Guidance

Conditions of grant: general mentor training

Updated 21 October 2025

Applies to England

Introduction

This is the terms and conditions document for the general mentor training grant for the 2025 to 2026 academic year,. It should be read before signing the grant agreement letter.

Mentors working in schools will need to complete sufficient training with an accredited training provider to ensure that they can effectively support a trainee teacher to obtain the knowledge and skills they need to complete their initial teacher training (ITT) school placement.

ITT delivery funding guidance: 2025 to 2026 has more information.

Schools can claim for the actual hours of training undertaken by the mentor. The maximum number of hours per accredited provider is:

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

Details 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 (teacher workload should be carefully considered in such cases)
• paying for any costs that come from reducing a mentor’s other responsibilities so they have time to train

This funding applies to schools that:

• offer placements to ITT trainees, including:
  • special schools
  • pupil referral units
  • independent schools
  • early years settings
  • further education organisations
• have mentors working with:
  • postgraduate ITT trainees who started or returned to training between 1 September 2025 and 31 May 2026 (1 June 2025 for apprenticeship trainees)
  • undergraduate ITT trainees who started or returned to their training between 1 September 2024 and 31 May 2026
• have mentors that intended to work with ITT trainees who would have started their training any time between 1 September 2025 and 31 May 2026 (1 June for apprenticeship trainees), but the trainee withdrew after the mentor training took place

Eligibility

Any type of setting within England that hosted an ITT trainee or intended to host an ITT trainee on a course leading to the award of qualified teacher status (QTS), except assessment only, is eligible to claim funding, including:

• special schools
• pupil referral units
• early years settings
• further education organisations
• independent schools

Placement duration

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

Eligible type of training

Funding can be used to cover a variety of training, including virtual, face to face and asynchronous.

School location

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

Mentors who cannot continue with mentoring

A school can claim funding when a mentor:

• starts their initial training between 6 April 2025 and 31 May 2026
• begins mentoring a trainee but then cannot continue mentoring for any reason.

The school 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 2025 and 31 May 2026.

Mentors training with different providers

Each accredited ITT provider can develop their own mentor training. This could result in different training for mentors working with different providers.

If a school hosts trainees from different providers, a mentor might have to undertake their initial mentor training with each provider. Accredited ITT providers should consider prior training when deciding what aspects of their training a mentor should complete.

Schools can claim funding for the time a mentor spends training at each provider.

For schools to claim this funding, a mentor must have worked with a trainee who started or intended to start their ITT in the 2025 to 2026 academic year (between 1 September 2025 and 31 May 2026, 1 June 2025 for apprenticeship trainees).

Schools must ensure 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 schools can only claim funding for the training time of the trainee’s dedicated mentor.

This funding is not available to schools if a mentor only works with high potential initial teacher training (HPITT) trainees, as funding is provided separately for such mentors.

Mentors working with multiple schools

Mentors can work with multiple schools while undertaking their training. For example, if a mentor is working across multiple schools in a trust, then those schools can only claim for a total of 16 hours initial training or 6 hours refresher training per mentor with a single accredited ITT provider.

For instance, if school A claimed 8 hours of funding for initial training for mentor A, with provider A, then school B could only claim 8 hours for mentor A, with provider A.

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

Trainees that defer or withdraw from their training

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

• deferred in a previous academic year and then returns to the first year of their course in the 2025 to 2026 academic year for any time on school placement
• defers or withdraws after a mentor has started their initial mentor training – mentors can continue with their training if they commit to being a mentor in the following academic year

Schools cannot claim funding if a trainee withdraws or defers before a mentor starts their training, after the 2025 to 2026 academic year has started.

If the mentor undertook their training before the start of the 2025 to 2026 academic year, and a trainee subsequently withdraws or defers, the school:

• can claim funding for the total amount of training
• may be required to submit evidence of organising a placement for a trainee

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

Conditions of this funding

Schools will be able to claim this funding at the end of the 2025 to 2026 academic year and will be paid in arrears between September 2026 and January 2027.

When schools make a claim, the Department for Education (DfE) will not ask for evidence where the information provided can be validated through its services including, but not limited to:

• publish teacher training courses
• register trainee teachers
• Get information about schools

Where this information cannot be validated, as part of the claim process, DfE may ask for evidence of:

• a mentor’s employment at the school, such as a copy of their employment contract or payslips from the 2024 to 2025 academic year
• arranging placements at their school for ITT trainees, such as communication with providers
• the number of hours of initial mentor training completed
• the accredited provider and lead mentor who delivered the training

Where evidence is not required at the point of claim, schools must ensure that they retain it should DfE request to view it, as part of assurance checks.

DfE may also ask the accredited provider who delivered the general mentor training to provide evidence of:

• the number of hours of training each general mentor received
• the name of the mentor
• the workplace of the mentor

DfE will inform organisations of all the claims where they are listed as the accredited ITT provider.

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

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

Mentor training typically takes place at the start of the academic year or during the preceding summer term. In some instances, training can take place later than the start of the autumn term due to some courses starting later.

Mentors can start their initial mentor training between 6 April 2025 and 31 May 2026 for courses starting in the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

To claim funding for training that began in advance of the 2025 to 2026 academic year, schools may need to provide evidence of agreeing to host placements at their school for ITT trainees, such as communication with providers to organise this.

This evidence may be requested where a mentor did not mentor a trainee during the academic year.

Schools can only claim funding for one mentor per trainee, unless the mentor withdraws. If the mentor role is undertaken by staff who usually work on a job-share basis then the school can claim full funding for both staff members.

The funding can be used to cover costs incurred by the school in implementing the general mentor role, including backfill of the mentor whilst they were training.

These specific grant conditions are in addition to the standard grant terms and conditions.

Funding

The amount of funding schools will receive depends on:

• the location of the school, recognising the different costs in different areas of the country
• how many hours a mentor has spent training – this can be up to a maximum of 16 hours of initial training and 6 hours for refresher training, per accredited provider

Check the location of your school in Annex A.

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 much a school can claim per hour

Schools that host ITT trainees in the academic year 2025 to 2026 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

Payments

Payments will be made in arrears from September 2026 and placement schools will be able to claim this funding at the end of the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

Schools can submit a claim through a GOV.UK service in spring 2026. Schools will be able to submit their claims once their mentors have completed their training.

Schools must complete their claims by the end of July to receive payment in late September or early October. If schools miss the payment window, they will be able to submit a claim in September, with payment being made in December 2026 or January 2027.

Variation

These conditions of grant may be altered at any time. Participating institutions will be notified of this through existing channels.

Recovery of funding

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

We may seek to recover funding that has been paid in error or has not been used for the intended purpose.

Recoveries will be made by invoice or by offsetting the amount against subsequent payments due from DfE.

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

Assurance

DfE have a responsibility to make sure that public funds are properly managed in line with these grant conditions. As payment will be made in arrears, DfE reserve the right to ask schools to confirm that the money has been or will be spent in the intended way.

Acceptance of the funding will be taken as confirmation.

DfE will conduct due diligence on applications received, validating the information provided as detailed in section 4 of these conditions.

DfE will undertake further assurance on a random sample of at least ten percent of the value of the grant funding paid to schools and may ask for evidence of the stated expenditure.

Schools should keep evidence of the expenditure they claim for the general mentor role. This includes the backfill of the mentor during the time they were training.

Trust school leaders to use their judgement as to what evidence they keep, but it could include:

• invoices
• salary statements
• timetables and registers

Accredited ITT providers must also keep evidence of the general mentor training delivered. This includes the number of hours of training undertaken by the school-based mentor. As part of assurance, they will be asked to provide this evidence to DfE.

Annex A – 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.