Training specialist awarded two-year government contract in FE sector
A Manchester training group has won a two-year government contract to provide mentoring support for early career teachers.
Cognition Learning Group has been awarded the work for the Teacher Mentoring Programme (TMP) in the Further Education sector, by the Department for Education.
The contract will lead directly to three new posts, building on an ongoing recruitment drive at the company to match growth.
Cognition will provide mentoring support for early career teachers entering the workforce through the training and professional development of mentors.
FE providers and universities worldwide are developing peer mentoring programmes to assist newly qualified and early career teachers’ transition into teaching in Further Education. Mentoring programmes have proven to be very successful in reducing attrition and improving teaching ability in new teachers.
The programme will train and provide professional development for a minimum of 600 mentors to provide effective and improved support to a minimum of 1,800 early career teachers. Cognition Learning Group will assist in processing optional grant funding for eligible providers to facilitate sector engagement within the training programmes.
These trained individuals will act as mentors for new and inexperienced teachers with less than three years of teaching behind them. The programme will also offer a high quality and comprehensive package of CPD materials to the wider FE sector including short online courses.
Cognition managing director UK, Tracey Newman, said the contract is a testament to its other existing projects within the education sector, as well as its ongoing partnership with the Department for Education.
“This contract represents the latest step in Cognition Learning Group’s ambitions to ramp up our partnership working with the public, private and charitable sectors in the UK to deliver impactful programmes and training which makes a difference to the lives of children, young people and adults.
“Through our group businesses Cognition Education and Aspire Development we will utilise our collective knowledge from previous work in this area to deliver this important contract and work collaboratively with the Department for Education.”
She added: “The support this contract offers to new FE teaching staff is invaluable and we are proud to be able to assist in the delivery of the programme to the FE sector with the teaching skills, subject knowledge and confidence they need for the benefit of their learners.”
Cognition has been delivering knowledge to communities in more than 30 countries worldwide since 1989, providing innovative learning solutions that are changing the way the world learns.
To support its growth aspirations the group has made some important senior appointments, including managing director UK, Tracy Newman and director Wavelength Learning UK, Tim Hall.
