Putting Citizenship into action!

Peer mentoring in schools is turning round lives of young people all over England. Jason Prince came back from the brink of suspension to becoming a trainee teacher at his own school

Once on the brink of suspension from school, Jason entered a mentoring programme which was to turn his life around. What helped even more, was becoming a mentor himself. Jason firmly believes that mentoring has changed his life and is now a teacher training at the school!
“I felt that some of the teachers didn’t understand me and it was easy for me to give them some attitude,” says Jason.

“But I found a mentor who helped me see where I was going wrong and realised I had to find a way of relating to those teachers, despite how I felt. That changed everything... I saw younger kids going through the same thing and became a role model for them. Then I realised I could make a difference – and that’s what made me want to be a teacher.”

“I find I can relate to pupils that are at risk as I can talk with them in a less formal setting which definitely has its benefits.... As I was involved with the mentoring programme at school, I began to look at things in a different light. My mentor understood me as a person and so gained my respect. This helped me gain my A Levels. Using the same technique to motivate myself, I then went on to get my degree... Coming through the mentor programme has given me skills that have aided my teaching.”

Marian Cole, is the senior learning mentor at Baverstock College where Jason now teaches. She considers mentoring as integral to the school day.

“An important focus for us is teaching children how to be emotionally literate and enabling them to talk about feelings... We use anger management techniques, offer relaxation sessions and provide a drop-in mentoring room where pupils know they can come to chat, unwind and put the world to rights.”

“A lot of children aspire to be mentors,” says Marian. “It gives them a position of trust, and they feel needed, valued and part of the family ethos of the school. It improves lateness, attendance and behaviour. A peer mentor can often get through to a child where an adult can’t.”

Baverstock College is part of the National Peer Mentoring Pilot that was launched at the start of the academic year 2006 in 180 schools throughout England. Already 7,200 students are actively involved in the pilot working together to tackle issues such as bullying, behaviour, transition, attainment and attendance in schools.

To find out more about MBF please visit
www.mandbf.org.uk. Any school wishing to set up their own Peer Mentoring programme should call Carla Sleaford on: 0161 787 8600 or visit www.peermentoring.org.uk

Pic: Jason Prince, peer mentor Images ©Roy Kilcullen Photography

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