Guidance

General mentor training grant for schools: conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027

Published 30 September 2026

Applies to England

This is the terms and conditions document for the general mentor training grant for the 2026 to 2027 academic year.

Schools must accept these conditions of grant on the Claim funding for mentor training service (Claim service) before you can make any claims. These specific grant conditions are in addition to the standard grant terms and conditions.

Mentors working in schools need to complete sufficient training with an accredited initial teacher training (ITT) provider. This is to make sure they can effectively support a trainee teacher to get the knowledge and skills they need to complete their ITT school placement.

The accredited provider is responsible for determining the level of mentor training required. This applies to both:

• initial training for new mentors
• refresher training for experienced mentors

Effective mentor training is essential to make sure mentors clearly understand their role and can provide informed, consistent and high quality support, feedback and challenge that is aligned to the ITT curriculum.

You can claim funding for the hours of training the mentor has done. The maximum number of hours per accredited provider is:

• up to 16 hours for initial training
• up to 6 hours for refresher training

Purpose of the grant

This funding will help with the cost of mentors being away from the classroom while they train. This could include:

• paying for someone to take over lessons while a mentor is training
• paying for someone to teach if a mentor takes time off in lieu to train
• overtime payment to the mentor, if they are training outside normal working hours
• paying for any costs that come from reducing a mentor’s other responsibilities, so they have time to train

You should carefully consider teacher workload if mentors train outside normal working hours.

Eligibility

Any type of school setting in England is eligible to claim funding if it hosted an ITT trainee on a course leading to qualified teacher status – except high potential initial teacher training (HPITT), which Teach First delivers.

A setting can also claim funding if it trained a mentor with the intention of hosting an ITT trainee on the same courses.

Eligible settings

Eligible school settings include:

• academies
• local authority-maintained schools
• special schools
• pupil referral units
• independent schools
• early years settings
• further education organisations

Only educational organisations in England are eligible to apply for this grant funding. 

Eligible courses

Your school is eligible if you have mentors working with:

• postgraduate ITT trainees who started or returned to their ITT course between 1 September 2026 and 31 May 2027
• undergraduate ITT trainees who started their course in September 2024 or later, including those now in their second or third year of training

Your school is also eligible if you have mentors that intended to work with ITT trainees, who would have started their training any time between 1 September 2026 and 31 May 2027, where the trainee withdrew after the mentor training.

You cannot claim this funding if a mentor only works with HPITT trainees, as funding is provided separately for such mentors.

What the mentor must do

For a school to claim this funding, the mentor must:

• be employed by the school making the claim
• have undertaken up to 16 hours of initial mentor training, or up to 6 hours of refresher training, per accredited ITT provider
• have mentored at least one trainee, or intended to mentor a trainee (as evidenced by schools arranging placements for ITT trainees at their schools)

Eligible type of training

Funding can be used to cover a variety of training. This includes:

• virtual
• face to face
• asynchronous

When mentors train

Mentor training typically takes place at the start of the academic year or during the summer term before it. In some cases, training can:

• take place later than the start of the autumn term – for example, for courses starting later in the academic year
• be split across the academic year

Mentors can do their initial mentor training between 6 April 2026 and 31 May 2027 for courses starting in the 2026 to 2027 academic year.

To claim funding for training that began before the 2026 to 2027 academic year, schools may need to provide evidence of agreeing to host placements at their school for ITT trainees. This evidence, for example, could be communication with providers to organise this.

The Department for Education (DfE) may ask for this evidence if a mentor did not mentor a trainee during the academic year.

Number of mentors

Schools can only claim funding for one mentor per trainee, unless the mentor withdraws.

If staff who usually work on a job share basis do the mentor role, the school can claim full funding for both staff members.

You must make sure a trainee has one dedicated mentor during their placement, unless the mentor usually works in a job share. Other teachers may support elements of the trainee’s placement, but you can only claim funding for the training time of the trainee’s dedicated mentor.

How to claim funding if you did not get an ITT trainee

If you trained a mentor in anticipation of receiving a trainee after communication with an accredited ITT provider, but the trainee withdrew, you can still claim funding.

If you hosted at least one other trainee, and this information was recorded by the accredited provider on Register, DfE will add you to the Claim service.

If you are not on Register, as you did not take any trainees, your accredited provider needs to email ittmentor.funding@education.gov.uk to confirm that you need to be added to the Claim service.

Placement duration

There is no minimum placement duration for you to submit a claim for general mentor funding.

Mentors who cannot continue mentoring

You can claim funding if a mentor:

• starts their initial or refresher mentor training between 6 April 2026 and 31 May 2027
• begins mentoring a trainee but then cannot continue mentoring for any reason

If the mentor cannot continue mentoring, you should arrange a new mentor for the trainee.

The school can claim funding for both mentors if they both started their training between 6 April 2026 and 31 May 2027.

Mentors training with different providers

Each accredited ITT provider develops their own mentor training programme to make sure the training is based on the ITT curriculum the trainee will follow.

This could lead to different training for mentors working with different providers.

If you host trainees from different providers, a mentor might have to do some initial mentor training with each provider.

In some cases, local providers share parts of their training. Accredited ITT providers should consider prior training when they decide what aspects of their training a mentor should complete, to avoid unnecessary repetition.

You can claim funding for the time a mentor spends training with each provider.

For you to claim this funding, a mentor must have worked with a trainee who started or intended to start their ITT between 1 September 2026 and 31 May 2027.

Mentors working with multiple schools

Mentors could work with multiple schools while they do their training.

If a mentor works across multiple schools in a trust, then those schools can only claim, per mentor with a single accredited ITT provider, for a total of up to:

• 16 hours initial training
• 6 hours refresher training

For example, if school A claimed 8 hours of funding for initial training for a mentor, with a single provider, school B could only claim 8 hours for the same mentor with the same provider.

If school A claimed 16 hours of funding for initial training for a mentor, with a single provider, school B could not claim any funding for that mentor with that provider.

Trainees that defer or withdraw from their training

You can claim mentor funding if a mentor works with a trainee who:

• deferred in a previous academic year and returns to the first year of their course in the 2026 to 2027 academic year, for any time on school placement
• defers or withdraws after a mentor has started their initial mentor training – mentors can continue their training if they commit to being a mentor in the following academic year

You cannot claim funding if a trainee withdraws or defers before a mentor starts their training, after the 2026 to 2027 academic year has started.

If the mentor did their training before the start of the 2026 to 2027 academic year, and a trainee withdraws or defers after that, you:

• can claim funding for hours of training undertaken
• may need to submit evidence of organising a placement for a trainee

If a trainee withdraws mid-year, the placement school, accredited provider and mentor can decide whether the mentor completes the training. You can claim funding for the hours of training undertaken.

Funding

The amount of funding you will get depends on:

• your location, because of the different costs in different areas of the country
• how many hours a mentor has spent training (within the maximum permitted hours)

How much a school can claim per hour

Schools that host ITT trainees in the academic year 2026 to 2027 can claim:

• £43.80 per hour for schools outside London (the rest of England)
• £45.10 per hour for schools in the fringe region (the area between outer London and the rest of England)
• £48.25 per hour for schools in outer London
• £53.60 per hour for schools in inner London

The funding is calculated per hour. For example, if a mentor in a school outside London completed 8 hours of initial training, the school can claim £350.40. This is calculated at £43.80 per hour x 8 hours of training.

How you can claim funding

Get information about schools service

You should review your school’s Get information about schools record to make sure:

• it is up to date
• all details are correct

If your school is not on Get information about schools, the onboarding process may take longer and you may need more support. 

Invitation to join the Claim service

We will send you an invitation email to join the GOV.UK Claim service from April 2027 using the process below, unless your school has already joined.

If your school is not yet onboarded to the service and you do not get an invitation by the end of June 2027, contact your accredited ITT provider to check they have given your school information to the Register trainee teachers service.

DfE Sign-in

To access the Claim service, each user must have a DfE Sign-in account.

School users must create an account before you try to access the Claim service.

When you create a new DfE Sign-in account, an approver at the school must authorise it.

If you are using a computer used by multiple colleagues, check nobody is already signed in before you access the Claim service.

Register trainee teachers (Register) service

Accredited ITT providers update trainee placement details in Register every January.

We use this information to:

• confirm which schools are eligible to claim general mentor funding
• give eligible schools access to the Claim service

Providers can continue to update placement information after January. This data is shared with the Claim service from February onwards.

DfE will carry out regular onboarding when the claim window is live. This is to make sure placement schools can gain access to the service.

If your school is not already using the service, we will send invitations to users who are listed as an approver for your organisation on DfE sign-in.

Accredited ITT providers need to upload placement school data in Register for their training partners who have trainees starting ITT from September 2026 onwards.

Training partners can get placement details in Register for their trainees who start their ITT courses in September 2026 onwards.

Add a user

When you are signed in to the Claim service, you can add other users to the service, for example colleagues:

• in a school
• in a central function, as part of an academy trust

Submit a claim

When you have got an invitation to join the service and have accessed the Claim service through your DfE Sign-in account, you can submit a claim for your ITT mentor’s training.

You can only submit the claim when the mentor has completed their training.

We strongly recommend you submit claims after the accredited ITT provider has confirmed the mentor’s training hours.

What you need to submit a claim

To submit a claim, you must know:

• the mentor’s teacher reference number (TRN)
• the mentor’s date of birth
• the accredited ITT provider responsible for delivering the mentor’s training
• the total hours of training the mentor has done

If your mentor has forgotten their TRN, they can get it from the find a lost teacher reference service.

If your mentor has never had a TRN, the teacher reference number page explains how to get one.

Submit a claim on behalf of multiple schools

You can be added to multiple schools in the service if you work for an organisation which is part of a collection of schools – for example, a multi-academy trust.

If you know a colleague who has been added to the Claim service, ask them to add you.

If you have difficulties adding users to the Claim service, contact ittmentor.funding@education.gov.uk with:

• a list of schools you want to be added to
• details of your role

Making a claim and payment

We will run one or more claim windows. We will notify you of the relevant dates before the first claim window.

The person who completed the claim will get a confirmation email after submitting it.

You can submit claims through the Claim service during a claim window.

You must submit claims after the training has taken place.

We will make payments in arrears after the end of the relevant academic year.

We will not make exceptions or process payments outside the established claim and payment windows.

This is because payment processing is aligned to specific audit and financial controls, and claims must be submitted and paid in the designated timeframe.

Variation

We may alter these conditions of grant at any time.

We will tell participating institutions about this through newsletters or notifications from the service.

Recovery of funding

This funding is being provided under section 14 of the Education Act 2002. We reserve the right to audit the expenditure.

We may seek to recover funding that has:

• been paid in error
• not been used for the intended purpose

We will make recoveries either:

• by invoice
• by offsetting the amount against subsequent payments due from DfE

If you become aware of any instance of error, suspected fraud or financial irregularity in the use of the funds, you must notify DfE immediately by emailing: ittmentor.funding@education.gov.uk.

Assurance and audit

When you make a claim, DfE will not ask for evidence where we can validate the information provided  through our services – including, but not limited to:

• Publish teacher training courses
• Register trainee teachers
• Get information about schools

If we cannot validate this information, as part of the claim process, we may ask for evidence.

We have a responsibility to make sure public funds are properly managed in line with these grant conditions.

As payment is made in arrears, we reserve the right to ask schools to confirm that the funding has been, or will be, used for its intended purpose. We will take acceptance of the funding as confirmation of this.

We will conduct:

• due diligence on applications received, validating the information provided
• further assurance activity, on a random sample of at least 10% of the total value of funding paid to schools

As part of the assurance process, we may:

• ask for more evidence to support a claim
• share claim information with accredited ITT providers, to check against their records
• require schools and providers to resolve any discrepancies identified

We may adjust payments or recover funding where necessary. This may include where:

• a claim is not supported by sufficient evidence – for example, when the hours claimed do not match the provider’s records
• expenditure is not eligible
• a claim is incorrect or duplicated

You are responsible for submitting accurate claims and keeping sufficient evidence to support them.

This must include:

• evidence of expenditure relating to the general mentor role, such as backfill during training
• evidence showing the validity of the claim, including mentor training undertaken and any associated trainee placements

There is no prescribed format for this evidence. You should use your judgement. Examples may include:

• invoices
• salary statements
• timetables and registers
• training records
• correspondence or documentation confirming placement arrangements

Accredited ITT providers must also keep accurate records of the mentor training they deliver.

DfE is responsible for carrying out assurance checks and confirming payments. Assurance activity will take place after we have made payments.

Definition of areas

Inner London area

This means the London boroughs of:

• Barking and Dagenham
• Brent
• Camden
• City of London
• Ealing
• Greenwich
• Hackney
• Hammersmith and Fulham
• Haringey
• Islington
• Kensington and Chelsea
• Lambeth
• Lewisham
• Merton
• Newham
• Southwark
• Tower Hamlets
• Wandsworth
• Westminster

London area

‘The London area’ means the:

• inner London area
• outer London area
• fringe area

Fringe area

‘The fringe area’ means:

• Berkshire – the districts of Bracknell Forest, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead
• Buckinghamshire – the whole county
• Essex – the districts of Basildon, Brentwood, Epping Forest, Harlow and Thurrock
• Hertfordshire – the districts of Broxbourne, Dacorum, East Hertfordshire, Hertsmere, St Albans, Three Rivers, Watford and Welwyn Hatfield
• Kent – the districts of Dartford and Sevenoaks
• Surrey – the whole county
• West Sussex – the district of Crawley

Outer London area

‘The outer London area’ means the London boroughs of:

• Barnet
• Bexley
• Bromley
• Croydon
• Enfield
• Harrow
• Havering
• Hillingdon
• Hounslow
• Kingston- upon-Thames
• Redbridge
• Richmond-upon-Thames
• Sutton
• Waltham Forest

Rest of England

‘The rest of England’ covers the localities beyond the areas listed under the ‘London’ and ‘fringe’ areas.