Employers of Learning Mentors largely consist of schools or colleges working with area partnership support provision (traditionally through Excellence in Cities or Excellence Cluster partnerships).  In these instances, the schools and colleges themselves directly employ the learning mentor(s).

In a number of instances, the employer is the partnership itself, the Local Authority or Children's Services Directorate, with Learning Mentor staff being deployed to schools and colleges in relation to need and priority.  This can often be the case in the primary sector, where there are examples of Learning Mentors working across two or more schools.

In most cases, a Learning Mentor Area Co-ordinator is available to provide leadership and support for the programme, taking responsibility for practice standards and development, central training and staff development.  Increasingly these co-ordinator roles involve additional responsibilities and broader co-ordination activity, but they have been crucial in providing support opportunities for practitioners and in helping schools, colleges and partnerships develop an effective community of practice.

Many of the support materials and a lot of the information produced for co-ordinators is also relevant to employers and includes:

• Information relating to the CWDC Induction Training programme for newly appointed Learning Mentors.
• Broader information related to training as outlined on the training page training page.
• The National Occupational Standards for Learning, Development and Support Services... The "Ticket to the Future" publication, provides in depth information and support in relation to NOS LDSS, their genesis and application, and the subsequent accredited training framework.
• The Functional Map for Learning Mentor Provision provides the nationally agreed "blueprint" for the role.  It was developed as part of the construction of the National Occupational Standards and places your work at the heart of the Government's Every Child Matters Agenda in our schools and colleges.
• The original Learning Mentor Good Practice Guide provides a useful reference point for the development and implementation of Learning Mentor provision and posts. The new practice guide will be published here in April 2007.
• Supporting the New Agenda for Children's Services and Schools: the role of Learning Mentors and Co-ordinators", DfES 2005, is now available for download through our Schools and Local Authorities page: www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/learningmentors/sfp/csandschools/. This guide for planners, managers agencies and schools has been produced with the aim of supporting the movement of the work from initiative to mainstream status. It draws from practice and the range of products produced centrally over the last year.

Employers wishing to request direct support and advice in relation to the development, implementation or extension of Learning Mentor activity should contact the DCSF through the following email address:  learning.mentors@cwdcouncil.org.uk .