“Third Space” Mentoring for Diverse Trainee Teachers

We can develop our beginner teachers to know their craft and know their subject, but where is the space to know themselves? Navigating teaching as a cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied white woman meant I was often in the majority in most spaces I occupied in my early career. As I progressed in my career I experienced some sexism but on the whole I was left pretty unscathed, my identity was not something that came up.

Our friends at Now Teach have coined a layer of support/ piloted an approach called “Third Space” Mentoring where their career-changing trainee teachers receive triangulated support from a subject mentor, a professional mentor and a ‘3rd space’ mentor, someone with shared lived experience. 

At the Belonging Effect we already support hundreds of ITTE and ECF providers through our DEIB training, coaching and consultancy, alongside hosting virtual annual conferences in January and June for each cohort. But, over the last few years we have been thinking and talking about this approach as a team and we have been considering how we can further support the development and retention of trainee and early career teachers who hold diverse identities and who come from marginalised communities.

For our BE team and for the ITTE and ECF providers we work with, we often get asked to support teachers who are struggling, not in the classroom, but in navigating their identity. The trainee is perhaps the only person with their identity in the cohort or in the school. There often is not a mentor in their school nor in their provider who shares their lived experience. One provider reached out for help and advice as they had a Muslim Asian Hijabi woman training to teach science, and she had been placed in a school with an all-male science department, with a male mentor. We provided a safe space for her to work with a mentor who looked like her, who understood her and could help her navigate the unique barriers she was facing.

So in a nutshell, “Third Space” mentoring involves creating a supportive environment where individuals can develop skills and find new perspectives. The space creates a pause between different roles and tasks, where a person can use the time to reflect, re-center and decompress. This neutral space enables collaboration and focuses on an individual’s holistic development. The safety of the space enables an exploration of authenticity and vulnerability, being guided by someone who has walked a similar path.

Through “Third Space” mentoring we can ensure that we are helping our trainees by triangulating their  subject development, their professional development and their teacher identity development. Here is some helpful research from McIntyre and Hobson (2015) entitled: Supporting beginner teacher identity development: external mentors and the third space: McIntyre and Hobson 2015 pre-publication.pdf In it they cite a range of theoretical frameworks:

“While the concept of identity is understood and employed in different ways by different writers (Beijaard et al., 2004) and is problematic (Roth, 2008), our own conceptualisation is informed by poststructuralist accounts of identities as multi-layered, multifaceted, dynamic and constantly evolving or in continual flow (Hall, 2000; Gee, 2000; Hamilton, 2010). We also recognise that identity transmutations are linked to socio-contextual factors and to power (Lumby, 2009; Beauchamp and Thomas, 2009), a point which is especially apposite for understanding teacher identities, with some writers seeing these as particularly vulnerable, unstable and susceptible to school and national policy pressures and contexts (Lasky, 2005; Leaton Gray, 2006)”. 

Why is this an important development?

• With an increased focus on DEIB and representation we know that ITTE and ECF providers are consciously trying to attract and recruit more diverse candidates so that our workforce better reflects the communities that we serve. 
• We need to design more inclusive approaches and spaces to better support our trainees. 
• We need to train our staff in our provider and hold to account the staff in our placement schools to do the work – to unlearn and to relearn, in order to fully commit to ensuring that our trainees can flourish and thrive.  

How does it differ from conventional mentoring?

• The “Third Space” can be the transition between activities, a chance to pause and reflect, rather than the activity itself. 
• It can also refer to a physical or metaphorical space that is neither home nor work, allowing for different kinds of interactions and collaborations. 
• The “Third Space” can be a site of cultural hybridity, where new identities and perspectives are formed through the intersection of different cultures. 

What are the key aspects of “Third Space” mentoring?

• Individualised support: Working with a dedicated coach/ mentor to develop your own program of inquiry and practice, supporting you in navigating life’s challenges and making lasting changes. 
• Developmental support: Mentoring can help with specific issues like career direction, professional development, and learning new skills. 
• Collaborative problem-solving: Creating a neutral space where people from different backgrounds can come together to share perspectives and find innovative solutions. 
• Holistic approach: Focusing on helping individuals integrate their values and find balance in both their work and personal lives. 

Are there some examples of how “Third Space” Mentoring can support, develop and retain diverse trainees?

• Age – we support career changes and those trainees who are shifting their professional identity from being the expert in one field to being the novice in another field.
• Disability – we support trainees who are neurodivergent in processing school life, in self-advocating for what they need whilst developing coping strategies.   
• Parenthood – we support trainee parent-teachers in navigating their caring responsibilities and in managing their additional responsibilities.  
• Race – we support trainee teachers who are racialised as being black and brown, in exploring their experiences and in considering the weight of representation. 
• Sexuality  – we support trainee teachers who are LGBT+ in ensuring their safety and in navigating any challenges they face with their community. 
• Wellbeing  – we support trainee teachers in building a toolkit of strategies to manage their own mental health and wellbeing. 

How can we help?

• Would your trainee teachers and early career teachers benefit from an additional layer of mentoring as they navigate their way in the education profession? 
• We have a brilliant team of experienced coaches and mentors who want to provide an extra layer of support, virtually, to your ITT trainees and possibly to your ECTs at your sibling providers too. 
• We hope this will support trainees who are navigating their identity and lived experiences as they develop their professional identity, enabling them to flourish and thrive, to stay and succeed in the teaching profession.
• We are running another pilot of our “Third Space” DEIB Mentoring for ITTs and ECTs in Spring and Summer 2026.

How do we register our interest?

• The “Third Space” DEIB Mentoring for ITTs and ECTs pilot will run from January-July 2026.
• Your trainees can join a virtual mentoring circle for 4 x 1hr half-termly group sessions.
• Our Belonging Effect Associates will hold a safe virtual space for them and their peers to explore identity themes such as: age, disability, faith, menopause, mental health and wellbeing, neurodiversity, parenthood, race, sexuality and intersectional identities. 
• Places are £200+VAT per participant.
• Fill in this Google form to express an interest: https://forms.gle/5dLN9fzQ8qBeaCvw9 
• Contact Hannah@thebelongingeffect.co.uk  to book places for your trainee and early career teachers.