Support on Placement

Trainees are supported by a range of experienced staff throughout their placement with Headteachers, Placement Coordinators, Class-Based Mentors and Link Tutors providing the core support.

The Headteacher and / or Placement Coordinator's Role

The Headteacher or Placement Coordinator is accountable for recommending experienced staff for the mentoring role and ensuring that the school is able to provide appropriate training experiences for the duration of the school placement.

The Headteacher or Placement Coordinator will:

Organise induction, ensuring each trainee has access to information about key policies and professional expectations.
Engage in a joint observation of the trainee’s teaching with the mentor. This forms part of the mentor’s professional development and contributes to the moderation process. It enables the trainee to gain another perspective on their progress.
Provide the mentor with informal support in their mentoring role, and ensure they are able to attend training organised by WPSC to develop their practice.

The Class-Based Mentor’s Role

The mentor is a practising teacher and is class-based throughout the trainee’s school placement. They are trained to offer mentoring and coaching support within the framework of The Mentor Standards (DfE, 2016).

Mentors are responsible for:

Introducing the trainee to the school, identifying their needs and devising an appropriate programme of support with the support of the Link Tutor and Senior Leadership Team.
Training the trainee to acquire the skills and competencies required to meet the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2012).

In order to do this, the mentor will:

Orient the trainee on arrival and ensure they are fully integrated into the life of the school.
Deconstruct lessons, discuss approaches and help them understand the underpinning theory of their approaches.
Share contextual and assessment information about pupils.
Scaffold the trainee’s emerging skills by modelling, co-planning, co-teaching, and jointly assessing pupils’ work.
Base judgements about a trainee’s capacity to take on more responsibility according to their prior performance and readiness. In the same way as teachers identify the ‘Zone of Proximal Development’ (Vygotsky, 1978) for their pupils, providing an ‘appropriate level of challenge’ for trainees is key to their success and wellbeing.
Make formal observations of the trainee, providing verbal and written advice which promotes development linked to the seven core areas of the SCITT curriculum.
Lead effective, weekly mentor meetings of approximately 1 hour, and support the review and setting of SMART short term targets.
Support trainees make an appropriate self-assessment at the end of each Phase and provide a summary statement which accurately reflects the trainee’s performance.

Mentors work with the support of the Link Tutor to:

Agree appropriate targets which will support trainee development.
Agree assessment judgements at the end of each phase.
Contribute to the trainee’s Training Profile at the end of each phase.
Establish a Targeted Development Plan for the trainee where additional input is required to ensure the trainee can meet the Teachers’ Standards.

The Link Tutor’s Role

Link Tutors are appointed by the WPSC Management Board and report directly to the Course Director. They are experienced teacher trainers and advise and assist mentors in their training.

Link Tutors will:

Have at least two contact points per term.
Discuss progress with trainees and mentors.
Identify training needs and support mentors in their role, e.g. in modelling the writing of SMART targets.
Ask trainees to discuss the extent to which they are supporting children’s progress by debriefing on a selected teaching session.
Act as the first tier of WPSC quality assurance; ensuring the placement is offering opportunities which enable trainees to meet the Teachers’ Standards.
Overview Support Plans established for trainees requiring additional input in order to meet the Teachers’ Standards.
Report back to the Course Director to support the tracking of trainee progress.
Raise concerns immediately with the Course Director if the trainee is not maintaining the requirements of Part 2 of the Teachers’ Standards: Personal and Professional Conduct.

Link Tutor Contact Points

Contact points are typically arranged directly between the Link Tutor and mentor to ensure that visits ‘fit’ with the school’s timetable and do not clash with any significant school events (of which the trainee may not be aware).
Training Plans the most recent Mentor Meeting Record and Lesson Observation will be looked at ahead of and / or during the contact point. Trainees must ensure the most recent week’s materials are available online and that their Placement Folder is available on site should the Link Tutor wish to view or discuss other work.