A peer mentoring scheme for children about to start secondary school was a fantastic advert for teenagers’ commitment, says Ben Sperring
In the busyness that is the world of education, we are grateful when an opportunity comes along to tackle a few things simultaneously.
Our year 11 learning mentor programme helped prepare younger pupils for a significant transition while providing meaningful development for our older students post-GCSEs.
The long, often unproductive summer after GCSEs can be a period of drift for year 11 students, while year 6 pupils begin to feel the natural anxieties of moving to secondary school.
Our three-week, post-GCSE volunteer programme turned this downtime into a meaningful personal and career development opportunity while supporting pupils in year 6 to prepare for year 7.
To ensure the programme’s impact, we deliberately structured it to mirror a workplace qualification, pitched at roughly a level 3/4 standard.
This professional approach began right from recruitment. We advertised across our four London secondary partners Oaklands School in Bethnal Green, George Green’s School on the Isle of Dogs, Langdon Park School in Poplar and Bow School in Bow.
Professional skills
Students had to submit a formal application form and attend an interview before being offered a place. Twenty-one year 11 students were selected to participate across four primary schools.
The training element of the programme was delivered by LETTA staff, the same staff who train and develop apprentices and new teachers. It covered essential professional skills, including:
- Defining the mentor role
- Understanding professional conduct and boundaries (e.g. how to be friendly, but not a friend)
- Practical skills like listening techniques, specifically the “model of repetition” for confirming understanding
- Safeguarding issues
This intensive preparation involved two full days of upfront training, followed by weekly sessions throughout the placement, including roleplay and peer-to-peer exercises to build confidence before entering the classroom.
The primary schools identified pupils who would most benefit from the support, and we used personal introductions from both the mentors and pupils to match pairs based on shared interests and compatible personalities.
Once in their placement school, the mentors were very much active participants, not observers, and were expected to engage confidently with pupils, rather than sitting on the sidelines.
For example, each student was required to plan and lead an icebreaker and introduce an activity to the class. A supervisor supported mentors one day per week, providing guidance, encouragement and a space to reflect on their developing skills.
UCAS personal statement
The timing of this programme was, in part, a response to the new structure of the UCAS personal statement, where question 3 specifically asks students to detail their outside-of-education preparation and explain its usefulness.
This can be tough for some teenagers. Supervisors led discussions on how the students’ newly acquired mentoring, communication and professional skills would be valued across various career paths.
On the final day of the programme, our 21 mentors came together to share their experiences.
The local MP attended to thank them and congratulate them on their success, a gesture which helped to reinforce just how seriously everyone took the work they had been engaged in.
Genuinely, the commitment and professionalism of this first cohort of mentors blew us away.
Interestingly, it turns out that the programme is already acting as a powerful recruitment pipeline for the teaching profession.
Many of the students expressed an interest in teaching following the programme, leading to an optional, teaching-focused Q&A session where we outlined pathways into teaching.
This programme offers a compelling model for trusts and schools looking to strategically invest in both year 7 transition support and career development for older students.
We will be following up with this cohort to keep their aspirations warm and are looking forward to applications for this summer’s programme.
