How to make the most of your mentor: 5 tips for ECTs

Every Early Career Teacher (ECT) is legally entitled to an induction mentor to support you through your first two years of teaching. 

Here are five tips that will help you get the most out of your mentor – and they’ll help you make a good impression, too. 

1. Keep meeting records 

As an ECT, you’re entitled to regular meetings with your mentor. After each one, write up some notes on what you discussed – even a brief set of bullet points will help you start off your next meeting more smoothly and get more from it. 

Similarly, keeping each meeting record across an academic year (or both your ECT years) provides you with a great resource: written evidence of everything you’ve covered with your mentor. 

2. Know the expected standard 

The Teachers’ Standards is a key piece of guidance for your teaching career, as an ECT and beyond. The standards set out what is required of you and this piece of guidance is what you’ll be assessed against at the end of your ECT induction. 

Keeping two copies of the Teachers' Standards with you during your mentor meetings not only ensures that you are always working with the standards in mind but also supports your discussions and saves you and your mentor from having to search for them every time you meet, so you have more time to focus on your development. 

3. Take time to reflect 

You should review your own progress on a regular basis, such as every four weeks. 

Look at the Teachers’ Standards and consider which areas you feel you are doing well in and which you still need to work on – you can then share this with your mentor, using them as the basis of discussions or joint reflections. 

This gives you a focus for your mentor meetings and ensures you are focusing on the areas you need most support in. 

4. Plan ahead 

When you know your mentor is going to be observing you, let them know ahead of the session what you’d like them to focus on and why – you could even break this down into specific, targeted questions. 

This helps you get more from observations as your mentor will observe you with these points in mind, ensuring their time is spent focusing on the areas you need to. Having the same focus points also provides a strong basis for you to reflect and discuss afterwards. 

5. Be prepared 

Before every meeting and observation, ensure you have all the necessary information and documents ready for your mentor. You might need to prepare: 

• Teachers’ Standards checklist 

• Lesson plan and copy of the PowerPoint 

• Seating plan 

• Copies of any resources you’ll be using 

Making sure you have all the necessary information ahead of time means you avoid wasting time during sessions, maximising the time you have to focus on getting feedback and support. 

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Tes Magazine: Teaching & Learning 

Originally published September 2019, updated August 2026