The mentor-mentee relationship is a central one to any training teacher, but particularly in further education. Our teacher education programmes don’t specialise in the same way that the mainstream ones do, and new teachers are often in the classroom within days of starting their courses. Often, the most training FE teachers get in both subject-specific pedagogical knowledge and survival techniques is from their mentor.  

This makes the relationship a particularly important – and sometimes stressful – one. However, it doesn’t need to be this way. 

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Set rules and boundaries 

First off, if they don’t, set a few rules or boundaries with your mentor. This can be really important to ensure that you get regular contact with them, without it feeling like you’re their shadow. 

At the start of the year, getting time together can be a common problem as it is a really busy period. There are students to enrol, induct and begin to teach, as well as processes and tracking to get in place. As courses in FE are dependent on student numbers, courses change as numbers become clearer and your mentor may be teaching something in September they hadn’t expected to in June, so are busy reorganising their year.

Their students are likely to be particularly demanding at this time of year, so, be kind to yourself and to your mentor and make sure some weekly dedicated time is allotted just for you so you can connect and talk.

Don't assume you're being neglected 

Remember that most people in the sector start teacher training as they start teaching (or slightly afterwards). This tends to result in a bit of a "sink or swim" mentality.  While it is not something I like to see as a teacher-educator, it is something worth being aware of. Many mentors like to see their mentees getting stuck in from the get-go, which can leave mentees feeling overwhelmed or abandoned. 

I often hear mentees worried that their mentors are not "giving them everything they want" – a good example would be a copy of the syllabus, which some mentors expect their mentees to learn to search for and download themselves. 

While this sounds like a nightmare mentor who is looking to exclude their mentee, in speaking to them these actions are often well-intentioned. Sometimes these actions are seen as part of a "hidden curriculum" and as part of acclimatisation to FE. It could also be how the mentor themselves trained.

Bring it up at your next meeting, be clear and respectful about how this makes you feel. Perhaps it could be an activity you do together during the meeting? Perhaps you could ask your teacher-education tutor to help? 

Whatever path you choose don’t just assume that it is poorly intentioned and neglectful. In my experience, there are few mentors in this category – remember most mentors get little or no time or financial remuneration for being a mentor, so they tend to volunteer with good intentions rather than ill.

Observe your mentor 

Remember to observe your mentor. I am willing to bet your mentor (whether or not they know it) has a routine, a way of embedding some of their practices to free them to think about other things in the classroom. 

This is well worth watching. When you first start teaching, trying to hold all the different things you need to do in your head can feel really overwhelming. While watching their routine, think about how you may develop your own.

It’s also worth watching (and discussing with them) what they are teaching and how they teach it. Are there some topics that are explained to a class, some that are shown, and some maybe learned from an experience? 

Understanding why they have made these decisions may make you help you make your own, whether or not you agree with your mentor’s decisions. Observing and understanding another teachers’ practice is great learning at any stage of a teaching career, but can be particularly useful at the start. But remember to talk to your mentor about what they are doing, don’t just assume.

Sam Jones is a lecturer at Bedford College, founder of FE Research Meet and was FE Teacher of the Year at the Tes FE Awards 2019