Mentoring booklet

2014
Effective Practice in
Youth Mentoring

Stephen Hollywood

Contents:

 What is Youth Mentoring?
 Benefits of Youth Mentoring
 A successful Youth Mentoring relationship  Designing a Mentoring Programme
 Developing a Mentoring a
Mentoring approach
 Mentoring Skills, Roles & Qualities
 Guidelines for Mentors
 Ending the Mentoring Relationship

What is Youth Mentoring?
From my experience, Youth Mentoring is complex. It is somewhat different from coaching, teaching, tutoring or lecturing. It can vary from one situation to another. It is important that the purposes and intentions of a mentoring programme are set in a particular context. A mentor is basically someone who helps another person through a transitional period of their lives, for example, someone leaving care, as a consequence of a custodial sentence, personal growth or the development of a chosen career path etc....
Youth Mentoring is not a one-size-fits-all concept.
Every young person who enters into a mentoring programme has different needs, issues and barriers which hinder his/her personal progression. A successful Youth Mentoring programme is flexible to meets the needs of the young person which will allow them to flourish.
The traditional form of mentoring is one to one although it is important to recognise that this is only one form of support. ‘Mentees’ can also be supported by friends, parents, community groups, community/voluntary sector agencies, teachers/tutors/lecturers, employers etc...It is also

imperative that the mentor collaborates effectively with the aforementioned to ensure the mentee realizes his/her full potential. Other forms of mentoring include:

Group Mentoring (One or more adults working with a group of young people.)

Peer Mentoring (Caring youth, working with other youth) Team Mentoring (Several adults working with groups of young people)

E – Mentoring (Mentoring via email or online)
Co – Mentoring ( A relationship between two people that is non-hierarchical which