ATL

Leading the way

Being a mentor is a role of great importance and carries a weight of responsibility to safely escort tomorrow's teachers into the classroom. Report speaks to mentors and mentees to find out more about this vital relationship. Words by Alex Tomlin

"This is the hardest thing you'll ever do. You're going to come back a changed person. And not all of you are going to make it."

This may sound like an army general sending soldiers off to battle, but is in fact a typical speech delivered to groups of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) before they embark upon their induction year. Listening to members of ATL Future, the group representing student and newly qualified members of ATL, they are understandably a little nervous receiving this type of pep talk.

"There will be casualties," states ATL member and deputy headteacher Liz Coston, continuing the war theme, "because some people go into it thinking it's a job with nice holidays. The reality of teaching is very different to what people think. However, some people don't make it because they are not supported to make it."

This is where the mentor (or induction tutor, depending on the school) comes in to play a key role in the NQT's life in this potentially make-or-break year. "It's a big responsibility," says ATL member and maths teacher mentor Fiona Barclay. "At the end of the day you tick the box to say they have or haven't completed the year satisfactorily."

It is also a big step up from student to NQT, says Liz, who also writes for student and NQ members in ATL's New2Teaching magazine. "When you're a student teacher the class isn't your responsibility - you know in six weeks you'll be gone. When you become a fully fledged teacher you're in charge and they're yours and that's quite frightening for some."

ATL Future member Ashley Dickey was told that she was very lucky to have her mentor. "At first I was very much intimidated by my mentor; she was considered a legend in the field. It was hard living up to the expectations. However, as time progressed, she was a wealth of knowledge I was able to use. I think it might have been hard for her to relate to my position as a new teacher."

Jane Heyna, another ATL Future member, recalls a staffroom incident where a mentor was discussing their charge with colleagues while he wasn't there. "They loudly talked about how useless he was and couldn't believe he was trying to be a teacher, that he was even accepted into teacher training," she recalls. "Someone, unthinkingly, told him what they had been saying. His eyes were welling up; he was so shocked. He left that day and never came back. It was very deflating for the rest of us."

While, hopefully, this is an extreme example, fledgling teachers can be vulnerable. Ashley recalls starting out "really excited but eventually I was totally demoralised. My confidence was knocked by being picked apart. But that happens to everybody. I remember calling my mum on several occasions and saying 'I can't do this'."

"We've all been there - thinking we can't do it anymore," says Liz Coston. "With an NQ teacher who's struggling, you have to give them hard messages but without destroying them. If one of our NQTs decided they didn't want to do it anymore in the first few weeks, the whole school would rally around to support them. You have to invest in the NQTs because they are the next generation. Without them we haven't got anybody.

"A good mentor needs to be approachable and available, of a standard of teaching where they can advise, and also set an example by being observed," she continues. "They've got to be quite honest, and able to give feedback well, which doesn't destroy [the NQT]. If all you say is nice things to an NQT they're not going to learn. That's how you work it out.

"It's also the coaching side of it - allowing the NQT to think for themselves, not spoon-feeding the answers; and generally being prepared to think about the situation."

"They've got to be able to trust and respect you, and understand you have experience that can help them," adds Fiona. "You've got to be always available. We have a formal hour-long meeting every other week, but that's not enough - observation feedback can be done outside that meeting."

Time is an issue to consider when becoming a mentor, along with the amount of bureaucracy involved, believes former ATL president and mentor Julia Neal. "It's hard to fit into your schedule - you have to make the time to sit down and talk with them," she explains. "You've got to be very good at ticking boxes and understanding complicated paperwork - you've got to be able to understand the standards, because there's certain things you have to oversee. Try and think of practical ways to help them meet the standards. You've got to be quite creative sometimes."

"You have to set targets," says Liz. "If an NQT has some issues around behaviour management, target that. A good mentor will look at the plus points, strengths, what's good, and then target what the NQT needs to work on."
It's not a one-way process though, as even the most experienced mentors can learn from their protégés. "It's very useful to mentor because they have recently come out of training and been exposed to all the latest research and ideas," says Julia, "and if you're sensible, your department will work with the student you're mentoring to get fresh ideas as well - that's invaluable."

"I see the mentor role as professional development," agrees Liz. "The mentor is being trained and learning. It's a win-win situation being a mentor, I think. You're developing someone's career, which is great, and you're also learning to coach, support, etc. It's very worthwhile."

"I think it's good to put something back into the profession, it's good to encourage new people to come in and to have the opportunity to pass on the experience I've acquired, and some of the enthusiasm that I hope I still have for teaching," Julia adds. "It's an opportunity to encourage thinking beyond just teaching their subject; to other dimensions - delivering a work-related learning agenda, even talking about unions; taking the opportunity to talk about organising and getting involved."

"You're there to help them, but they have to put the effort in as well," Fiona explains. "If the NQT is organised it helps enormously, because if you go into the classroom and you don't have everything you need, the children will take advantage of you."

"You must be prepared to be honest with yourself," says Liz. "I'd rather someone was honest with me and said they were struggling than if they pretended they were fine. I tell NQTs not to be brave. There's no point in soldiering on and then falling apart. We will support them. These days it is very tough, and there are lots of hoops to jump through, but it should be hard, because it's children's education that's at stake.

"I expect NQTs to work hard and be reflective," she states. "I had one NQT who thought she was perfect and had no weaknesses. How can you work with someone who's not going to listen? An NQT has got to be willing to learn and be reflective about their practice. Don't go in and be arrogant, you've got to go in prepared to learn, because you don't know it all. However old you are, you're the novice."

"We were told the mentors knew more than we did, so do what they say and don't question them!" Ashley recalls. "So I never questioned them. We should be allowed to try things, but in terms of their experience, we should listen to what they say.

"Looking back, I don't know how I made it through," she continues. "You do because everyone else is in the same boat. If you have a class that doesn't go well, you go to the staffroom and have a screaming fest with the other new teachers and you realise you're not on your own."

In the end, Ashley's mentor gave her a great deal of praise and told her she thought she would be a good teacher, but she still had "lots to work on".

Fiona witnessed one of the casualties of the process as, despite passing the year, her NQT decided to step away from teaching. "He decided teaching wasn't for him. He was an absolutely brilliant mathematician but found it very hard to get down to the level of the child who doesn't understand or even like maths at all. He found it hard to motivate the less able children. His forte was teaching top sets and sixth form but we all understand we have to teach the full range of children. We did everything we could to give him experience and support.

"I did feel like I'd failed him somehow," Fiona goes on, "but he said he knew I had done all I could to help him. I think that once he's a little older and more experienced he'll come back to teaching."

Does it get any easier after this first year? Liz isn't too sure. "I think the second year of teaching is harder, because you're no longer the newbie. The first year you're allowed to make mistakes; the second year you're like everyone else and you get responsibilities put on you. This is when NQTs need support - I think schools underestimate that."

"I'd like to be a mentor, I think I'd be good at it," says Ashley, apparently not deterred by her own experience. "I'd be a really understanding mentor. If you've had a difficult experience you understand more what the NQs would be looking for: a sympathetic ear. I could tell them my experience and that it didn't turn me off and you need to just plug away."

"Being a mentor can be hard work, but it is a great feeling when they start talking about 'next year' and you know they're going to be okay," says Liz.

Fiona agrees and adds: "Make sure you realise it's a real privilege to be trusted to help someone through their first year."