The information on this page replaces that published on p14 of the handbook.

The purpose of Professional Tutors’ visits is to support trainees and Class Mentors, and quality assure the provision offered by the placement school. This is done in the following ways:

• The Class Mentor (CM) and Professional Tutor (PT) observe the trainee teaching. This enables the PT to develop a greater understanding of the trainee’s capabilities and appreciate their development more holistically. It is also an opportunity to quality assure the judgements of the CM.
• In conjunction with the lesson observation, the PT will confirm the rate of progress the trainee is making and help identify ways in which future progress can be made. To assist with this, the PT will undertake routine checks, such as reviewing the trainee’s Tracker. The findings of these are recorded on the SP1 visit form along with any action points that are deemed appropriate for the trainee and the CM to take. These points are then monitored by the PT.
• The PT will ensure that both the CM and the trainee are fully supported and help the CM in addressing any training needs.

Prior to the visit

Trainees are asked to ensure:

• their ePortfolio is up-to-date well in advance of the visit, especially the Placement 1 Overview page (SP1 Weekly reviews tab), i.e., the current tracker has been uploaded, and the blue ‘targets’ table and red ‘teaching’ table have been completed
• they have completed the January Preparedness to Teach Survey
• completed the Quality Assurance Checklist: Self-Assessment for Trainees form (see below) and sent this to their PT

Class mentors are asked to ensure:

• they have entered comments on the weekly reviews in the trainee’s ePortfolio – at least on the latest review page
• identified any areas of mentoring they feel they need support with or any questions they may have regarding mentoring

On the day of the visit

It is recognised that the following outline of events may not always be possible, but it is appreciated they can be facilitated.

1. The PT may want to meet with the CM prior to the lesson observation. Generally, this chat will be between 5 and 10 minutes
2. The PT and CM will observe the trainee teach a lesson. Trainees should ensure copies of the lesson plan are available for the PT and the CM
3. The PT and CM will have a discussion about the lesson and agree feedback. This will often occur towards the end of the lesson, before it finishes
4. The PT, CM and trainee all meet and the CM provides feedback
5. The PT meets with the trainee
6. The PT may want to briefly meet with the CM, before leaving, to update them on the outcomes of the discussion run through the SP1 visit form