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A Day in the life of a mentor

Mr Mahmood: My role at Grove Academy is Pastoral & Cover Manager.

Mentoring at Grove Academy means acting as a positive role model. In general, mentoring aims to build confidence and relationships, to develop resilience and character, or raise aspirations, rather than to develop specific academic skills or knowledge. Giving and receiving feedback are highly rewarding experiences for mentors and mentees alike. Effective feedback is crucial to establish an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding. The Mentor Team guide mentees to help them to succeed. A mentor can offer career development and advice about personal growth.

Dr Rodriguez: 

We have some pretty full-on days, but it’s an extremely rewarding job. We first get assigned students to work with who might find some aspects of school life challenging. We work with students to set targets, so that there is a clear understanding of expectations.

Mentors play the role of an adult in school that students can trust and reach out to when they need support. We are here to help our young people be the better version of themselves.

Miss Ajaib:

My favourite part about mentoring is getting to know the students individually and the unique personalities they each have. I enjoy seeing them progress through support from a dedicated role model. It is important that students know that they always have a safe space to talk to an adult.

Mentoring gives me the ability to work with students to reflect on their attitudes towards learning and to boost their confidence in lessons, as well as setting them up for their future careers.

To build a mentor-mentee relationship, the most important aspect is to establish trust so that you can support young people with issues they might face inside or outside of school.

Mentoring at Grove Academy has developed my leadership skills and made me a better individual, which has also had a positive effect on the young people around me.

Miss Coleman:

Being a learning mentor at Grove Academy not only has a profound effect on some students’ lives but also helps me to develop my own skills, as we can all learn something from one another.

It is my duty of care to provide a safe environment for all students in which to feel comfortable speaking about things that may be of concern, as well as offering guidance and support for those who might have some barriers to learning. 

My favourite thing about being a learning mentor is being able to see the positive changes in students, whether that be in making good choices, growing in confidence in lessons or improved grades. 

Mrs Bibi:

My job involves motivating, guiding and supporting students of all abilities who have social, emotional, behavioural and learning difficulties. I’ve worked with children of all ages over the years and have always believed that pastoral care is just as important as attainment for a pupil to achieve their best.  

My typical day involves checking up on my assigned mentees and see how they are doing and address any issues in and out of the classroom. We use Class Charts data to monitor behaviour and progress in and out of the classroom, this helps us to assess and gather information so we can set personalised targets aimed at meeting the needs of the mentee. These targets are then used to plan and implement interventions to help the mentee help achieve their set targets i.e., if a student is not going to lessons on time, we may escort them to their lessons to ensure attendance and punctuality. Poor engagement in lessons, for example, might be addressed with in class support and developing coping strategies to help engagement i.e., a seating plan or peer support.

As well as guiding and motivating mentees we provide support both in and out of the classroom. We make ourselves approachable for the students who need someone to listen and talk to and this helps build better working relations between mentee and the mentor. We also liaise with parents on a regular basis to form a better partnership between home and school.

Why do I do this job and what do I get out of it? Simply, job satisfaction knowing we’re making a difference in a young person’s life and seeing them become the person they want to be by helping them achieve their goals. There’s nothing better than seeing a child overcome their barriers and grow in confidence.

Ella Rasouli: I am Ella, I have joined the Learning Mentor Team in the Grove recently. I am passionate about this role as long time I have worked in education.

As a learning mentor, I support, motivate and guide pupils, including gifted and talented learners, to help them overcome any barriers. I work closely with teachers and other staff to identify the needs of learners who require help and plan how to support them.

I've found I often learn as much as I share in the mentoring sessions.

I've always liked to explore self-improvement and have been genuinely surprised at how helping others has helped me personally.

I have a flexible timetable; if not covering the lessons I find a chance to catch up my mentees to support their learning.