In 2019, in response to concerns in England regarding teacher recruitment and retention, the Education Secretary announced a two-year centrally funded Early Career Framework (ECF), designed to provide support for recently qualified teachers in the critical first years of teaching (DfE, 2019). As part of the ECF, schools can choose from six training providers known as ‘lead providers’ to access funded training for both mentors and early career teachers (ECTs).
Such a focus on mentoring and mentor training is to be welcomed, especially as research underlines the lack of formalised mentoring programmes in schools, which results in inconsistent mentoring opportunities and support for new teachers (Murtagh & Dawes, 2020; Lofthouse, 2018).
