In-setting Mentoring

The 2024/25 academic year brought significant changes to mentoring within Initial Teacher Training (ITT). The Department for Education (DfE) implemented new requirements designed to enhance the quality of support offered to student teachers. These changes aim to support both the student teacher and mentor, ultimately leading to improved outcomes for teachers and pupils.

• ITT providers are responsible for ensuring their mentor training programmes meet DfE standards and align with their overall ITT curriculum

• All ITT mentors will need to engage in mentor training and professional development

• Following their initial training, mentors who return to BPN will need to engage in annual training (6 hours)

To ensure mentors are equipped with the necessary skills to succeed, we have developed a bespoke mentor essential training package.Most of the mentor training can be accessed through our online training platform, Mosaic. We also host online induction events and sharing best practice meetings throughout the year.

Each mentor will be allocated to a Lead Mentor (LM) group. LMs will be able to monitor engagement in training using Mosaic Monitoring and contact their mentors where there are gaps in training. LMs will engage with mentors via a weekly newsletter which will include updates on training/events. 

From autumn 2024 all ITT mentors will be required to engage in Best Practice Network ITT training and development. Where we have returning mentors, the expectation is that these mentors will engage in 6 hours of training. We understand that mentors may have previously trained with different providers, these mentors who are new to BPN will need to engage with our essential mentor training.  

If mentors have mentored for BPN previously and have completed the mentor module they must complete the 1-hour online refresher module. Where a mentor engages with all the Best Practice Network essential training, their setting will be eligible to claim for the full 16 hours of DfE mentor grant funding. 

All mentors must complete the mentor induction session at the at the start of the programme, they will also be expected to attend an induction event. 

Contrasting placement mentors have the opportunity to engage with the full range of training, as a minimum they must complete the induction training. 

All mentors have the opportunity to also engage in enhancement training. This includes the Mentor Development Review, discussion forums and enhancement webinars.

To ensure successful completion of the mentor training programme, there are a few commitments expected from mentor's school:

• Support your ITT mentors in accessing their required training

• Consider incorporating this training into your staff development plans and performance management processes. 

• Factor the training costs into your school budget

• If you're a small school facing staffing challenges, please contact us at teach@bestpracticenet.co.uk for assistance

• Formal recognition and support for your ITT mentors

• Enhanced prestige of ITT mentoring within your school

• Clear training pathway for teachers interested in becoming mentors

• Improved mentoring quality, leading to better outcomes for student teachers and pupils

• This training can help you develop and retain teachers within your own school

The comprehensive mentor training equips mentors with the necessary knowledge and skills to guide student teachers successfully. This programme incorporates a variety of learning formats to cater to individual preferences and maximise knowledge retention.

The key components that make up the mentor training programme:

• Asynchronous learning modules: Accessible at the mentor's own convenience

• A comprehensive mentor toolkit which includes short specific training videos

• Introductions to the ITaP program and modules

• Three synchronous "Sharing Best Practice" meetings

Ensuring your mentors can effectively participate in training without disrupting daily operations is crucial. The funding allocated for ITT mentor training offers flexibility to address these logistical concerns. Here's how schools can utilise the funding to support their mentors during the training period:

• Covering lessons while a teacher (mentor) is in training

• Hiring a substitute teacher if a mentor takes time off for training

• Overtime payments for mentors who train outside of regular working hours (with careful consideration of workload)

• Costs associated with reducing other responsibilities of mentors to allow them time for training

The grant funding guidance applies to funding across the 2025 to 2026 academic year only (between 1 September 2025 and 31 August 2026, although teacher apprenticeships may start earlier from 1 June 2025). Providers and schools can incur costs ahead of the start of the academic year, as long it is not incurred before the start of the 2025 to 2026 financial year (6 April 2025).

Funding beyond the 2025 to 2026 academic year will be confirmed in due course.

How much funding is available to schools

The amount of funding schools will receive depends on:

• the location of the school (recognising the different costs in different areas of the country)
• how many hours a mentor has spent training (which can be up to a maximum of 16 hours for initial training and 6 hours for refresher training, per accredited provider)

The funding is calculated per hour. For example, if a mentor in a school outside London completed 8 hours initial of training, the school can claim £350.40. This is calculated at £43.80 (per hour) x 8 (hours of training). The table below sets out how much a school can claim per hour.

Funding available	Funding period	Recipient of funding	How it is paid
£43.80 per hour — for schools outside London (the rest of England)	Academic year 2025/26	Schools who host ITT student teachers	Payments will be made in arrears based on the number of hours of training Schools will be able to claim this funding at the end of the 2025/26 academic year.
U£45.10 per hour — for schools in the fringe region (the area between Outer London and the rest of England)
£48.25 per hour — for schools in Outer London
£53.60 per hour — for schools in Inner London

How placement schools can claim funding

Invitation to join the service in February 2026
Invitation emails will be sent to placement schools to join the GOV.UK ‘Claim funding for mentor training’ service from May 2026 via the below process, unless they are already onboarded to the service. If your school is not yet onboarded to the service and you do not receive an invitation by June 2026, please contact your accredited ITT provider to check that they have provided your school information to the Register trainee teachers service.

Register trainee teachers (Register) service
Every January, accredited ITT providers must ensure that the Register service is updated with their trainees’ school placement details. By doing this, accredited ITT providers are verifying that their placement schools are eligible to claim funding and ensuring their placement schools are granted the necessary permissions to submit a claim. Accredited ITT providers can continue to update their trainee records with placement schools after January. This placement school data is then shared with the ‘Claim funding for mentor training’ service from February. For schools that are not already onboarded to the service, invites will be sent to users who are listed as an approver for their organisation on DfE sign-in.

Accredited ITT providers will need to upload placement school data for lead partners who have trainees starting ITT from September 2025 onwards. Lead partners can view placement details for their trainees who start ITT in September
2025 onwards. For any trainees who started ITT before September 2025, where the lead partner was previously an accredited ITT provider, the lead partner will be able to add/edit the placement details themselves in Register. Get information about schools service
If your school is not on the Get information about schools (GIAS) service then onboarding the school is challenging. Therefore, we recommend all schools review their GIAS
record. 

DfE Sign-in
To access the Claim service, each user must have a DfE Sign-in account. It is critical that school users create an account prior to trying to access Claim. In addition, when a new DfE Sign-in account is created, it needs to be authorised by an approver at the school. If you are using a computer used by multiple colleagues, please check that someone isn’t already signed in before accessing Claim funding for mentor training.

Add a user
Once signed in, a user can add other users to the service, for instance colleagues within a school or colleagues within a central function as part of an academy trust.

Submit a claim
Once a user has received an invitation to join the service and has accessed Claim through their DfE Sign-in account, they can submit a claim for their ITT mentor’s training. The claim can only be submitted once the mentor’s training has been completed.
We strongly recommend that claims are submitted after the mentor’s hours have been confirmed by the accredited ITT provider.

Required information to submit a claim
To submit a claim, a user must know:
• the mentor’s teacher reference number (TRN). If your mentor has forgotten their
TRN, they can request the information from the Find a lost teacher reference
service. If your mentor has never had a TRN, please refer them to this guidance to
request one.
• the mentor’s date of birth
• the accredited ITT provider responsible for delivering the mentor’s training
• the total hours of training undertaken by the mentor

Submit a claim on behalf of multiple schools
If you work for an organisation which is part of a collection of schools, for example a
multi-academy trust (MAT) and would like to submit claims on behalf of multiple schools you can be added to multiple organisations within the service. If you know a colleague who has been added to the service, please ask them to add you. If you experience difficulties adding users, please contact ittmentor.funding@education.gov.uk with a list of schools you would like to be added to and details of your role.

Claim windows
There will be two opportunities for placement schools to claim. The first claim window will open in Spring 2026 and close in mid-July 2026. These claims
will be paid by the DfE in September and October 2026. The second claim window will open and close in September 2026 and will be available for schools who missed the first deadline. These claims will be paid by DfE from December 2026.

After a claim is submitted
After a claim is submitted a confirmation email will be sent to the person who completed the claim. In addition, during the claim window, exports of claims will be sent to accredited ITT providers for their reference, if requested. Providers do not need to take any action with these claims but can review them if they wish.

How schools can claim funding if they didn’t receive an ITT trainee
Where a school trained a mentor in anticipation of receiving a trainee, after communication with an accredited ITT provider, but the trainee withdrew, the school can still claim funding. If the school received at least one other trainee, then their details will
be uploaded to Register and they will be onboarded onto the Claim service, along with all other schools. If they are not on Register, as they did not take any trainees, then their accredited provider will need to email ittmentor.funding@education.gov.uk to confirm that they need to be added to the service.

• Engage in assigned training

• Primary - complete two formal lesson observations each half-term using the BPN proforma. Informal observations should take place in other weeks. For secondary, complete weekly formal lesson observations

• Prepare for and deliver an hourly mentor meeting each week using the weekly session guide

• Set and review targets with their student teacher on a weekly basis

• Ensure student teachers have a timetable that provides a breadth of experience of subject knowledge and age groups

• Ensure student teachers have a balance between teaching, observation and PPA time as per the guidance in the relevant Placement Quick Guide

• Discuss centre-based training and how this could be embedded into school-based training

• Discuss pupil progress and learning over time and use student teachers' learning sequences and learning profiles (Reflective Account) to evidence impact

• Be the first point of contact for any issue or concerns raised by the student teacher in school

• Report to the Personal Tutor in the first instance with any pastoral, attendance or progress concerns regarding the student teacher

• Refer to the BPN’s Additional Support Procedures, where necessary

• Secure appropriate professional development opportunities for student teachers within school

• Provide opportunities for student teachers to further develop their centre-based learning within the school

• Ensure practice in the setting complies with the latest Equality legislation

• Ensure accurate judgements are being made against the BPN ITT competencies

• ​Complete the Interim Report and Summative Reports in line with agreed timelines

• Complete formal assessments

• Engage with the QTS (and End Point Assessment Process, where appropriate)

The early years are a critical period in a child's development. Early Years Initial Teacher Training (EYITT) mentors play a vital role in shaping the skills and knowledge of future practitioners, ultimately influencing the well-being and learning of young children.

Below we have outlined the key expectations for EYITT mentors, ensuring they can effectively support their student teachers throughout the programme.

• Engage in essential training (see Mosaic)

• Weekly 30 minute mentor observations using the BPN format, with opportunity to feedback

• To comment on the monthly reflections ​

• Set and review targets with their student teacher​

• Ensure student teachers have a timetable that provides a breadth of experience of subject knowledge and age groups

• Ensure student teachers have a balance between teaching, observation and 10% study time

• Discuss training and how this could be embedded into setting practice

• Discuss children's progress and learning over time and use student teachers' learning sequences, PLC's and the Reflective Account to evidence impact

• Be the first point of contact for any issue or concerns raised by the student teacher in setting or on placement

• Report to the Personal Tutor in the first instance with any pastoral, attendance or progress concerns regarding the student teacher

• Refer to the BPN’s Additional Support Procedures, where necessary

• Secure appropriate professional development opportunities for student teachers within setting

• Provide opportunities for student teachers to further develop their centre-based learning within the setting

• Ensure practice in the setting complies with the latest Equality legislation

• Ensure accurate judgements are being made against the EY milestones

• Attend the Professional Learning Conversation meetings to discuss progress and set new targets

• Engage with the final recommendation process and transition plan

Mentoring aspiring early years teachers requires a unique set of skills and knowledge. All EYITT mentors will be assigned a Lead Mentor to help support them in their role. 

This section lists the various training components that will prepare mentors for this crucial role.

• Induction Training:

  • Induction Conference

  • Online Induction Module and key information/videos on Mosaic

• Online mentor module

• 3 x online mentor training events

• Attendance at Keeping in Touch Meetings