Mentor Training

Our successful mentoring programme has so far trained 150 adults from the local community as mentors. They have gone on to mentor in schools, youth clubs, prisons, youth offending services, private practice and other settings.

15 days of professional training

The training covers six modules.

1) Building Relationships

• Identifying your client group and appropriately advertising your services
• Establishing a strong rapport
• Stimulate ideas with practical resources, activities and games
• Encourage personal growth through art materials, creative writing and worksheets
• Inspire change with power questions, motivating stories and positive goals
• Closure and endings

2) Safe and Ethical Practice

• How to set up a professional client relationship which is safe and boundaried.
• The application and limits of client confidentiality.
• Child protection, safeguarding and working with vulnerable adults.
• Record keeping

3) Theory and Praxis

• Safeguarding, child protection and vulnerable adults – the law and best practice
• Child and adolescent development
• Therapeutic models of self
• Prejudice, discrimination and equality
• Models and patterns of conversation
• Attachment theory
• Bereavement and trauma
• Managing emotions

4) Reflective Practice and Self-awareness

• Time for personal processing
• Reflective journal
• Develop your mentoring skills during training

5) Skills Practice

• Experiential learning
• Feedback from peers and tutors
• Personal progress evaluation

6) Placement

• 33 hours of placement (3 to 6 clients, recommended 3 a week, arranged by student)
• 11 sessions of clinical supervision (included in course fees)
• Log of sessions and feedback records from clients

E-Learning Portal

Online resources to support training including reading, worksheets, quizzes, personal record of achievement.

Placement arranged with Leytonstone Youth Matters

We are looking for non-judgemental people from all walks of life to act as Community Mentors in one of our partner schools working with young people who have self-referred or who the school has identified as benefiting from additional support.

This will involve meeting with the same students one-to-one each week, building a rapport and helping the young person to achieve their full potential. Some young people do not have positive adult relationships in their lives; others may be facing issues which they feel they cannot talk about with their parents or teachers, others may need guidance to achieve their full potential. A mentor is someone who will support the young person, challenge them to look at things from a different perspective but above all else be willing to listen to them and make them feel respected and valued as a person.

Placements are currently available in:

• Leytonstone Business and Enterprise Secondary School
• Norlington School for Boys

We hope you will want to continue the mentoring relationship you start including receiving on-going supervision. You can discuss this with us toward the end of the training term if it is something you are interested in.

What kind of person makes a good mentor?

We are looking for non-judgemental people from all walks of life. Since 2012 we have trained over 150 mentors, some of whom have since gained employment from the skills they have learnt. The young people we work with are a cross section of our community and we want our mentors to be the same. This includes men and women, all races, all sexualities, all religions, all life experiences. Anyone can be a mentor as long as they are:

• able to listen,
• over 18,
• available during school times (for training and probably for placement),
• fluent in English (spoken and written) and
• not barred from working with children or vulnerable adults
• allowed to be in the UK (proof of visa or work permit may be required)

Course fees

The course fees are £750.00 per person.

This includes 15 full days of training, a personal tutor, 11 sessions of supervision and access to the online learning resources.

The fees do not include the cost of a DBS check, which you will need to arrange through your placement if you will be working with vulnerable adults or children under 18. (£44.00 + processing fee)

The fees do not include and personal mentoring, coaching or therapy but some students find this useful.

Bursary

A bursary of £250.00 is available to individuals who arrange their placement through Leytonstone Youth Matters approved placement scheme with either Leytonstone School or Norlington School. This reduces the fees to just £500.00 per person.

Payment plan

Fees are paid upfront before the course enrolment. Payment plans spread over two or three months will be considered if you are finding it difficult to pay.

If you have any questions please contact Amy Willshire: amy@leytonstoneyouthmatters.org.uk