Developing and retaining talented mentors as the signature pedagogy for school leaders

Teacher retention remains a persistent and acute challenge for many education systems, and England is no exception. Drawing on case study evidence from a four-year mixed methods investigation into the impact of a UK government-funded teacher induction programme on retention, this article examines the role of school leadership in creating the optimal organisational cultures and conditions that develop and retain skilled mentors and through this, ensure the effective mentoring of early career teachers. Evidence points to signature leadership practices that are perceived by mentors as instrumental in enabling them to grow to become pedagogical leaders who inspire the learning of their early career colleagues and support them to improve practice. In so doing, they become an integral part of the organisational learning structure and culture, and their effective mentoring contributes to the professional and moral underpinnings of practice in school.