Perspectives from Clinks’ Volunteering& Mentoring programme

This publication gives diverse perspectives on volunteering, based on interviews with a
range of stakeholders. It makes the case for involving volunteers in work with offenders.

This guide has been developed to assist planners and decision-makers in schools and local authorities in mainstreaming the role of learning mentors and maximising their contribution to the new agenda. It also highlights the importance of maintaining and developing co-ordination roles in this changing environment, to ensure coherence and continuity of support for children and young people. It gives an overview of the main issues and offers practical suggestions and strategies on how to develop

Department of education and skills (DfES)

UK

2005

The Key questions explored by this review were:
- What is a mentor/mentoring?
- What works?
- What is the evidence of positive outcomes for young people?
- What doesn’t work
- Is there a case for regulating mentors?
- What are the views/experiences of mentees?
- What are the views/experience of mentors?; and
-What are the views/experiences of commissioning bodies and/or employers?

University of Glasgow (2003)

UK

This paper reports the results of the largest British study of mentoring to date. Built around a longitudinal survey and depth interviews with programme workers and participants, the research sought to measure the impact of a particular group of mentoring programmes. The evidence from the study suggests that the programmes were particularly successful in increasing young people’s involvement in education, training and work, but less successful in reducing offending.

T. Newburn and M. Shiner

for The National Association for Youth Justice (2006)

UK

This document includes the following suggestions for starting or
improving outcome measurement efforts:
- Outcome sequence chart Identifies key outcomes presented in the sequence that are normallyexpected to occur.

What Works 

Urban Institure

US

- support managers and new staff in the planning and delivery of adult guidance through AEGI projects
- provide information, ideas and materials which will support managers and staff related to particular themes
- provide case studies and some activities which can assist AEGI teams to progress their work through team reviewing or internal staff development programmes
- provide checklists for certain key areas which can help AEGI staff measure provision related to identified areas
- provide key documents related to effective delivery of AEGI project objectives e.g. service agreement and job profiles;- -provide a range of proformas which can be used or adapted to meet the particular needs of AEGI projects and their clients.

Open Campus Learning Glasgow Caledonian University and Liz Thomson Consultancy for the DES

Ireland

Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago

1999

US

A quarter of known offenders are aged 10-17 years. An unstable family life and educational problems are recognised risk factors. Mentoring schemes can provide an element of stability and support that is often lacking in the lives of these young people.

Many mentoring schemes are funded by the Youth Justice Board and are run by the Youth Offending Team or by other statutory and non-statutory agencies and organisations.

Mentoring schemes are a cost-effective way of reducing youth offending and give young people the opportunity to spend time with positive adult role models, to gain new skills, improve their self-confidence and become aware of alternatives to criminal activity.

Renewal.net Antoinette Hardy

UK

There were two main aims of the strand study. These were:
- to provide additional information to supplement the data from the longitudinal surveys of students and teachers which are being undertaken as part of the wider evaluation of Excellence in Cities (EiC). In addition, to contextualise the quantitative information and provide a more in-depth analysis; and
- to ascertain the extent to which Phase 3 Excellence in Cities (EiC) Partnerships have drawn on and replicated the experiences and practices of Phase 1 and 2 Partnerships.

National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)

2003

UK

The principal objectives were to:
- examine the process by which vulnerable young people become involved in a mentoring programme and the reasons why other, apparently similar vulnerable young people, decide not to participate;

M.Shiner et al

London School of Economics

(2004)

UK

This Manual is a guide to setting up a project to work with disadvantaged urban youth.  It is based on the Dalston Youth Project, an English program that combines mentoring with an education program to reconnect young people to mainstream education, training and employment opportunities.

S. Benioff (Dalston Youth Project) for the  Commission for Racial Equality (1997)

UK