Back when I was training to be a teacher, I remember when my mentor said to me: “So Ben, what is it you need to do to reach outstanding?”

At the time, I was sure this was some sort of a joke. Outstanding? I just wanted to be “good”. I just wanted to pass.

I am fundamentally lazy (which you’ll know if you’ve ever seen me sort my washing. Spoiler: I don’t) and just wanted to do the bare minimum. It was only my mentor pushing me while I was on the home straight that changed me into the ruthlessly efficient teacher I am today. 

The last few months of a mentee’s journey is where excellence really needs to be forged, but it is also the time when they are happy to knock the car out of gear and coast to the end. 

In some ways you can’t blame them. It is the end of bumpy and emotional ride - the M25 of professional training, you might say. But, as their mentor, you’ve got an opportunity to really change their practice. You need to be the tailgater who pushes them to max speed. Here are some of the ways you can do it:

1. Have the chat you don’t want to have

The conversation that goes along the lines of, “You’re not really giving it everything you’ve got,” is about as fun as sitting in a bath of vinegar, but it truly is the most important one you’ll have as a mentor. Don’t go into it unprepared. If you think the conversation needs to happen then you better have the proof and know how you’re going to get your mentee to improve. Plan what you’re going to say and outline improvement strategies so they don’t feel that they’re being attacked when they’re doing fine.

2. Drill down to the core

When you’ve got a great trainee, it’s all too easy to sit back and let them teach while you disengage at the back of the room, wondering how many roast potatoes you’ll get on this week’s school roast. This is a sign that it’s time to push them to the absolute limit. Looking at their teaching style is key to this. Was that AfL technique as diagnostic as possible? Was that tactical ignoring of a shout-out the best strategy? Really sweating the small stuff is what makes excellent teachers, and picking apart the minutiae of your mentee’s practice beyond the facade of “doing alright” is what will set them up for a successful NQT year.

3. Test their subject knowledge

Primary and secondary teachers alike need to have great subject knowledge. Without this, you’re just a travelling show-person attempting to wow people with your empty words and broken promises. The tail end of the year is a perfect time to get your mentee to work on deepening their understanding of their specialisms. Getting them to observe the phase above and below is also a great way of developing that subject pedagogy that will help them next year. 

4. Give them a personal project

Running a club is absolutely one of the greatest tropes of a training course. It’s seen as a rite of passage up there with the first time you eat cake at 8am in the staff room (you know you’ve done it). The problem is that this is often seen as simply a hurdle to jump over, rather than something to truly engage in. Instead, give them a personal project, like organising an event such as an evening to show-= off student work, entering students into a national competition, or creating a cross-curricular link between subjects or departments. If the trainee is coasting along, then get them to think bigger than their classroom. In a couple of months they’ll be a teacher and will need these skills.

5. Exploit the resources

If your school has a specialist SEND unit, behaviour group or excellent parental engagement programme, point your trainee in that direction. Everything they learn in school will be beneficial and will help them to be more prepared. It’s like sitting on a diamond mine and saying, “l’ll leave it, thanks.” You wouldn’t, so they’d shouldn’t either.

Benjamin Davey is assitant headteacher at the Bridge Learning Campus in Bristol

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