Youth Mentoring in Oxfordshire
Mentoring is a voluntary one-to-one relationship between a young person and a supportive adult. They work together to help make constructive changes in the life and behaviour of the young person. Mentoring can help children and young people in a variety of ways:
- Raise self-esteem
- Prevent and reduce offending and the harm it causes
- Integrate young people into communities
- Raise educational achievement
- Link young people into constructive positive leisure activities
Mentors work with the young person according to their needs, agreeing together what each step will be. Depending on what is agreed, this might include:
- Talking about problems and interests
- Supporting young people to set plans and goals
- Doing something fun and relaxing like going to a match or the cinema.
Mentoring will only take place with the parents or carers consent. Most mentors are parents themselves and know how demanding being a parent can be.
If you are (or know) a young person who would benefit from mentoring, you should contact your local Early Intervention Hub.
Being a Mentor
A mentor is someone to talk to, whom you can trust, who will give you time, treat you with respect, and listen to you. They can support you to make positive changes in your life and access training, activities, and other services.
Mentors are ordinary men and women who are interested in helping young people. They have all volunteered to do this – they don't get paid for being involved. They just have a genuine interest in helping young people.
Mentors are carefully selected, trained and supervised:
- They have been checked out to make sure they're the right person for the job
- Each one has made a commitment to get to know a young person for up to a year
- They've had training to help them understand the challenges young people face
- They are supervised, supported and CRB checked
If you are interested in becoming a mentor, please download this application form (.pdf format, 62kb)
