Your development
We see mentoring not only as a vital element of supporting our beginning teachers to succeed but also as an important source of professional development for mentors themselves and a hugely valuable resource for our partnership schools.
As a result, we offer a comprehensive programme of training and development for all our school based mentors, which is broken down into 2 main areas:
- Taught content training (Level 1 and 2 mentor training)
- On-placement mentor development/refresher training
Taught Content
We ask all mentors to complete as a minimum our Level 1 face-to-face mentor training. This training is equivalent to 5 hours and is run on campus. We also recognise equivalent training from other local providers (within the South-Coast Providers group) and national providers such as NASBTT. Mentors should not have to repeat training already completed. In addition, we highly encourage our mentors to complete the Level 2 training. This training would be through self-accessed materials put together by the South Coast Partnership group to further develop our mentors and can be completed anytime time during the academic year.
Level 1 on campus training comprises the following content:
- Our UoS programme, curriculum and logistics
- Qualities and skills of a great mentor
- Stages of beginning teacher development and how to support at each stage
- Developing reflective beginning teachers
- Helping beginning teachers to observe others
- Lesson observation and feedback
- Target setting for success
- Managing tricky conversations
Level 2 training, using recorded modules devised with the South Coast Partnership:
- Inclusive Mentoring practice and Beginning teacher Wellbeing
- Co- planning and articulating curriculum
- Mentoring and Instructional Coaching techniques
- Flexible and Adaptive mentoring
- How to move beginning teachers on
- Understanding the ITTECF
On-placement Development (Refresher Training)
In addition to our taught training all mentors who are mentoring for our programme will also receive 6 hours of on-placement development which serves as refresher training for our experienced mentors. This will take the form of:
- A placement briefing at the beginning of the placement
- An initial meeting with the tutor on Teams in week 1 of placement
- Time to access and engage with the mentor development activities -3 per placement
- In-school visits by university tutors including a co-observation, co-feedback and a developmental conversation
For the academic year 2025-26 the DfE has announced that funding for up to 16 hours per mentor is available to schools. In terms of our training this breaks down as follows:
- Level 1 training = 5 hours
- Level 2 training = 5 hours
- On-placement training for placement 1or 2 mentor: 6 hours
Claiming DfE Funding for Mentor Training
Further information on how to claim this funding will be sent to our Partnership schools via our partnership office.
In order to facilitate claiming for this funding, it is important that mentors maintain an up to date log of their training hours. This will be introduced to mentors at the training and briefing sessions.
Link to access the Mentor Log is here:
The on campus Level 1 training for Placement 1 will be held on:
Tuesday 4th November 2025 from 10.00am.
Highfield Campus, Building 34, Room 2003.
This will be followed by the placement briefing at 4.00 (all mentors) and a chance for mentors to meet with beginning teachers.
The on campus Level 1 training for Placement 2 will be held on :
Wednesday 11th March from 10.00am.
Venue tbc.
This will be followed by the placement briefing at 4.00 (all mentors) and a chance for mentors to meet with beginning teacher.
Recorded Training Options
If you have completed the minimum requirement of Level 1 mentor training but wish to enhance your mentoring knowledge independently, you can access 12 recorded level 2 units of mentor training materials.
South Coast Providers
Working together as a group, the below institutions have co-designed a mentor-training curriculum which will be recognised by each of the providers in the group. Therefore completion of training with us will be transferable to the below institutions:
South Coast Providers group: University of Southampton, University of Portsmouth, University of Winchester, University of Chichester, University of Brighton, University of Sussex, Portsmouth SCITT, Wildern Partnership, Fareham and Gosport SCITT, Canterbury Christ Church University, South Farnham SCITT.