What You'll Do:
- Pupils in a pupil referral unit have been permanently or temporarily removed from their mainstream school due to different challenges, often resulting in experiencing one or more of the following; low self esteem, low attainment levels, friendship breakdown, feeling misunderstood and lacking in purpose, direction and motivation. In addition, they are often experiencing/experienced family breakdown, peer pressure, rebellious behaviour, family issues and concerns or bulling. Beneath all of this is a young person who needs someone who can put them first, who deserves to not only know but believe that despite the challenges they face, they can overcome and achieve. This is where mentoring can help
- As mentor to a young person between the ages of 11-16, you will meet together on a weekly basis at your mentees school, encouraging and motivating your mentee to make steps towards positive change.
- Being understanding to the range of behavioural, emotional and learning difficulties your mentee may have, you will be patient and committed, putting the needs of your mentee first, working together to identify goals that matter to them and together creating strategies and steps towards achieving such goals.
- Often faced with the increase likelihood of challenges experienced due to being in a pupil referral unit, trained in positive psychology and coaching style techniques by Unfold, you will inspire your mentor to see challenges as opportunity, broadening their horizons as to what they can achieve.
- Building a trusting relationship, you will create a safe space for your mentor to be actively listened to and heard without judgement.
Why You'll Love It:
- You will love building a relationship and supporting young people who will be experiencing greater difficulties. Although not always easy, we have seen positive change in the lives of young people through our mentoring. We have seen young people’s confidence increase, changes in future aspirations, positive and healthy relationships being built, a new outlook on life and beautiful smiles.
- You will enjoy knowing that your mentoring will make a difference, with 9 out of 10 of the young people we work with saying that having a mentor has significantly improved their life, your skills and experiences are needed and will have a positive impact.
- You can find joy in being that someone in a young persons life that perhaps you wish you had, someone who can inspire, support and motivate.
- You will have fun, as you laugh, reflect and overcome challenges together, igniting imagination, and being inspired by your mentee as you join on their journey to positive change.
What You'll Learn:
- Through our comprehensive training and ongoing support, you will develop skills in positive psychology and coaching style techniques to effectively support someone to making steps towards positive change.
- You will gain transferable skills relevant for personal and professional development, this includes but is not limited to team working, empathetic leadership, organisation, growth mindset and adaptive communication styles and approaches.
- You may be matched with an individual from a different culture, age, or gender to yourselves, allowing you to gain an understanding of life from a perspective different to your own.
- Through our compulsory monthly group supervision, you will have the opportunity to share your journey and support others though your learning.
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What We're Looking For:
- You will need to welcome supporting young people with a wide range of abilities and from a range of diversities.
- We are looking for someone who can committ to 1–2-hours a week, over a period of 24 sessions. For this programme you will meet during school hours, in most cases, for a minimum of 4 weeks. The programme is designed for sessions to begin within school whilst you build your relationship, with an aim to move your sessions to be held outside of school hours, and depending on the need of your mentee, session may then be in person, virtually or a mixture of both.
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Being an organisation who actively ensures the people we serve are heard and considered in the operation of what we do, we asked our Youth Advisory Council what qualities they feel a mentor should have and we couldn’t agree more!
• Mindfulness – “as a mentor you need to be open minded, you need to always be mindful about what your mentee is feeling so they don’t feel like they are forced, or the session is about you”
• Good listener – “asking good questions and being genuinely interested, so your mentee feels more welcome and cared for”
• Patient – “as a mentee, having a mentor can feel strict at first, and they might need some time before getting into the flow of sessions”
• Relatable – “understanding your mentees’ interests or experiences and being able to share your experiences with them”Your individuality and Your life experience is what makes you unique and there is no one size fits, we ask for your time and committed to help others on their journey to Unfold their full potential and we’ll help you with the rest.
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