Engage Youth Mentoring
Supporting Young People
Engage! is rooted in the Christian faith, extending a welcome and connecting people from all backgrounds and beliefs. We believe positive relationships provide the best context, through listening and supporting for communicating a sense of value and empowering young people. While there is sometimes no substitute for professional services, a mentor can be an early alternative with a focus on developing long-term resilience and life skills through the relationship itself.
Our Story
The project started with one worker in 2013 and began to take on volunteers in 2015 and was set up to provide support to young children and teens in primary and secondary settings. Through positive and empowering relationships with their individual mentors, children and young people are supported on a weekly basis; often raising self-esteem, aspirations and confidence as they tackle life and school together. Engage! (Youth Mentoring) employs a part time employee to train, support and coordinate volunteers as well as to develop and sustain partnerships with schools. The project has increased its capacity to support 100+ students each year through the invaluable services of about 30 volunteers.​
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About Us
Engage! Youth Mentoring is an independent project under the wider umbrella of registered charity, Lichfield Christian Schools Work Trust. We have been recruiting and training volunteer mentors from the community since 2015. By facilitating their placement at primary and secondary schools in the local area, hundreds of students have since had the chance to speak to one of our mentors; some for a few weeks, others for many months.
Youth Mentoring Workshops
Transitioning from primary to secondary school is a significant milestone in a child's life, often accompanied by a mix of excitement and apprehension. It's a time of change - new environment, new teachers, new peers, and new expectations. This can understandably cause worry and fear among students. Our Transition workshops at Engage! Youth Mentoring are designed to address these concerns. We provide guidance, reassurance, and practical strategies to help students navigate this change. By addressing their fears and equipping them with the necessary tools, we aim to transform this daunting experience into an exciting new chapter, ensuring a smoother and more confident transition.
For more information on Engage, please contact Flavia or Tina
Information For Schools
There is no direct cost to the school to have an Engage! mentor placed with you, nor do they require training or supervision.
Consider the small indirect cost of staff time for the initial set-up and the ongoing communication with the mentor. A good relationship with the school is a key factor for a volunteer remaining with you! Engage! mentors usually take two students on a long-term basis and do the mentoring on-site. They are vetted through application, attend our mentoring training and are supervised by us throughout their placements. Each will have the required police check, child safeguarding qualification, and come with references. Contact us if you are interested in
becoming one of our partners.
Information for Parents
If your child is selected through school to work with Engage!* an allocated mentor will spend time each week getting to know them with a view to addressing any concerns and supporting them effectively. Sessions are 1:1 taken during lesson times and last an average of 45mins. Mentors are encouraged to keep sessions informal and enjoyable. Although sessions are confidential, you may contact us with questions, queries and general updates.
*If your child is not at school, or your child’s school is not yet
one of our partners, contact us directly to see if we can help.
