HL Deb 06 November 2001 vol 628 c13WA
Baroness Blatch

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the statement by the Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 22 October (Official Report, column 907) that "we are working with universities and their further education college and employer partners to ensure that learners are well supported in the workplace, including through a mentoring scheme"—

  1. (a) how many mentors will be recruited;
  2. (b) who will be responsible for the mentoring scheme; and
  3. (c) who will pay the mentors. [HL924]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland)

Universities offering the new senior practitioner qualification and the route on to qualified teacher status will be responsible for establishing appropriate mentoring arrangements. The number of mentors will depend on the number of students. In the Schools Green PaperBuilding on Success, the Government set a target of 1,000 people reaching senior practitioner or qualified teacher status on this new route by 2004. It has set aside £18 million to support this and a part of this amount will be allocated to support mentoring arrangements.