A reflection on the STARME Mentoring Progamme by Scott Anderson
Hello! After a busy first year of the STARME mentoring programme, we felt now was
a good time to pause, take stock and reflect on some of the successes and
improvements we can make to the programme going forward.
For those who don’t know, the programme aims to pair early career teachers, and
non-subject specialists with responsibility for RME/RERC, with more experienced
colleagues. We know from experience how beneficial the support and guidance of a
more experienced subject-specialist can be.
Last year, the programme paired over ten mentors and mentees. Below, in their own
words, are some of the mentee reflections on the year gone by. Another blog post
will be written soon to detail how we are going to improve the programme going
forward ��
Mentee 1: Taking part in the programme has increased my confidence in delivering
Nat 5 and Higher RMPS courses, in particular in relation to marking and having
learners conversations, as moderation of pupils’ work has been within limits and
comments to pupils about strengths and weaknesses were corroborated too.
Mentee 2: It’s been invaluable to have someone to discuss all things RME/RMPS, as
the sole teacher in my school. My mentor has really helped build my confidence and
validate that I’m going in the right direction with things. They have also shared
resources, tips and practical advice that have been amazing.
Mentee 3: With the mentoring, I got the benefit of having an extra pair of eyes to
comment on cross marking, especially as I was a NQT…It’s also so helpful to have a
mentor, because I was looking for a full-time role and it had been a year since my
last interview and I was a bit rusty. With the help of my mentor, I successfully
secured a full-time role to continue developing as a practitioner.
Mentee 4: The mentoring programmed fulfilled all my needs and more! It is non-
judgemental and it is designed to focus on the specific individual needs of the
mentee.
