Applications Open for the Teacher Mentoring Programme

Cognition Learning Group is pleased to announce that applications are now open for the Teacher Mentoring Programme (TMP), funded by the Department for Education (DfE). This programme provides high-quality professional development for mentors supporting early career teachers (ECTs) in Further Education (FE).

Since April 2023 the programme has successfully reached 614 mentors, who have, in turn, supported 1,826 ECTs (those in their first 3 years of FE teaching). With a focus on improving mentoring practices and fostering a strong mentoring culture within the FE spaces, the programme has helped increase staff retention, enhance career motivation and boost confidence among both mentors and mentees.

Programme Impact and Success

Mentors participating in the programme receive professional development tailored to both ‘new’ and ‘advanced’ mentoring levels. These courses cover topics aimed at improving mentoring practices, knowledge and confidence, and equip mentors with strategies required to be able to successfully mentor a wide range of mentees in their organisations.

The results speak for themselves:

• 91% of mentors in the most recent cohort rated their learning experience positively,  highlighting the interactivity of the sessions and valuable networking opportunities with fellow professionals from other FE organisations.
• Across all 4 cohorts, mentors delivered over 15,000 hours of mentoring practice to their ECT mentees.  This has led to an increase in mentees reporting that they are more likely to remain in the FE sector.
• 81% of mentees in the latest cohort agreed or strongly agreed that their confidence has increased since being mentored by a TMP-trained mentor.

One mentee supported by a TMP trained mentor said:

“having a mentor is like having a comfort blanket of support. Without the mentoring programme I would not have developed my skills enough to be the teacher I am today. Having someone who is there to support you when there are misconceptions or gaps in teaching practices gave me the confidence to push myself further”.

Upcoming cohorts and Grant funding

Following this success, the programme will be running for the 2025-2026 academic year:

• Cohort 5 – week commencing 5^th May through to 18^th July 2025.
• Cohort 6 – week commencing 3^rd November through to 13^th February 2026.

Successful applicants will undertake a blended learning course (27.5 hours of guided learning with mentoring experts), followed by a minimum of 18 hours of mentoring practice with their ECT mentees. Grants of up to £4,000 per mentor are available to support remission costs, with up to £20,000 available per organisation (for five mentors).

Matt Spackman, TMP Programme Manager at Cognition Education had the following to say:

“I am delighted that the Teacher Mentoring Programme will be continuing for the next academic year. The TMP team are looking forward to working with returning and new FE organisations to help train mentors to provide effective support to FE early career teachers. We have seen through previous delivery how the programme is supporting the FE sector to increase staff retention, emotional wellbeing, career motivation and has helped mentors and mentees report increased knowledge, skills and confidence.”

Contact details

For more information about the programme and to get involved yourself, head to our website.

Contact the TMP Team directly for any enquiries at tmpenquiries@cognitioneducation.com