Claire Spiller - Learning mentor KS3
Chris Loveland - Learning mentor KS3/4 G&T
Sarah Lyle - Careers and enterprise/KS4 mentor
Chloe Firth - Careers and enterprise/KS4 mentor
Abigail Monteith - G&T learning mentor KS4/14-19
The Role of a Learning Mentor
A learning mentor aims to help remove students’ barriers to learning. Learning mentors work with individual students and small groups of students. The Aim of mentoring is to provide short-term support to address barriers to the student’s learning. Learning mentors work on a six-week rolling programme. At the beginning of the process the subject teachers outline their concerns, and the student can use these, with the mentor, to set their own targets.
These targets are then reviewed informally on a weekly or fortnightly basis, then formally at the end of the six weeks. The student and mentor then make a decision as to whether further support is necessary. Although the process is, ideally, a short one which enables the student to then manage on their own, some students go through the process a number of times, during which the levels of support can be increased or decreased as required. In addition to general mentoring, members of the team have also been given responsibility for the mentoring of students in the Gifted and Talented and Aim Higher cohorts, to help ensure that their specific needs are met.
Parents and carers are encouraged to contribute to the mentoring process. A positive response from parents often leads to a greater degree of engagement in the process by the student. By working with students and parents the mentors form an important bridge between home and school. Mentors also have an important role to play as signposts and communication points for external sources of support, liaising with agencies including Connexions, Social Services, the Education Welfare Service, Home-Start, Young Carers, the school nursing service, FE and HE providers.
Through data analysis, Learning Mentors work with Achievement/Key Stage Leaders to identify, through the use of data and student reports, students who are underachieving or who would benefit from support to achieve their academic potential.
Identifying need
Through the Additional Needs Team (ANT), Student concerns are put to the Additional Needs Team panel by Key Stage Leaders and/or Pastoral Managers. These students may include those who have chosen to ‘self-refer’ and others who have been identified by subject teachers. A decision is then made by ANT panel as to which strand of support is most relevant to that student’s needs. Students are referred to Learning Mentors if it is felt that the main concern is their achievement. Underperformance can be as a result of a wide range of barriers/concerns, including behaviour, attendance, self-esteem, problems at home, poor organisational skills etc.
Chris Loveland - Learning mentor KS3/4 G&T
Sarah Lyle - Careers and enterprise/KS4 mentor
Chloe Firth - Careers and enterprise/KS4 mentor
Abigail Monteith - G&T learning mentor KS4/14-19
The Role of a Learning Mentor
A learning mentor aims to help remove students’ barriers to learning. Learning mentors work with individual students and small groups of students. The Aim of mentoring is to provide short-term support to address barriers to the student’s learning. Learning mentors work on a six-week rolling programme. At the beginning of the process the subject teachers outline their concerns, and the student can use these, with the mentor, to set their own targets.
These targets are then reviewed informally on a weekly or fortnightly basis, then formally at the end of the six weeks. The student and mentor then make a decision as to whether further support is necessary. Although the process is, ideally, a short one which enables the student to then manage on their own, some students go through the process a number of times, during which the levels of support can be increased or decreased as required. In addition to general mentoring, members of the team have also been given responsibility for the mentoring of students in the Gifted and Talented and Aim Higher cohorts, to help ensure that their specific needs are met.
Parents and carers are encouraged to contribute to the mentoring process. A positive response from parents often leads to a greater degree of engagement in the process by the student. By working with students and parents the mentors form an important bridge between home and school. Mentors also have an important role to play as signposts and communication points for external sources of support, liaising with agencies including Connexions, Social Services, the Education Welfare Service, Home-Start, Young Carers, the school nursing service, FE and HE providers.
Through data analysis, Learning Mentors work with Achievement/Key Stage Leaders to identify, through the use of data and student reports, students who are underachieving or who would benefit from support to achieve their academic potential.
Identifying need
Through the Additional Needs Team (ANT), Student concerns are put to the Additional Needs Team panel by Key Stage Leaders and/or Pastoral Managers. These students may include those who have chosen to ‘self-refer’ and others who have been identified by subject teachers. A decision is then made by ANT panel as to which strand of support is most relevant to that student’s needs. Students are referred to Learning Mentors if it is felt that the main concern is their achievement. Underperformance can be as a result of a wide range of barriers/concerns, including behaviour, attendance, self-esteem, problems at home, poor organisational skills etc.