Welcome and Training 

Thank you for agreeing to be Subject Mentor to our trainee teacher this year.  These are some useful documents and starting points for you to refer to. We will go over these in the Mentor Training, but the more you can look at them prior to the training, the more it will make sense on Friday.  

If at any point on the course you have any questions or concerns, in the first instance please discuss them with your college’s Professional Mentor. If you and the Professional Mentor feel the university needs to be made aware of any teaching, course based or pastoral concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time as the Course Leader and Personal Tutor to the trainee. My email address is jo.elliott@port.ac.uk. 

I wish you a wonderful year with your trainee, and thank you again for agreeing to support them. I look forward to seeing you at training and on the first joint observation in November.

• Induction - students spend the first 3 weeks on placement Monday - Wednesday only and these days should be scheduled in advance of the trainee arrival completing tasks such as safeguarding and other college procedure training, observing a variety of lessons, tour of the college and completing all induction tasks as per their Induction Checklist which is due completed on 9th October 2024. 

• Observation - trainees should observe a variety of teaching, teachers, subjects, levels and qualifications. The timetable should be designed in conjunction with the trainee and mentor and the professional mentor may need to help facilitate wider observation than the department the trainee/mentor are in. 

• Teaching - Trainees must complete a minimum of 150 hours of teaching throughout the course. Extra hours for practice and development should be undertaken, but not to the detriment of observation and lesson planning time. A trainee should be in the classroom for a maximum of 12 hours per week, with teaching hours and observation hours included in this. An outline of suggested teaching and observation hours are provided in the Mentor Overview Guide.

• Mentors should undertake weekly support meetings to discuss trainee Professional Development Review and give advice and guidance for development needs. There is a guide to how to conduct these meetings. You should also undertake observations and paperwork in a timely manner. This will be covered further in mentor training (dates and information to follow) and further  Mentor Training Hub on the Education and Training Foundation Website 

• Trainees should attend placement at the times required, attend meetings and perform other duties including planning and marking in a timely manner. They should  provide paperwork as required, act professionally, follow procedures, reflect on practice, and make progress in their areas for development.