment involved in mentoring an ECT may make it difficult for a senior leader to take on the role, equally a teacher early in their career (i.e. with only three-four years in the profession) will likely not have the depth of experience necessary to utilise their teaching expertise to “facilitate mentee learning by encouraging reflection, providing feedback, and adopting strategies such as co-planning, modelling, rehearsing, as well as facilitating professional development, networking and collaboration with other staff” (Stevenson et al, 2023).

The element of time is also relevant here. The ECTP relies on mentors being given adequate time to coach their mentee. This time is included in the funding for the programme and is a core component that will be checked by your appropriate body (AB). A truly effective mentor is one that has the time not just to observe and coach their ECT, but also to engage with their own learning and with the programme materials: “Mentors’ capacity to adapt the programme was an important factor in determining effectiveness of the implementation [… and] mentor experience can be a key factor in effective implementation of materials through careful adaptation“ (Hardman et al, 2020). The learning materials provided in the ECTP are necessarily generalised. A mentor with the experience and the time to understand and contextualise the content for their ECT is setting their mentee up for success in the profession.

So, a great mentor is one with preferably five or more years in the profession, and someone who has enough time to fully engage with the mentoring process. What else?

As mentioned above, a school senior leader may not have the capacity necessary to be a truly effective mentor – although if they are given enough time away from their leadership duties it isn’t impossible. Teachers surveyed as part of NIoT’s research said that “mentors should ideally be experienced teachers, with a subject or year-group match, voluntarily consenting to take on the role. (Allen et al, 2022)” They also said that ideally the mentor should not be the mentee’s line manager. We recognise that this is not always feasible, especially in small and/or primary schools; however, there should be a clear and defined distinction between the two roles: mentoring is developmental, not judgemental, and an ECT must feel safe discussing their progress without worrying that their words will be used against them in performance development or appraisal.

While mentoring is key to the success of the ECTP and to the ongoing development of their mentee as an effective teacher, it is also, sadly, often an undervalued role in schools. Ensuring that mentors have access to their own high quality CPD is just as important as it is for ECTs – programme-specific training is provided as part of the ECTP, and it is vital that schools enable mentors to attend this. NIoT also found that “the mentors who derive greatest benefits from the role are those who are still actively focused on improving their own classroom teaching (Allen et al, 2022)” and CPD is a key driver of this. Overall, empowering mentors to take leadership of their own learning as well as their ECT’s makes for a much more effective partnership.

So, to conclude:

Great mentor = experience + time + professional development.

How do you identify mentors for your early career teachers?