T Level Leadership Mentoring Programme opens for applications

The Education and Training Foundation (@E_T_Foundation) has announced a new Leadership Mentoring Programme, which sits within the leadership element of the T Level Professional Development (TLPD) offer.

The programme will give middle managers the opportunity to develop in their role through a series of facilitated mentoring sessions. The sessions will increase participants’ leadership and management capability and offer specific coaching and mentoring techniques to enhance T Level delivery.

Supported by a specialist Leadership and Management Facilitator, the programme will encompass the following elements:

• virtual meetings
• an online course to be completed in the mentees’ own time
• reflection and additional reading/research time.

The ETF will be accepting up to 25 mentee applications until 5 March 2021 from staff in middle management positions who are, or will be, delivering T Levels. The programme will then broaden in the Autumn, with applicants being supported by sector mentors.

The new programme has been designed to ensure it reflects and complements similar activity delivered through the ETF’s grant funded mentor offer and the TLPD industry mentoring element of Industry Insights. The T Level Leadership Mentoring Programme stands apart in its focus on supporting the mentee with their delivery of T Levels. The ETF has created a mentoring graphic to detail the distinction between the different mentoring support available for practitioners in the Further Education sector.

Dr Catherine Manning, the ETF’s National Head of Practitioner Research and Development, said: “We are delighted to be launching this new programme to support those involved in the roll out of T Levels.

“All mentees involved in the programme will receive mentoring training, based on the latest research, providing them with bespoke support to ensure they are equipped and confident in delivering T Levels. I urge all staff with middle management responsibilities to take advantage of this opportunity and apply now to be one of 25 mentees involved.”

Applications to the Mentoring programme can be made through the T Level Professional Development Platform up until Friday 5 March. Individual mentoring sessions will begin throughout March.

The ETF, the expert body for professional development and standards in Further Education and Training in England, has been supporting the delivery of T Levels since 2019. In February 2020, the ETF was awarded a four-year contract by the Department for Education to continue to support providers, leaders and practitioners to deliver the new courses.