In this paper, we report on a mentoring programme which provides an accreditation pathway to a master’s level qualification. The paper served three purposes. First, informed by selected literature on education we caution against expedient reductionist models that are based solely on novice–expert mentoring relationships with limited facility for critical inquiry. Second, we present an evolving theoretical framework for productive mentoring based on our critique of a preferred academic literature and interactions with mentor teachers, school principals and teacher educators. We proactively encouraged an awareness of societal norms and traditions that can appear as counterculture to critical thinking. Lastly, we consider some implications for productive mentoring as an academic, caring and professional practice within a continuum of teacher education.