Assessments for Module 2 mentors

January 1 2019 not only heralded a New Year, but also a change in assessment and accreditation procedures for ART’s Module 1. Following discussion at Management Committee and Conference levels, and after seeking opinions from teachers, mentors and assessors, a change was implemented that requires the assessment of mentors seeking accreditation, removing the mentor self-accreditation procedure and also restricting the accreditation submission to SmART Ringer to ART Assessors, rather than being an option open to both Assessors and mentors.

This change addressed some weaknesses in our processes and was seen as a further step to improve standards of teaching with a focus on safety. So far this change has seemed to have been implemented successfully and been well received, and just as a reminder it’s worth noting that the assessment criteria for mentors are the same teaching ones that new teachers are being assessed on, but with no requirement to complete an ART Personal Progress Logbook. For those mentors who seek accreditation, but whose teacher(s) don’t, then they have to show evidence for the assessment of teaching a new ringer themselves and recording details in a copy of the Logbook to show that they have used, and are familiar with the ART bell handling exercises. In this situation there is no requirement to have another mentor ‘signing off’ the logs ahead of assessment.

Since January of this year there have been a number of opportunities to consider whether similar changes could be brought into M2 assessment and accreditation as a ‘tidying-up’ process. We have had discussion at an Assessors Forum at the ART Conference in Worcester in March, at a gathering of ART Members from East Anglia in Saffron Walden in February and at the Management Committee meetings in April and July. Pros and cons have been considered and reflected on, but the general opinion is that we should move forward to implement similar procedural changes to M2 accreditation. Therefore, from 1 January 2020 it will only be possible for Assessors to make the online submission for M2 accreditation of teachers and mentors and it will be necessary for mentors seeking M2 accreditation to be assessed on their teaching (at the appropriate foundations M2F or method M2C level) using the teaching criteria listed in the Logbook that is used for assessing teachers. This is likely to need some “on the ground” planning in order that both a teacher and mentor can potentially be assessed across all the criteria in a single assessed lesson. However, there is the option that many of the assessment criteria can be covered by questioning as opposed to observation at M2. As with M1 there will not be a need for mentors to complete Logbook lesson plans if they are being assessed together with those that they are mentoring.


Module 2F and 2C changes at a glance

  • Mentors seeking accreditation will need to be assessed by an ART Assessor.
  • There will be no need to complete a Logbook if the mentor is being assessed at the same time as a teacher they are mentoring.
  • Only an ART Assessor will be able to submit an accreditation recommendation.

By introducing this change we will be able to adopt similar assessment and accreditation procedures for both M1 and M2 and will be assessing all those seeking accreditation and ART membership through teaching capabilities rather than a mixture of teaching and mentoring support. This works with our aim of improving teaching standards and consistency. The change will potentially need some wording corrections in Logbook reprints and some alterations to the ART Regulations.