How good mentors hold the secret to teacher retention

One of the most persistent issues in education is how to improve teacher recruitment and retention. The often-quoted DfE statistic is that almost a third of new teachers leave the profession within the first five years.

The new Early Career Framework was introduced specifically to tackle this. If new teachers are leaving because they feel overwhelmed and under-supported, then the support we offer them needs to be improved. We need to help them develop the good habits that will sustain them throughout their careers and will enable them to become the teachers their pupils deserve. 

This is where mentors come in. What mentors do is very important and as a profession, we’re learning more and more about what new teachers can gain from working with them.

But a mentoring programme is only as good as the support the mentors receive. Mentors, just like ECTs, need to be nurtured. They need to be taught to pass on their knowledge and skills in a way that encourages – and doesn’t overwhelm – their mentees.

This is where we can help. The NIoT will work with schools in order to provide your mentors with a structured package of training and support. We want both ECTs and their mentors to receive exemplary professional development.

Mentors’ time is precious. So we offer an evidence-led structure for their weekly meetings with ECTs, allowing the mentors themselves to focus on what really matters: exceptional pedagogical support. The more new teachers are encouraged by their mentors to develop good teaching habits, the more embedded effective practices become, increasing ECTs’ confidence and ability.

Indeed, we are so convinced of the vital role played by mentors that we’ve chosen to focus on new and novice teacher mentoring for one of our first research projects and will be publishing new evidence on it shortly.

Investing in your staff means investing in your school. We believe that staff who feel valued are more likely to stay in the profession – and at your school. Our ECF programme not only ensures that new teachers have the skills necessary to sustain a long and satisfying career, but that experienced teachers feel valued and reinvigorated in their roles.

Because – importantly, when it comes to teacher retention – the more proficient your staff are, the more time there is left to relish the joy of teaching, and to pass on that joy to their pupils.