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National Teacher Mentorship 2025
10 Mar 2025
The National Teacher Mentorship is conducted annually by Bell Shakespeare, supported by Teachers Mutual Bank and the Australian Government.
The program enables 30 teachers from metropolitan, regional and remote Australian primary and secondary schools to undertake specialist training in the innovative teaching of Shakespeare. Commencing with one week of training in Sydney at Bell Shakespeare HQ, teachers return to their schools and receive mentoring, resources and support from Bell Shakespeare staff and a national network of colleagues. Designed to improve a teacher’s creativity, confidence and knowledge in teaching Shakespeare in their classrooms, the results have proven to be even more impressive.
Over time, we found that the program content enabled teachers to refresh and reconsider their entire teaching practice. They were not only using strategies learnt to teach Shakespeare, but were using the strategies to teach all content and any subject. Teachers told us that by changing the way that they taught, their students’ engagement, academic results and even attendance improved. Attitudes to learning across entire schools began to shift. Many teachers told us that participating in the National Teacher Mentorship program reminded them why they became a teacher and kept them in the profession. Many told us that the experience had been life-changing.
To measure this long-term impact, Bell Shakespeare and Teachers Mutual Bank conducted a survey in August 2024 of past participants of the National Teacher Mentorship from 2017 – 2024. The survey was designed to determine the program's impact on participants, their students and the broader school community, as well as identify any gaps in the program.
Teacher impact
Of the survey respondents:
- 100% reported that the program had a positive impact on their teaching practice
- 100% reported that the program improved their confidence in teaching Shakespeare
- 98% reported that the program increased their creativity and knowledge in teaching Shakespeare
- 95% reported that they felt more empowered as a teacher, particularly around enjoyment in their teaching practice
- 92% had used strategies learnt in the mentorship to teach subjects and topics other than Shakespeare
- 77% reported that participating in the National Teacher Mentorship positively impacted their decision to stay in teaching
Student Impact
Of the survey respondents, as a result of participation in the National Teacher Mentorship:
- 95% reported increased student engagement, enjoyment in learning, engagement with Shakespeare, and positive attitudes to learning
- 87% reported increased student confidence
- 85% reported increased student creativity
- 66% reported increased student academic results
- 58% reported increased student literacy skills
- 36% reported increased student attendance
An estimated 21,000+ students have benefitted from teachers participating in the mentorship since 2017, based on survey respondents alone.
Impact on the community and beyond
Of the survey respondents, as a result of participation in the National Teacher Mentorship:
- 93% reported a positive shift in attitudes to learning in their schools
- 92% of respondents shared their resources and strategies from the program with others within their department, with more than 900 additional teachers benefitting from the mentorship
- 86% reported an improvement in the quality of Shakespeare programs in their school
- 78% reported improved perceptions and attitudes to Shakespeare in their school
As a result of knowledge sharing, almost 500 teachers who work outside the participating school communities benefitted from the learnings of those who participated in the National Teacher Mentorship.
This research demonstrates that the program reaches far beyond supporting teachers to help students understand and engage with Shakespeare. The data shows that the program is transformational for teacher practice and profound in its impact on student learning.
If you would like to find out more about the National Teacher Mentorship program or are interested in applying for the 2026 intake, you can find out more information here.
Or, you can hear more from previous participants on YouTube.