ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the wealth of expertise and professional debate offered by the history teaching community. The chapter establishes that this community is not represented by a single ‘official body’ and is probably best thought of as a complex and interconnected series of communities and networks. The chapter sets out a range of opportunities for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) provided by the history teaching community and how beginning teachers might contribute to this teaching community, depending on the stage of their teaching career they have reached and their level of competency and expertise. The chapter will emphasise how beginning teachers are influenced by the ways and extent that their mentors value and interact with the history teaching community. The chapter will examine how beginning teachers can develop through their involvement with curriculum design. There is also practical advice for mentors who are supporting their mentees to gain their first teaching post. Finally, the chapter considers how becoming a mentor can provide valuable opportunities for mentors themselves to engage in subject-specific professional development.
