1. Edge Hill University Partnership Mentor Training Further Education and Training
2018/19
Mentor trainers (Personal Tutors to the trainee attached to the mentor) must cover every aspect of the training with Mentors who are new to the role of Edge Hill University Mentor. Mentors who supported a trainee/trainees in 2015/2016 need an update on the observation process, lesson grading and the e-portfolio.

2. Key documents Professional Practice Handbook
Lesson observation feedback forms
ETF Professional Standards
Mentor Profile and Role descriptor (in handbook)
Mentor Training Evaluation form
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The Professional Practice Handbook contains information for Trainees, Mentors and Personal Tutors, describing the responsibilities of each participant – please encourage Mentors to familiarise themselves with all the information. We have included more Programme Information into this Handbook this year at the request of Mentors of previous trainees.
Lesson Observation Feedback form has been substantially redesigned for this year and the Indicative Statements for the Professional Standards have been removed. Mentors now complete 3 observations, 2 of which are jointly carried out with the Personal Tutor but which count towards the Mentor total. The first joint observation should be carried out as early as possible in the trainee’s journey, the second joint observation should take place towards the mid-point of the trainee’s journey in order to inform the Mentor of the trainee’s current progress as this will inform the Interim Report. The final (solo) Mentor observation should be planned towards the end of the trainee’s Professional Practice in order to inform the Mentor of the trainee’s current progress and this will inform the Summative Report.
Edge Hill University Observation grading criteria – this is based on the Indicative Content statements for the Professional Standards and a laminated copy of these given to the Mentor.
Further Education and Training Key Area Priorities are available on the Partnership website.
Expert Practitioner Series brochure is available on the Partnership website
Mentor Profile and Role descriptor form and the Mentor Training Evaluation form must be completed by the Mentor and given to the Personal Tutor at the end of this training. Personal Tutors must return these to the FET Support Team.

3. Objectives Discuss the roles and responsibilities of the Mentor
Consider the Professional Standards for the sector and how trainees will meet and evidence them
Write effective targets
Plan the development of your role
Share contact details with Personal Tutor
Roles and responsibilities of the Mentor are outlined in the Partnership Handbook and in the Mentor Profile form and should be discussed with the Mentor, including the Trainee Induction checklist.
Explore the Professional Standards Grading Criteria and the Observation Feedback form to show how Mentors can indicate the Professional Standards demonstrated by the trainee using the grid on the final page of the Observation Feedback form. Note: Mentors no longer give a formal grade for the lessons they observe, but classify them only as either Pass or Fail (based on the Grading Criteria) as Mentor observations are intended to be developmental.
Examine a lesson using the link on Slide 9 of this presentation and discuss what feedback / developmental grade the Mentor feels would be appropriate, with reference to the Professional Standards Grading Criteria
Discuss what developmental targets the Mentor would set, using the Observation Feedback form as a prompt – no more than 4 targets, plus a brief illustration of how the trainee might demonstrate achievement of the target
Discuss with the Mentor development of the role e.g. joint observations, Mentor Conferences
Ensure that the Mentor Training Register is completed and that contact details are shared by and with the Mentor

4. Let's look at your role
Induction - settling in, timetable, policies, practicalities
Mentoring
Coaching (including pre observation)
Modelling - shadowing, professional duties
Assessing - observations, portfolio, professionalism, feedback
Monitoring (Cause for Concern form, tracking targets)
Communicating (trainee and Edge Hill University)
Discuss the Trainee Induction checklist, including the requirement for the trainee to be inducted into setting policies and procedures
Discuss trainee’s proposed timetable for breadth of experience opportunities and sufficiency of hours [Minimum of 100 solo teaching hours, shadowing, team-teaching) and agree a proposed date for the first observation
Discuss Coaching, Mentoring, Modelling and Assessing using slides 5, 6 and 7 within this presentation plus the additional PowerPoint titled The Mentor Role in Verifying your Trainee’s e-portfolio
Discuss the Cause for Concern process, emphasising that this is a supportive process intended to aid both the Mentor and the Trainee in the event that there are concerns about the trainee’s progress, professionalism, attendance etc. Encourage the Mentor to let you know as soon as they have any concerns so that we can support the trainee in becoming successful in the setting
Communicating – outline the expectations detailed in the Professional Practice Handbook for trainees to communicate with the setting in terms of illness, absence and their responsibility to provide the Mentor with copies of all resources in the event that they are unavoidably absent from the setting.

5. Further Education and Training consider that helping trainees to solve their own problems is likely to produce engaged, thoughtful and professional teachers and that we would encourage Mentors to consider the descriptors here and how they might achieve ‘Pull’ with their trainee.

6. Scaling
Scaling can be a useful exercise when trying to help trainees find their own solutions although it is not a fast process, it can be extremely helpful in getting trainees to really think about a given topic and how they might move on. Using a scale can help trainees discuss what they might need to do as it feels less intrusive than direct questioning and trainees are generally very honest in their self-evaluations.
For any given topic (planning, assessing, choice of teaching strategies, encouraging behaviour for learning etc.) you can use scaling to help the trainee identify how they might take a different approach/resolve a difficulty
First identify the ‘issue’ and ask the trainee to identify on a scale of 1 – 10 how confident/proficient they feel [1 not at all – 10 hyper-confident]
Most trainees will not answer 10!
Ask the trainee what the next number up from the number identified might look like/feel like
Ask the trainee what they might need to do in order to reach that next number
Repeat as necessary

7. Let's look at responsibilities
OneNote - hours, logs, standards, observations
Mentor meetings - equivalent to 1 hour per week
3 observations - 2 of which are joint with the personal tutor - checking of planning, rationales, assessment
Interim and Summative meetings and reports
Support opportunities for breadth of experience e.g. Pastoral role, engagement with Maths, English and SEND
Communication with Edge Hill University Personal Tutors Quality Officers and Ofsted
Subject development
Mentor evaluations
Please use the additional PowerPoint to cover the specific requirements of the e-portfolio and if you are able to, demonstrate your own blank copy.
Please discuss Rationales with the Mentor – trainees have commented that they spend a great deal of time preparing Rationales and they feel very disappointed if Mentors are not interested in reading these or fail to give any comment about them – please encourage the Mentor to read the Rationales as they can give valuable insights into the planning process and why the trainee has made the decisions they have made in relation to every aspect of the lesson. Please note though that Mentors are not expected to comment on the academic writing aspect of the Rationales, but they can make useful starting points during feedback discussions.
Outline the requirements of the Interim and Summative Reports and the process by which these are arranged – this will be revisited nearer the time of the meetings
Discuss what opportunities there may be for breadth of experience within the setting, especially in terms of the trainee engaging with English, maths and SEND and the wider role of the teacher (pastoral role, marking, internal verification, enrichment activities etc.)
Outline the role of the Personal Tutor and the Placement Quality Officers as supportive roles for the Mentor and request that if the setting receives notification of an imminent Ofsted, that they contact you (Personal Tutor) as soon as possible so that we can support them and the trainee through the process.
Outline the Mentor role in terms of the trainee’s subject development – they are the subject experts in terms of level and accuracy of content of the trainee’s lessons and may have useful advice about support groups/organisations that might assist the trainee.

8. Let's look at the standards
foundation.co.uk/supporting/progr ammes/professional-standards/
How can you help your trainee to meet them?
Linking theory to practice – checking planning and rationales
The Professional Standards for Further Education and Training (2014) are the basis of the grading decisions that we make about our trainees’ progress and we have written the indicative content statements to help Mentors and trainees identify how the overarching Standards might be demonstrated.
It is important to point out that despite the grid on the final page of the Observation Feedback form, this is not a ‘Tick List’ and that trainees may demonstrate the Standards in ways that we have not identified – we are happy for Mentors to use their best judgement about how the trainee has demonstrated any Standard and to indicate to what quality they have demonstrated it by using the grid on the Observation Feedback form.
It is also important to note that trainees are just that and they should never be judged or graded by anything other than the Professional Standards Grading Criteria
The Highlighted Standards are those that we consider to be key in terms of every day performance in the classroom and so must be discussed and demonstrated in every observed lesson. They are also the Professional Standards that we consider mirror most closely the Teaching Standards for Schools and are therefore valuable for our trainees to focus on in terms of employability.

9. Let's look at a lesson What feedback would you give to this trainee?
What targets would you set for this trainee?
Joint observation process
Please use the Observation feedback forms to support this exercise – it can be useful if both the Personal Tutor and the Mentor use the form to make notes and suggest targets and then to discuss their findings at the end of the video(s).
Please try to make a booking for the first joint observation before you conclude the training session and remind the Mentor that the 2 joint observations count towards their target of 3 observations in total. Please also identify to the Mentor that verbal feedback should be given to the trainee as soon as possible following the observation and in any event within 24 hours, with written feedback provided no longer than a week after the observation.

10. Let's look at benefits for you
CPD
Pre-Programme events
Partnership Lead Trainers
Another member of your department with up to date teaching methods to benefit your learners
Edge Hill University is keen to support Mentors in their own Professional and Personal Development
The university provides a wealth of courses for further study and these can be found on the Professional Education part of the university website.
Further Education and Training provide opportunities for less formal CPD through the Expert Practitioner Series of lectures and Mentor Conferences, which are free to Mentors
We are always eager to hear from Mentors who might wish to engage with us under more formal circumstances, for example as part of our Interview panels, participating in our Pre-Programme Events to inform prospective trainees about the Sector, participating in Boards at the university as representatives. We ask that Personal Tutors pass on the contact details of any Mentors who express and interest in these activities to the Assistant Head of Area.

11. DBS
Any trainee enrolled on an ITT programme has satisfied our robust and rigorous DBS clearance processes and has been found to be suitable to undertake a course of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) leading to the recommendation of the award of Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) Early Years Teacher Status (EYTS), and in Further Education and Training, Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS).
The ITT Criteria also sets out that “where the accredited ITT provider [Edge Hill University] has obtained a DBS check, the trainee should not be subjected to any further DBS checks, such as by a partner school/setting…Persons guilty of breaching the DBS Code of Practice are liable to deregistration, a fine and imprisonment.”
Please highlight to the Mentor that trainees are explicitly told that the only evidence they must provide to a setting is the letter from Edge Hill University that confirms that the trainee has a valid DBS certificate and that this guidance fully complies with the guidance provided by DBS Code of Practice.

12. safeguarding
The Faculty of Education safeguarding policy is intended to guide the actions of students/ trainees who may have concern for the safeguarding and welfare of children during the professional practice elements of their programme. Trainee teachers in your setting will follow the safeguarding procedures that your setting has and will report any concerns to you as appropriate. Members of staff from our partnership need to be aware that any safeguarding concerns reported to your setting will also be reported to the designated senior manager with safeguarding responsibilities in Faculty of Education at Edge Hill University and you will be contacted by this member of staff with regards to the concern raised. This is to ensure children are protected and students/ trainees are well supported throughout any process of enquiry.
Please highlight to the Mentor that all trainees have had an introduction to Safeguarding, but that they should also be fully briefed on the settings’ policy, procedures and relevant contact names.