Educators back AI-assisted mentoring – but only if it keeps the human touch
November 2025
Across the education sector, one theme comes up again and again: teachers don’t leave the profession because they stop caring – they leave because they stop coping.
Mentoring and professional support remain among the most powerful ways to retain teachers and sustain quality, yet the system that delivers that support is under real pressure. Time constraints, inconsistent mentoring quality, and limited access to personalised development all make it difficult for teachers to get the guidance they need, when they need it.
Schools are looking for smarter ways to sustain professional growth, ones that lighten workload rather than add to it.
That’s where MentorEd comes in.
A smarter system for teacher development
Through Teacher Success Platform (TSP), we’re developing MentorEd – an AI-enabled coaching companion designed to give teachers and mentors better access to timely, contextualised support.
Unlike general-purpose chatbots, MentorEd is built on expert insight, real classroom scenarios, and a deep understanding of professional standards. Its role isn’t to replace human mentoring, but to make it more scalable.
The system uses AI to source relevant examples from TSP’s award-winning scenario-based learning library, along with conversation prompts and developmental insights tailored to each teacher’s needs. But every piece of AI-generated feedback remains visible to mentors and leadership teams, ensuring that support aligns with school priorities.
MentorEd is designed to enhance professional relationships, not automate them. That means less time spent preparing mentoring sessions and more time focused on meaningful discussion and growth.
Testing the idea with educators
This summer, the Digital Catapult ran independent market engagement to test the MentorEd concept with 79 professionals across the education sector – including school leaders, HR directors, and mentors.
The results were encouraging. The concept achieved an average score of 3.6 out of 5, with 67% rating it “Good” or “Excellent.” Three in four participants said they’d be likely or very likely to recommend MentorEd once available.
Participants consistently valued the idea of personalised, scalable mentoring support that could reduce workload and support wellbeing. They also appreciated that MentorEd’s design keeps humans firmly in control – a feature they saw as vital for trust and adoption.
As one participant put it, “AI might make mentoring more consistent, but it’s the human connection that makes it meaningful.”
What educators told us they need
The engagement also revealed what matters most to potential users:
– Real-world relevance: Teachers want scenarios and insights that reflect their specific classroom context – not generic advice
– Data transparency and trust: School leaders are open to AI-powered tools, but only if privacy and data use are clearly defined.
– Ease of use: Tools need to integrate simply with existing systems and workflows.
– Human oversight: AI should support, not replace, professional judgement.
The Digital Catapult’s evaluation found all four proposed platform features – from custom scenario builds to organisational data dashboards and guided mentor tools – rated close to “very important.”
This feedback confirmed a growing openness to innovation in professional development, provided it strengthens, rather than replaces, the mentoring relationship.
Human-centred AI for real-world challenges
At TSP, our goal is to build technology that amplifies the best of human mentoring. The findings reaffirm our belief that the future of teacher development isn’t about AI taking over, it’s about AI helping people do what they do best.
By combining human expertise with intelligent data and automation, MentorEd aims to create a feedback loop that benefits everyone:
– Teachers receive personalised, on-demand support.
– Mentors gain insight and consistency without additional workload.
– School leaders access data to spot strengths, skill gaps, and retention risks early.
It’s an approach that turns everyday mentoring interactions into a strategic asset for schools.
Partner with us to shape what’s next
MentorEd is currently in development, and the next phase will focus on school-based trials to test usability, impact, and integration in real settings.
We’re now inviting schools, multi-academy trusts, and teacher training providers to partner with us in this next stage – helping shape a tool designed for the realities of teaching, not just the theory.
If you’re interested in joining our pilot network, we’d love to hear from you.
“This isn’t about replacing mentors — it’s about giving them time back,” says Robyn Andrews, CEO of Teacher Success Platform.
“The message from our engagement is clear: educators are open to AI-assisted support, as long as it’s transparent, trustworthy, and keeps the human touch at its heart.”
To explore pilot opportunities or learn more about MentorEd, contact us at info@teachersuccess.co.uk