An Insight into the School Based Learning Mentor Role
As a school based Learning Mentor, there may be several expectations and presumptions about my role with children and young people.
The mentoring role process consists of a referral from the school, identify area of change, developing a plan, putting the plan into action and review progress. Sounds straight forward, doesn’t it? However, the role is so much more than that.
Learning Mentors support students' emotional well-being helping them navigate social challenges and build resilience. They assist in developing positive behaviour patterns, addressing issues like attendance, punctuality, and discipline.
Building a trusting relationship is key for the children we work with. They may have experienced significant trauma. Learning Mentors work with a range of needs.
Mentors work in a child led way. Making a connection and finding a common interest supports development of the relationship. Often, the needs of the child can be complex, for various reasons. There is not a one size fits all approach to mentoring.
It can take time to build a trusting relationship, to the point where the child is able to even consider the changes they would like to make. For others, contemplation of change can be too painful to consider, as there may be a sense of shame.
Learning Mentors are flexible and intuitive. It is important to recognise realistic outcomes and look at what changes can be made, no matter how small.
I often ask myself, what difference can I make for this child, for the child to feel a sense of success and improved self worth? For this to happen I look beyond the mentoring role. I draw on a range of skill sets and experience.
One of the children I worked with had a keen interest in origami. Using origami enabled us to make a connection and build a trusting relationship. It also supported the child to experience making mistakes, not always succeeding, without feeling a sense of shame and worthlessness. It opened up an exploration of our emotions. He took pride showing his origami to his teacher. His peers showed an interest and he enjoyed helping me when I got it wrong. All this from doing origami!
Learning mentors connect with the school and home. Communication and feedback is key.
Effective communication and collaboration with parents and school are essential components of a Learning Mentor's role in supporting child or young person's success.
So, there you have it.
Although a school based Learning Mentor role may sound relatively simple, I hope this brief blog gives you an insight of the complexity and creativity required to understand and meet the needs of the child or young person.
Written by Julie Spencer, Family Learning Mentor
