Supporting Trainees Experiencing Difficulties

Supporting trainees experiencing difficulties Trainee Support plan Makes clear areas needing development Includes an action plan, with very short term targets Cause for Concern Letter Gives the trainee formal notice (and clarity) of areas of concern Is issued jointly by Mentor and UVT Contains clear action plan Final deadlines: FRAP 4 deadline date If your trainee is experiencing difficulties, both with their teaching and in their personal lives there is help available. When on school placement trainees still have access to all of the Wellbeing Support at the University http://www.exeter.ac.uk/wellbeing/ further information about specific services is available in the handbook. Trainees at a distance from the University may still access this support, and there are telephone/ email support options as well as face to face. There are two action plans that you can use to help support your trainee. One is the Trainee Support Plan and the other is the Cause for Concern. See the flow chart on the next slide to see which support plan to use and when.

You may need to view this slide as part of the slide show to read the text here. It describes what to do if you have concerns about your trainee. The next slides show what the TSP and CfC Letter look like.

Supporting trainees - Trainee Support Plan TSP Some trainees benefit from some targeted support particularly if they have been absent for several days or have a recurring target on their WDM record. The Trainee Support Plan (TSP) is a short term action plan, lasting for a maximum of two weeks, which describes what needs to be done and what additional support is going to be put in place to help with this. The additional support normally will be resource neutral and might include things such as opportunities to observe additional demonstrations, direction towards further reading, teaching from existing lesson plans, joint lesson planning, team teaching etc. The Trainee Support Plan is drawn up by Mentor with involvement from the PST, and in discussion with the trainee. Please also let the UVT know and ask for their advice as necessary. It is a good idea to inform the Partnership Office straight away of you feel a trainee is struggling.

Supporting trainees- Cause for Concern Letter Page 1 of the Cause for Concern letter gives the reason the letter is being issued It is essential that trainees demonstrate evidence for all Teachers’ Standards in order to be awarded Qualified Teacher Status. A Cause for Concern Letter (CfCL) may be issued if they are failing to make expected progress at any stage, either after a TSP has not resolved an issue, or a CfCL can be issued immediately if there are any concerns about professionalism.  The CfCL identifies concerns about progress under the following four headings and sets a supportive and constructive action plan with targets that are related to the Standards and are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-related.   Absence of more than 10 days from the programme Failure to meet deadlines for University directed tasks or assignments Insufficient progress towards meeting the Standards Professional engagement with the course. The CfCL is issued jointly to the trainee by the Mentor and the UVT. A copy must also be sent to the Partnership Office.

Supporting trainees- Cause for Concern Letter Set SMART targets related to the Teacher’s Standards with a max. of two week deadline Page 2 of the CfCL is the action plan and looks like this. Actions must be SMART with a maximum of two week deadline. If the issues are not resolved by the deadline another CfCL must be issued.