About
WAM Youth exists because we believe every child and young person deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential in life whatever their circumstances or life experiences.
We believe that ...
Mentor
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Summary
Mentoring provides a child or young person with a trusted adult to spend time with, talk to, work through things.Detailed description
About the role
Our mentoring service provides a child or young person with a trusted adult to spend time with, talk to, work through things. Our mentoring is a long term safe space suitable for any young person who requires a sustained, trusted relationship with an adult. We have successfully supported young people who have experienced multiple ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) as well as other emotional and mental health challenges, those who have difficulty accessing mainstream education for medical, emotional or social reasons and many others.
The key principle of our mentoring is the transformative power of safe and positive relationships. The role of mentors is simply being there to support a child or young person consistently over a period of around 12 months. This can take different forms depending on the age and needs of the children. Some take their mentees out for hot chocolate and a chat, others go for bike rides or play sports. Some go to the cinema, for dog walks, visit places of interest or those with younger children might just visit the park or play games. Sometimes mentoring occurs within school time & at school, other times it's outside of school. It's child-led and the emphasis is on building the relationship, not working through programmes or rigid targets although we do regularly review progress to ensure the child's needs are being met.
What is involved?
Our volunteer mentors are trained volunteers that support young people in finding hope and feeling valued. No previous experience is required as full training is given, just a willingness to meet with, and support a young person for 1 hour a week for a year and have monthly supervisions with a supervisor. We recruit mentors through a safe recruitment process of application, references, a 2 stage interview, home visit and a DBS check. The training includes 5 sessions of 2.5 hours, and ongoing optional training and get togethers are put on throughout the year to support our mentors.
To apply, please click 'Join' and answer a short question. We will then be in touch to discuss the next steps.
What we will provide to volunteers
💸 Reimbursement of costsAbout WAM Youth
We believe that positive relationships and experiences are essential for young people but are not always accessible to them. We value children and young people as individuals and place them at the centre of what we do.
- To help children and young people to build healthy self-esteem and confidence so that in placing value on themselves and on others they are more likely to make behavioural choices that have a positive impact on themselves and those around them.
- To provide activities and safe spaces for children and young people to develop their social and emotional skills and improve physical health for a positive impact on their wellbeing.
- To provide outdoor activities which enable children and young people to learn to manage risk wisely.
- To build sustained positive relationships with children and young people so that they are empowered and motivated to develop positive behaviours.