The Impact of Quality Assurance on Mentor Training in Initial Teacher Education - Partnerships: A UK Perspective

Oct 15, 2026

Reforms to initial teacher education in England over the last two decades have formalised university and school partnership agreements and increased emphasis on quality assurance. The study explains how routine, formal evaluation data are collected for quality assurance, and how Nottingham’s partnership context shapes the role of its school-based mentorship programme. As partnerships matured, positive relationships between university tutors and mentors enabled mentor development within a less formal framework, improving course quality.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages24

Reading Time1 h 0 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Partnership formalisation and quality assurance emphasis

Policy changes affecting mentor roles

Standards, inspections, and evaluation requirements

Mentor training as a key partnership mechanism

Mentor conceptions: trainer vs reflective practitioner

The Impact of Quality Assurance on Mentor Training in Initial Teacher Education Partnerships: A UK Perspective by Bernadette Youens and Mary Bailey, University of Nottingham Abstract Over the last two decades, reforms to initial teacher education in England have formalised the partnership agreements between universities and partner schools, and increased the emphasis on quality assurance of the system. These changes are discussed within the context the University of Nottingham Partnership and in relation to the role ofits school-based mentorship programme in particular. The processes for collecting routine, but formal evaluation data for quality assurance purposes are described. As the partnership has matured, positive relationships between university tutors and mentors have enabled mentors to develop within a less formal framework, and thereby to improve the quality of the course. Introduction The effect of recent changes to teacher education in England has been dramatic in two significant areas: the formalisation of partnerships between university departments of education and schools, and an increased emphasis on quality assurance of initial teacher training (ITT). There has been a move to increasing prescription of what teacher training courses in university departments of education should provide in the Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course, the traditional route into secondary school teaching for graduates. As Young notes in this issue, substantial prescription started with the setting up of the Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (CATE) in the early 1980s. It increased with the requirements to set up partnerships for school-based teacher training (DFE, 1992), and with the establishment of the Teacher Training Agency (TTA), which replaced CATE under the 1994 Education Act. An effect of these changes was that classroom teachers were expected to have a significant role in training student teachers and inducting them into the profession, leading to an increased and widespread emphasis on the role of the school-based mentor in initial teacher education. Among the changes introduced by Circular 9/92 (DFE, 1992), was the requirement that university tutors and mentors assess students against a set of competences, following the government’s skills-based, apprenticeship model of teacher training. The rigorous new schools inspection body, Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), with its emphasis on standards, was allocated responsibility for the inspection of initial teacher training at this time. The competences were replaced by Standards for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in 1998 (DfEE, 1998), which were then substantially revised to form the Professional Standards for QTS in 2002 (DfES, 2002) . A key process in setting up, maintaining and developing teacher education partnerships became the provision of mentor training by university departments, which has, in turn, had a major effect on the work of teacher educators in universities, through the development of training programmes and closer liaison with mentors in schools. Tied to this more school-based training model has been an increasing emphasis on quality assurance of all aspects of initial teacher training, in the context of ‘a quality control era’ in the wider context of work in the United Kingdom (Storey & Hutchinson, 2001) . The most recent Requirements for Initial Teacher Training (ITT), published with the new professional Standards (DfES, 2002), are the most stringent to date. Along with the revised inspection framework for initial teacher training (OfSTED, 2002), they place a significant emphasis on the management and quality assurance of initial teacher training partnerships. The Requirements for Initial Teacher Training (TTA, 2002) set out standards for quality assurance that ‘aim to ensure that the providers ofITT establish the means to achieve and maintain high quality’(TTA, 2002, p. 107) . The guidance then g

FAQs

How have reforms changed initial teacher education partnerships in England?

Over the last two decades, reforms formalised partnership agreements between universities and partner schools and increased emphasis on quality assurance across the system.

What is the role of quality assurance in mentor training and mentorship programmes?

Quality assurance relies on collecting routine, formal evaluation data and using evidence to guide priorities and target-setting. Mentor training provided by universities supports mentors and student teachers through structured training and liaison.

Why is mentor training described as involving a tension in mentoring roles?

Research highlights tension between mentor-as-trainer, aligned with competence-based assessment, and mentor-as-reflective-practitioner/coach, supported by university departments to meet students’ learning needs through reflective practice.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Blue Pony