Level 4 Teaching Fundamentals — Laying the Foundations
In Term 1, trainees immerse themselves in the core values and expectations of the teaching profession. Through onboarding tasks and early training, they explore classroom organisation, professional values, and strategies for managing behaviour. Weekly Guided Reflection (TG) meetings and training sessions build knowledge in safeguarding, lesson planning, and classroom management.
Trainees observe experienced colleagues, develop their own classroom setup concepts, and complete their first formal lesson observations. By the end of the term, they produce self-audits and action plans that help define their development priorities for the rest of the programme.
Mentor Focus:
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Support onboarding activities and induction into school life.
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Facilitate classroom visits and peer observations.
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Schedule and observe initial lessons.
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Guide meaningful reflections on feedback, helping trainees identify clear next steps.
Mentor Support Resources:
- Mentor Guide: Weekly Tasks
- Mentor Guide: Assessment & Task Alignment
Mentor Benchmarks this term
While trainees complete detailed weekly tasks and reflections, your role as a mentor is centred on coaching and professional growth. We’ve streamlined requirements so you can focus on feedback and classroom improvement, rather than paperwork.
Key points in Term 1 (Level 4 Fundamentals) include:
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Week 3: Support trainee’s safeguarding reflection (meeting with DSL).
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Weeks 4–5: Facilitate the first peer/colleague observation (Behaviour for Learning, then Planning).
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Week 6: Half-term tripartite meeting (mentor, trainee, Grad2Teach coordinator).
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Week 9: Review trainee’s first planned and delivered lesson (mentor feedback recorded).
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Week 11: Second formal tripartite meeting and observation focused on formative assessment.
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Week 12: Trainee completes a self-audit and action plan — mentors provide feedback to guide Term 2 priorities.
- A full breakdown can be found here
Our Commitment to Mentors
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Minimal admin: Trainees upload reflections, journals, and assignments directly to their portfolio — mentors simply review and give feedback where appropriate.
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Focus on coaching: Phase One emphasises professional conversations and improving teaching practice over paperwork.
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Tripartite meetings: Just three per term, bringing together you, the trainee, and Grad2Teach to keep everyone aligned and reduce duplicated reporting.
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Flexible observation role: Observations can be short and focused; the goal is developmental, not graded.
Applied Teaching Practice - Developing Classroom Skills
Term 2 builds on the foundations of the Fundamentals award, moving trainees into more active classroom practice. The focus is on strengthening lesson planning, developing behaviour for learning, and using formative assessment to promote pupil progress. Independent Learning Journals (ILJs), study groups, and weekly reflections encourage trainees to link theory directly to practice. Key benchmarks include two formal lesson observations with feedback, mid-term tripartite meetings, and a written assignment to consolidate professional learning.
Mentor Focus:
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Conduct lesson observations and provide developmental feedback.
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Guide reflections in ILJs, helping trainees connect planning, delivery, and outcomes.
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Reinforce consistency in behaviour management and pupil progress.
Advanced Teaching Practice - Taking Ownership Over Their Teaching
In the final term of Phase One, trainees take greater ownership of their teaching and evidence portfolio. The emphasis is on independent practice, refining subject pedagogy, and demonstrating readiness for ITT or QTS assessment. Trainees lead sequences of lessons, evaluate pupil progress over time, and reflect critically on their impact as developing teachers. End-of-term assessments, including a self-audit and tripartite meeting, help shape the next steps into Phase Two.
Mentor Focus:
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Support trainees to plan and deliver sustained sequences of learning.
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Observe teaching with a focus on subject pedagogy and pupil progress.
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Provide feedback that encourages independence, professional judgement, and readiness for ITT/QTS.
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Contribute to the final tripartite meeting, helping to define the trainee’s progression pathway.
Assessment Only Route
Some trainees are working towards QTS via the Assessment Only Route (AOR). These trainees still complete one of the Grad2Teach Phase One qualifications, but they also build a formal portfolio of evidence for submission to the university.
This pathway comes with extra support from our Course Manager, including additional study sessions and portfolio guidance. For mentors, the expectations are simple: continue focusing on feedback, coaching, and professional growth.
Mentor Benchmarks (AOR Trainees)
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Weekly: Encourage reflections and link classroom evidence to the Teachers’ Standards.
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Fortnightly: AOR trainees attend dedicated portfolio study groups — no extra mentor input required.
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Observations: Mentor observations are encouraged but not mandatory; even short feedback helps trainees build strong portfolios.
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Tripartite Meetings: Same structure as other trainees — three per term, to check progress and reduce duplicated admin.
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End of Phase One: Trainees should have a well-organised portfolio with lesson plans, reflections, and pupil progress evidence ready for university submission.
Reassurance for Mentors
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No extra paperwork: Portfolio support is led by Grad2Teach staff.
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Flexible involvement: Your professional feedback is valuable but not bound by formal requirements.
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Same journey, extra preparation: These trainees are on the same qualification track as others, with additional readiness for QTS assessment built in.
