Engage Mentoring Project provides intensive mentoring and group activity sessions for young people aged between 9 and 16, each receiving an average of 2.5 hours contact time a week over 3 months (12 sessions). We support children and young people to reduce their risk factors, raise their aspirations and prepare for adulthood.
Once a child or young person has been referred to the project they will be allocated a professional mentor, who will be responsible for developing an appropriate support package to meet their needs and monitor their progress towards the achievement of agreed outcomes. (e.g. improved family and peer relationships, reduced risky behaviour, better anger management). Each young person will also receive support from a peer mentor – a young person aged between 17 and 25 living in Trafford who has experienced and overcome similar challenges and can provide a positive role model.
Each child or young person will receive a programme of support from the following service strands:
‘Impact’. – this is the core element of providing intensive mentoring on a one-to-one basis weekly, in school or at home. Parent/carer involvement and support is strongly encouraged. Impact sessions focus on developing new skills and attitudes to promote resilience, problem solving and aspiration. As part of these sessions a ‘Progress Check’ is completed, through which mentees will score their progress against personal and social outcome measures and set relevant goals covering the following areas:
- reducing risks and promoting protective factors
- engagement and progression in education, training or employment
- raised aspirations and preparing for adulthood.
The peer mentors will supplement the work of the professional mentors and organise and deliver group activity sessions.
‘Safe and Sorted’. Activity-based workshops to inform, challenge and support mentees on issues relating to health, well-being and safety, including managing emotions; communicating effectively with parents. For older mentees workshop topics will include drugs and alcohol; sexual health; sexual exploitation, domestic violence, consequences of crime.
‘Achieve’. - sessions focus on supporting progress in school and the development of transferable skills for future employment and will include:
- raising their aspirations for employment
- improving their interpersonal skills; addressing behavioural issues through team building activities
- participating in a social action project in their community
- establishing routines and developing time management skills
‘Active’. We challenge children and young people to use their leisure time constructively and develop new interests they can continue on exiting our project. A range of positive activities including sports and social events are provided.
‘Progress’. Throughout our interventions foundations are laid to ensure that the outcomes achieved cab be sustained once participation in Engage comes to an end. Mentees will be referred and introduced to a range of universal services and accompanied to their first meeting/session, as appropriate. This ensures more effective transition into partner services.
We deliver our services at the point of need, providing support at home, in school or other appropriate venues, such as community centres. Transport is provided to and from venues to overcome any barriers to access. All support and activities are free of charge.