ABSTRACT
The second member of the school teaching staff is the subject mentor, who has a
more focused and specific responsibility. They will play a leading role in working with
a trainee on a day-to-day and, in some cases, lesson-to-lesson basis. In many respects the
subject mentor is the most important person in a trainee's professional training. He or
she is the main contact in school/college and, most importantly, the main provider of
training. It is easy to regard a mentor's role as a primarily administrative one (sorting
out timetables, providing information about pupils, etc.) or as a prop for the trainee
during some difficult and challenging times. Of course, a mentor's role is both these
things at times, but it is important not to lose sight of the mentor's training
responsibilities.
