Learn the importance of the mentoring role and best practice for supporting your mentee, with Matt Roberts.
Mentoring in teaching has transformed over the last few years. This is largely due to the development of the Early Career Framework (ECF) as well as new criteria specifying that initial teacher training providers should provide 20 hours of general mentor training for class mentors and 6 hours of annual refresher training.
Whilst the latter may have recently been scrapped two months after its implementation, it has certainly brought the important nature of mentoring to the forefront of many minds. The balance of mentors with the skills and understanding of the important role they play in the retention of new and prospective teachers in the profession without piling on an already unmanageable workload is a tricky one to get right.
Mentoring, when done right, can be the difference between a novice teacher finding their feet or being swept away as another statistic in the growing numbers of teachers leaving the profession.
The change in the mentor role
One significant shift in the role of a mentor can be seen in approach through the ECF. It is expected that Early Career Teachers (ECTs) are provided with an Induction Tutor who is separate from the Mentor role. The time when the mentor writes progress reports and gives judgements on how much progress a new teacher is making is in the past.
This approach to mentoring encourages mentors to be an advocate for their mentees, building trust with their mentee and coaching them to work through their day-to-day, referring regularly to evidence-informed practices. As such, there are some very important qualities to consider whether you are a new mentor or a current mentor who is adapting to the new approaches in mentoring.
Three strategies for good mentorship
Be present
This can be a great challenge for, as a mentor, there is an increase on the time required to fulfil your role most effectively. Whether that be through attending the training required or leading meetings with the mentee, time will be required – and it will often take some of your own time due to this being a sparse commodity in education. However, it is a part of mentoring which is probably the most valuable.
Sometimes, a mentee will just need a sounding board – to know that someone is listening to them and taking notice of the challenges (and successes) that they are having. This can be done formally in meetings but also informally at other opportunities. Being a present mentor is the first step in building a relationship of trust which can then lead to a deeper connection of belonging for the mentee.
Be supportive
There will be times in your mentee’s early career where they become overwhelmed, feel like they have been unsuccessful and they have failed. What teacher hasn’t? I’m sure you can think of times in your early career or even recently where you have gone through those same emotions. As well as listening and being present, helping a mentee understand that this is part of the rollercoaster of feelings that will be felt as a teacher, is a really important part of a mentor’s toolkit. Knowing that these emotions are valid and they have someone in their corner can be the difference between a new teacher thinking it is only them that goes through these challenges and knowing that they will make it through that difficult period.
Being a champion, a believer that they can learn and grow through the difficult times, can mean a lot and bring hope.
Be reflective
Mentors are the experts in the mentor-mentee relationship. No matter how confident the mentee is and how well things are going, the experience of the mentor is vital to draw upon. That is the reason why they are a ‘mentor’, not a ‘coach’. Mentors are required to support the mentee to analyse their thinking and practice.
For any teacher, stagnation can be an issue and as a profession we are always more effective when we are on the front foot and being reflective. This period when mentees have a dedicated mentor is so precious. Imagine if every teacher was able to have a specific, assigned mentor to help them reflect on their practice in a non-judgemental way! How much improvement could we make as a profession with this system in place? Mentors have a responsibility to help mentees to develop the skills needed to reflect on their practice and consider how to draw on research to improve.
Being a mentor is such a rewarding experience. As a previous NQT mentor, current ECT mentor and having mentored several initial teacher training students, I feel that we can have such a great role in supporting more new teachers to not only stay in the profession but flourish in their role.
Author
Matt is an Assistant Headteacher with responsibility over KS2, assessment, curriculum and maths. He has completed an NPQH, currently leads a Maths Subject Leader Network in a local authority and is the Primary Education Voices podcast host and author of the book with the same name.
