Mentor Support Grants

In 2008 the SWitch CETT allocated funding to providing Mentor Support Grants for Member organisations. Members who wished to could apply for a grant of up to £3,000 to develop and improve mentoring for trainee teachers within their organisation.

The focus of the Mentor Support Grants is to make mentoring happen within organisations. When applying for a grant, individual organisations were asked to identify the priority area(s) for development which would help to move mentoring forward within their organisation – and also to identify how this work would be built on in the future.

In all 24 organisations, across all of the SWitch constituent sectors, were awarded grants to work on a range of aspects of mentoring including:

• Building mentoring capacity
• Training and supporting mentors
• Monitoring and quality assuring mentoring systems

Organisations awarded a Mentor Support Grant were asked to report on their activities in Sep 2008. Summary of SWitch Mentor Support Grant Activity (Oct 08).

For more information about SWitch Mentor Support Grant activity undertaken and to see copies of Mentor Support Grant reports from individual organisations, please click on the links in the following table: Overview of Switch Mentor Support Grant activity

Organisation Grant Awarded to	Title of Project
Bournemouth & Poole College	Development & Support of Mentors via Forums and peer support process
Royal Forest of Dean College	Develop a Tracking System to Monitor Mentoring Support
Strode College (Somerset)	Providing Subject Specialist Mentors to Staff Undertaking DTTLS
Gloucestershire Adult Education	Developing a Mentor Team to Support Staff in Non-College (Third Sector) Settings
Puffins Training	Developing Mentoring Documentation & Process and Training Mentors
Achievement Training	Developing Mentor Roles & Relationships with ITT Staff
Devon Adult & Community Learning	Build on the SWitch SMILE Project (SW0708)- Training & Supporting Mentors in Extended Subject Specialisms
RNIB	Build on the SWitch SMILE Project (SW0708) - Training & Supporting Mentors in Extended Subject Specialisms
Somerset Adult Learning & Leisure	Build on the SWitch SMILE Project (SW0708) - Training & Supporting Mentor in Extended Subject Specialisms
Dorset Adult Education Service	Build on the SWitch SMILE Project (SW0708) - Training & Supporting Mentors in Extended Subject Specialisms
Accountancy Plus (Training) Ltd	Providing Consistency in Mentoring, including the effective use of observation of teaching to encourage application of learning into practice
Bridgwater College	Develop a Mini Package to Ensure All Mentors are Trained & Effectively Monitored, including those supporting trainees on Awarding Body qualifications
Western Training Providers Network (WTPN)	Developing Mentoring Expertise within the Network & in Provider Organisations
New College Swindon	Develop Mentoring Support Processes via the College VLE
Bath Spa University	Establish "Mentor Champions" in Partner Colleges
Weston College	Strengthen Subject Specific Mentor Support Available
Stroud College in Gloucestershire	Development & Support of Mentors to Support New Inexperienced, Qualifying or Under-Performing Staff
UWE, Bristol	Development & Support to Ensure Consistent High Standards of Mentor Teaching Observations
The Learning Curve	Developing Mentor Framework & Providing Mentor Training
Venus Training	Develop a Clear Mentoring Process & Build Mentoring Capacity
HMP Ashfield (City of Bristol College)	Mentor Vocational Staff Qualified to Stage 2 Who Need to Progress to DTLLS & Develop Internal Mentor Capacity to Take This Role Forward
Norton Radstock College	Develop Mentors to Support Trainees to Improve the Quality of Feedback They Give to Learners
Cornwall Adult Education Service	Build on the SWitch SMILE Project (SW0708) - Training & Supporting Mentors in Extended Subject Specialisms
North Devon Pathfinder Trust	To set up a mentoring system