The role of mentors in supporting the development, professional knowledge and classroom practice of new teachers has always been crucial, but was formalised in the government’s Early Career Framework, which itself guaranteed two years of support and development for new teachers.
As such, the Chartered College of Teaching has launched a new route to chartered status for mentors, which it says will “celebrate this essential role and recognise their expertise and accomplishments”.
Chartered Teacher (Mentor) Status builds on the existing chartered status pathways for teachers and leaders, which have seen more than 1,600 individuals achieving or working towards the status.
A statement said that the new mentor pathway would provide “a professional accreditation, awarded to highly accomplished mentors who have achieved an advanced standard of practice in both their teaching and their mentoring”.
Mentors will face four assessment units
- The Certificate in Evidence-Informed Practice
- The Development of Teaching Practice Award (Mentor)
- The Professional Knowledge Award (Mentor)
- The Certificate in Education Research and Inquiry
Each unit can be taken as a standalone and is individually certified by the Chartered College, with credits towards chartered status. Mentors will be awarded Chartered Teacher (Mentor) Status and the post-nominals CTeach (Mentor) upon completion of all units and successful application.
Dame Alison Peacock, CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching, added: “To become an expert, engaging with research and understanding how to use it in the classroom, teachers need knowledgeable and skilled colleagues who can provide support.
“School-based mentors have an essential part to play in the development and retention of high-quality teachers. This new path to our sought-after chartered status, developed with mentors themselves, will help to ensure that expert teaching is at the heart of our profession.“