Book excerpt: This book helps mentors working with beginning teachers of religious education to develop their own mentoring skills and provides the essential guidance their mentee needs as they navigate the roller coaster of their first years in the classroom. Offering tried-and-tested strategies, it covers the knowledge, skills and understanding every mentor needs. Practical tools offered include approaches for developing subject knowledge and lesson planning, as well as guidance for the effective use of pre- and post-lesson discussion, observations and target setting to support beginning religious education teachers. Together with analytical tools for self-evaluation, this book is a vital source of support and inspiration for all those involved in developing the next generation of outstanding religious education teachers. Key topics covered include the following: Models of mentoring Your knowledge, skills and understanding as a mentor Developing mentees' religious literacy through classroom practice Supporting the planning of effective and creative RE lessons Developing mentees' knowledge and skills in the RE curriculum Supporting the delivery and evaluation of lessons Observations and pre- and post-lesson discussions and regular mentoring meetings Helping new religious education teachers develop their professional practice Filled with the key tools needed for the mentor’s individual development, this book offers an accessible guide to mentoring religious education teachers with ready-to-use strategies that support, inspire and elevate both mentors and beginning teachers alike.