Becoming a Mentor

The Youth Start Mentoring Project supports children and young people who are struggling, by recruiting volunteers from the community to work with them one-to-one. The young people are referred to our project for a variety of reasons, ranging from lack of motivation to being in danger of being excluded from school for behavioural issues.

Who can volunteer?

We are looking for people who have successfully made the transition between school and further education, training and/or work. Mentors may or may not have had experience of working with young people, but they have all been teenagers once and will remember what it is like. Mentors can provide academic, emotional and social support.

If this is the volunteering opportunity for you, please click here for further information for potential mentors.

What commitment will I have to make?

We ask our mentors to make a commitment of one hour per week for a minimum of one year. The mentoring sessions take place in term times only at the young person’s school or college.

Mentors will be selected after an interview, two satisfactory references and a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. For further information about CRB checks please visit this website: www.crb.homeoffice.gov.uk. Free training will be given in Mentoring and Child Protection,

and full support will be given by the mentoring team.

If you want to make a positive difference to a young person’s life, please click here for an application form.

Our volunteers and our young people all benefit from the mentoring relationship. The volunteers gain by developing their interpersonal, communication and organisational skills, which they are able to apply to their every day lives including work and studies.

It really is amazing what you gain when you give.Mentor