Support for mentors

Mentor Conference - February 2026

On Tuesday 3 February 2026, the Eastern Region Teaching School Hubs held their annual online Mentor Conference on the theme of AI in Education: Ethics, Tools, and Practice.

Over 80 mentors from across the Eastern Region joined the conference, including colleagues from Initial Teacher Training, Early Career support, and wider school leadership, creating a rich and collaborative professional learning environment.

This year’s focus on artificial intelligence – its opportunities, challenges, and practical applications – proved both timely and highly valued.

We were delighted to welcome two national voices in educational technology and mentoring:

Christian Turton: Educational Technology Lead, Chiltern Learning Trust
Christian shared compelling insights into the ethical use of AI, signposting mentors to DfE guidance and demonstrating practical tools, from generative AI platforms to creative applications like Canva, that can enhance mentoring conversations and professional reflections.

Dan Smith: Deputy Director & Early Career Lead, Alban Teaching School Hub
Dan explored reporting tools, prompts, and recommended AI platforms, including Copilot, that support mentors with lesson analysis, feedback writing, and documentation. His demonstration of note-conversion and dialogue-to-reporting tools was especially popular with attendees.

Together, Christian and Dan brought deep expertise shaped through their national work with the DfE and Chartered College of Teaching on safe and effective AI use in schools.

Conference feedback

This year’s focus on artificial intelligence - its opportunities, challenges, and practical applications - proved both timely and highly valued. Feedback gathered during and after the event demonstrates shows that mentors left the session feeling more confident, better informed, and equipped with practical tools to take forward into their work with trainees.

Read more feedback from the conference here.

Conference resources

Materials and resources from the conference can be accessed here:

East of England Mentor Conference 2026 - Resources

Using AI in education settings: support materials

The DfE, in partnership with the Chiltern Learning Trust and Chartered College of Teaching, has published online resources to help all school and college staff, including trainee teachers, to use AI safely and effectively. The resources include a toolkit for all educators, offering support to understand and interact with AI, how to use it safely and some potential use cases. 

To supplement these materials, the Chartered College of Teaching has also published a collection of case studies from primary, secondary and special schools, academy trusts and colleges.

Links to resources:

Resources from previous mentor events

Saffron Teaching School Hub, in collaboration with other Teaching School Hubs in the Eastern Region, has hosted a number of events to support mentors. Use the 'in this section' menu to view resources from previous mentor events.