Full course description
Date and Time
Thursday 7 May 2026, 9.30 am to 3.30 pm
Thursday 17 June 2026, 9.30 am to 3.30 pm
Venue
Independent Schools Victoria, 40 Rosslyn Street, West Melbourne
Audience
Mentor Support Teacher
Description
- Over 70% of beginning teachers have reported that having a supportive mentor in the first few years of teaching has influenced their decision to remain in the profession.
- Mentors assist new teachers to adapt to the new school climate and help establish their professional identity. They can influence the beginning teacher’s professional behaviour, help to shape their beliefs and professional values and, most importantly, set them on a path of continual reflection and improvement to produce highly effective practitioners.
- Independent Schools Victoria (ISV) has partnered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) to develop a mentor training course that will support mentors to undertake their duties, develop their human leadership capabilities and provide guidance on how to support their mentee through the VIT’s inquiry process.
- The course will run over two days, with Day 1 on !9th March 2026 and Day 2 on 7th May 2026. Each session will run from 9.30 am until 3.00 pm, with an hour break for lunch.
- Participants will need to attend both course days to be considered by VIT as a trained mentor for the purposes of sitting on a workplace panel.
Key Takeaways
- Cover the role of the mentor for Early childhood practitioners in the induction process
- Explore requirements for applications by provisionally registered teachers for (full) registration
- Explore the requirements of the inquiry
- Make links to your role in the application process
- Explore the practice of mentoring and how mentoring can support beginning teachers to improve their teaching practice
Presenter Information
Linda Blakis
Linda Blakis is a Principal Practitioner with VIT.
After a highly competitive recruitment selection process, Linda joined VIT in 2019 to take on the newly created Principal Practitioner role. This role works across many branches to build a strong connection between VIT and the teaching profession.
A trained secondary teacher, Linda has worked predominantly in the northern growth corridor of Melbourne, and was Assistant Principal of a large P-12 school before taking up the VIT appointment.
Linda is passionate about teaching and the importance of investing in teachers, who she sees as our state’s most important professional group.