Italy implements teacher tutor system for new educators

The Italian Ministry of Education and Merit has established the role of the teacher tutor as a fundamental pillar for supporting newly hired teachers during their probationary period. Based on ministerial decrees 850/2015 and 226/2022, this mentoring system is designed to assist new educators with classroom management and lesson planning.

School principals are responsible for appointing tutors, following a preliminary opinion from the Teachers' Council. A central component of this training is the ‘peer to peer’ process, which consists of 12 structured hours. This process includes 3 hours of joint planning, 4 hours where the trainee observes the tutor, 4 hours where the tutor observes the trainee in the classroom, and 1 hour for final feedback.

These activities must be documented and recorded using specific observation grids and modules, which are then included in the final professional portfolio on INDIRE platforms to support the teacher's official evaluation.