Support for mentors
Mentor Conference - February 2026
On Tuesday 3 February 2026, the Eastern Region Teaching School Hubs held their annual online Mentor Conference.
The theme of this year's conference was AI in Education: Ethics, Tools, and Practice.
The key speakers were:
- Christian Turton, Educational Technology Lead at Chiltern Learning Trust: Christian is a nationally recognised leader in digital innovation for schools. He has spearheaded projects that integrate AI into teaching and learning, ensuring technology enhances - not replaces - the human touch in education.
- Dan Smith, Deputy Director & Early Career Lead at Alban Teaching School Hub: Dan brings knowledge and expertise in teacher development across all phases. Dan has shaped national policy and frameworks for mentoring, and his work ensures that AI is used ethically and effectively to support trainee and early career teachers.
At the conference, we:
- Discussed the ethical use of AI in supporting trainee teachers and ECTs
- Explored AI tools that enhance mentoring and professional practice
- Looked at how mentors can apply AI in their educational approaches
Resources from the conference will be available on this page soon.
Click on the image below to download the conference flyer.
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.
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.