“Trainees are immensely well supported by knowledgeable and inspirational tutors and by highly skilled, committed mentors.”
Ofsted report 2024
At Edge Hill University, we believe professional practice mentors at schools and settings play a crucial role in developing the trainees’ knowledge, understanding and skills in teaching, as well as preparing them for their future careers in a variety of educational settings.
Within the minimum entitlement of the ITT ECF, trainees at all phases are entitled to receiving clear, consistent and effective mentoring and regular structured feedback from their mentor.
Mentor Curriculum 2026-27
As trainees spend a significant amount of their time in a school environment, the knowledge and expertise of the staff that support them while there, is clearly a critical factor in trainee development. Our mentor curriculum is therefore designed to prepare mentors for their role and responsibilities.
Our mentor curriculum is underpinned by evidenced-based approaches, including the principles of instructional coaching (Kraft et al., 2018), research-informed principles in dialogic processes of teacher improvement (Knight, 2007), the importance of mentors making accurate judgements about trainees’ performance, providing frequent and appropriate opportunities to rehearse effective teaching habits (Sims et al., 2021) and instructional coaching (Sherrington & Caviliogli, 2021).
Working with definitions of the mentor from the National Standards for School-based ITT mentors and the CCF and ITT Requirements for 2024 our curriculum will develop knowledge, understanding and skills in:
1. The specific knowledge, personal attributes and skills needed in mentoring ITTs
2. The techniques of observation, deconstruction and feedback from a range of mentoring and coaching approaches
3. The intent and key design principles of the EHU trainee curriculum
4. The core evidence base of the CCF, School-based ITT mentor Standards, and the EHU curriculum
5. Subject/phase specific mentoring
Mentor Development Outline
All mentors will be sent an email outlining their mentor training requirements for 2026-27. Although there is no longer a minimum training time requirement, expectations regarding the quality, content, and coverage of mentor training remain unchanged.
Our training has been created in line with DfE requirements to provide bespoke mentor development paths based on mentors previous training from 2025-26 or if they are new to mentoring in 2026-27.
Below is an outline of each mentor training path:
Training outline for mentors new to mentoring in 2026-27
Did not complete EHU mentor training in 25-26 or mentor with another ITT provider in 25-26
Completion of an Initial Mentor Audit
A key requirement of the Partnership Agreement for the 2026–27 academic year and an essential step in preparing to host an Edge Hill University trainee.
Engagement with online Professional Practice Briefing
This online training will be delivered by the subject or mentoring team and will detail the professional practice expectations for yourself and your trainee.
Completion of New to Mentoring or Refresher online module
The below criteria determines which of the two training modules a mentor should complete. These modules will be available via our Abyasa Mentor Portal*.
Mentors who did not complete mentor training with Edge Hill University or any other ITT provider in 2025–26
Complete New to Mentoring at EHU online training
Mentors who are new to Edge Hill University but have completed mentor training with another ITT provider in 2025–26
Complete EHU Refresher online training
Additionally, mentors may choose to complete further professional development units via our Abyasa platform*.
Quality Assurance and paperwork steps to be completed throughout professional practice
- QA1 to 4 checkpoints on Abyasa – to be completed in collaboration with the mentors Link Tutor
- Weekly paperwork completion on Abyasa
Training outline for experienced mentors in 26-27
Completed EHU mentor training in 25-26 or mentored with another ITT provider in 25-26
Completion of EHU Refresher online module
This module will be available via our Abyasa Mentor Portal*.
Additionally, mentors may choose to complete further professional development units via our Abyasa platform*.
Watch Professional Practice Briefing recording
A recording/slides will be available on Abyasa under the Mentor Resources tab. This will detail the professional practice expectations for yourself and your trainee.
Quality Assurance and paperwork steps to be completed throughout professional practice
- QA1 to 4 checkpoints on Abyasa – to be completed in collaboration with the mentors Link Tutor
- Weekly paperwork completion on Abyasa
*Abyasa Portal
You will receive a link to create your Abyasa account from [email protected] within the two weeks leading up to your trainee’s start date.
If you already have an account, please log in using your existing credentials.
Through Abyasa, you will be able to access your trainee’s online portfolio and complete the mentor training outlined above:
– New to Mentoring or Refresher module
– View a recording of phase/subject training (for 2026-27 mentors who mentored at EHU in 2025-26 only).
– Complete optional mentor development units
Please visit our FAQ page – designed to support Mentors with Abyasa.
Supportive Strategies
We have several additional packages available to help mentors support students with specific needs.