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Mentoring starts on a part-time basis, allowing participants to ease into the process, and gradually increases as the relationship grows and the mentee’s needs develop.
One or more days a week are added alongside a part-time one-to-one programme, providing additional opportunities for support and development to enhance the overall experience and growth.
It begins on a part-time basis, allowing for a gradual introduction, and then steadily builds to a full-time schedule as the participant becomes more comfortable and their needs or goals evolve. This progression ensures a smooth transition while maintaining steady development.
Some young people can’t cope in a small class environment, so they will be put on a one-to-one timetable. One-to-one working involves close work between the student and the tutor, and young people are paired up with tutors who can support them in whichever skills or activities are likely to best motivate the young person. Mentoring allows the young person to have all of their mentor’s attention which means they can cater for their needs more effectively.
At Releasing Potential we have our own full time one-to-one students who are on a timetable which is similar to ‘Engage’. Mentors model positive behaviours to students and provide a warm, supportive adult relationship that takes into account sometimes very complex emotional and learning needs. Some students will have the opportunity join an Activation group, where appropriate, as part of their mentoring programme, during which they will work as part of a group with their respective tutors with a 1:1 staff to student ratio.
We aim to support all our students to build social skills by interacting with other young people. Activation is designed to bring together two or more one-to-one students on one or more days a week for a group outdoor/sport/fitness session. Activation is suitable for students who are not yet ready for a group learning environment, but who can begin to build up relationships with staff and peers that will make transition to a group setting possible at a future time.
Activation offers fun, and the opportunity to meet and socialise with other students, and is particularly important when a young person has been been out of school for some time. The programme requires students to focus on team work, enabling them to grow in the sorts of skills they will need in the world beyond school. It can be adapted to suit the needs of students and is flexible so that they are never given more group work than they can cope with. We aim for all our full time students to progress from a one-to-one programme to being part of an Engage group. Activation allows them to experience a group environment without having an abrupt shift to full time Engage.
Engage is a full time Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision, which offers places to young people in groups of no bigger than four and with a 1:2 ratio of staff to students. Engage operates at both our Chichester and Havant school sites. The Engage brief is to ensure that students leave at the end of Year 11 with Level 1 qualifications, a place in college, work or an apprenticeship, and with the social emotional skills to cope with whatever comes next.
Engage lessons start at 9.30 am and end at 2.30 pm. Lessons are 45 minutes long, and are usually followed by a 15 minute break. Before lessons begin, the young people have the option of tea and toast to start the day. Breakfast time is an important start to the day for young people and staff alike, because relaxed interaction before the day begins helps put everyone in a positive frame of mind. We always stay with students during breaks, even when they are outside in the smoking area.
See here for an example of a typical Engage timetable. One-to-ones in the Releasing Potential School follow a similar schedule, with added flexibility to manage student needs.