Teacher Mentoring Programme in the Further Education Sector

The DfE has previously published its commitments to Further Education (FE) providers (which includes charitable FE providers and 6th Form College Corporations) in the Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth White Paper. The paper identifies a need to ensure all FE providers are well managed, governed and have the best quality teachers and lecturers. In doing so, we will ensure that post-16 further education students have access to world-class technical and vocational education, providing the skills both individuals and employers need for the future economy. The White Paper can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-for-jobs-lifelong-learning-for-opportunity-and-growth.

The DfE intends on securing a supplier to design and deliver a professional development and training offer for mentors and participants within the FE, the key outcomes the DfE aim to achieve are: to offer additional support and training to FE practitioners that act as mentors for new and inexperienced teachers in the sector; to provide mentors with the skills to assist the wellbeing and mental health of newly appointed FE teachers, to support smooth transition between industries and help form positive teacher-retention practices; offer mentees access to a skilled mentor that can aid their professional and personal development to become excellent teachers.

Additional information: Interested organisations should register on the DfE's e-procurement tool, Jaggaer. Please register for an account at https://education.app.jaggaer.com/, view the "current opportunities" page and search for: Project_7323 and SSQ_310.

All communications and documentation relating to this potential opportunity will be managed through that Jaggaer project. Interested organisation should note that all communications for a subsequent opportunity will be managed through the same Jaggaer project.

If the DfE chooses to conduct a competitive process, it is currently intended to publish the Opportunity Notice during week commencing 17 October.

The DfE intends to hold a market engagement webinar event at 13:00 on Thursday 20 October. If your organisation would be interested in attending the webinar, your organisation can express early interest via the Jaggaer message board in Project_7323 and SSQ_310.