The DfE considers putting mentors 'in the classroom' with teacher trainees

The government is considering giving mentors a more hands-on role in initial teacher training by placing them directly in classrooms with trainees. The Department for Education is currently developing an "early-career framework" that will support new and trainee teachers, following its decision to lengthen the induction period new recruits go through. But ITT experts said mentors would not be able to take such a prominent role unless timetables and resources enable them to do so. Gareth Conyard, the deputy director of the DfE's teacher workforce development team, said mentoring will be "central" to the government's new early career framework. The department is currently considering whether "having a mentor sit in with" trainees in class would be more beneficial than theory-based training, he told delegates at a Westminster Education Forum event. He said having mentors "sit in" and observe trainees while they manage a class had been suggested as "more effective practice" than simply