Mentoring

Learning mentors provide an additional service to teachers and pastoral staff in schools to help children overcome barriers to learning, both inside and outside the school, and to achieve their full potential.

Children's Services provide services in relation to obtaining a mentor and  becoming a mentor.

The Excellence in Cities (EIC) initiative in Sunderland employs Learning Mentors in every secondary school in the city to reduce barriers to learning - barriers such as bereavement, truancy, low self esteem etc.

The mentors work with a cohort of pupils who are underachieving.  Mentors have a 5 day National Training programme and are recruited from a variety of backgrounds. Many are young graduates; others are more mature in age with a wealth of life experience.

From September 2004 there will be mentors introduced into the primary sector hopefully to work with underachievement and transition issues.

The impact of mentors in schools has been massive and it is expected that even after Excellence in Cities funding ends, schools will still employ mentors.

There is also a 'pupils first' project in Sunderland which employs mentors to work in specific schools in Sunderland. Their remit differs from that of EIC mentors

Please telephone (0191) 553 5600 or e-mail for further information about mentoring or how to apply to become a mentor.

Further information is also available from  Teachernet