Thread by @englishspecial

1/ The ‘all mentors of trainee teachers have to undertake 20 hours’.
A 🧵

2/ First, it’s arrived due to an obsession by a certain DfE appointed someone with measuring standards by numbers. 1.5hrs on mentoring, 20hrs of training, 80% timetables, 20 days of ITaP, etc. are all because they did not trust schools and providers to deliver standards.

3/ Second. It’s only all new mentors who do 20 hours. However, that certain someone decided all mentors, however much experienced, would be regarded as a new mentor for 24-25 🤷‍♂️. Trust?

4/ It’s worth pointing out that there is £800 of funding available for one year only which schools can claim back if they evidence their mentor attended all the training. But there’s no requirement for schools to pay cover so…

5/ But it’s tricky because what if you pick up a trainee in January? Or Easter? Or just for 6 weeks? Yep. All 20 hours. And likely through recorded materials now because you missed the training.

6/ And what if you are a new mentor in 2025-26? Well, still 20 hours but now no funding.

7/ In 2025-26 all trained mentors will have to do 6 further hours of top up training.

8/ Which sounds sensible but what if you have a trainee from one provider in September and another in January? Yep, two lots of 6 hours.
And yes, the same applies for this year and 2x 20 hrs but the sector has worked to try and reduce this number 🙏

9/ The biggest awkwardness of the whole system is the flawed idea that a school works with one provider who tells them 12 months in advance who is coming even though APPLY doesn’t close until end of August.

10/ Anyone with experience of ITE knows schools work with multiple providers and that applicants are later than ever.

11/ They also know that schools host if they have capacity (they won’t host if they have too many ECTs that year) and that they are reliant on applicants who are local and can get themselves there somehow.
Please note: not everywhere is London.

12/ The reality is teacher education is a fluid model of providers, schools mentors & trainee teachers rather than a static fixed system. Dumping a fixed hours model on everyone has caused lots of work for the sector.
Further note: all mentors do way more than 1.5hrs a week. 👏

13/ But it is a good idea to have funded training available for new mentors and experienced mentors alike. We’ve been arguing for this for years. So maybe the system needs a bit of a rework, but it is the right direction of travel.

14/ If I’ve missed anything out, do comment below. 🙏