Would you like to support an asylum-seeking or refugee young person with their education? Refugee Education UK is looking for volunteers to act as educational mentors for at-risk young refugees, asylum seekers, and survivors of trafficking.
Educational mentors meet with their mentees once a week, in a public place, to help them with an agreed aspect of their education (mainly ESOL-related) for a minimum of six months. Mentors who apply to work with us go through an application process involving an interview, external references and a DBS check before they attend our mandatory training which covers child protection, boundaries, the asylum process, and how to structure mentoring sessions.
We ask the mentor to start their mentoring session by 5:30 pm at the latest on a regular weekday and we ask both mentors and mentees to commit for at least 6 months.
Mentors get the chance to be positive influences and role models in the lives of young people arriving in the UK with limited support networks.
Here is a testimonial from a current mentor and on the things he has enjoyed from volunteering:
There are more than I could list here, but one of the main ones for me is when your mentee makes a breakthrough on something that was giving them difficulty, especially after you've been working on it together for a while. I've also really enjoyed seeing my mentees flourishing and doing well in their lives, like when they get through their exams or when you hear about the activities they are enjoying outside of education. It's a real privilege to share part of someone's life through the mentoring role. - Duncan L. 2023
All new educational mentors will attend our New Mentor Training to get you ready for your matches.
We also have quarterly mentor development trainings that provides opportunities for continued learning and connection among the mentoring hub. Past trainings have included topics on ESOL, boundaries, revision strategies and more.
- Experience of working with young people and the related challenges (ie: flexibility and patience sometimes required for youth work).
- Capacity to travel to a location convenient for the young person and an ability to meet the young person by 5:30 pm at the latest.
- Experience of working with people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.
- Ability to work on own initiative and a willingness to take on relevant preparation.
- Ability to think creatively and problem-solve.
- Excellent communication/interpersonal skills.
- Good organisational skills.
- Ability to cope with emotionally-demanding and stressful situations.
- Motivated by promoting the wellbeing of children and young people.
- Commitment to and ability to work in accordance with REUK’s Child Protection policies and Christian Ethos.
Similar Opportunities
We are looking for friendly and supportive volunteers who can come along and join in our weekly singing group, and support the team in providing refreshments and tidying up and help people with disabilities to access these sessions.
Our befriending service will pair service users with volunteers who will talk to them for an hour each week.
Our award-winning ESOL project offers English language classes to young people at a wide range of levels. This provides vital skills, opportunities and social contact and is crucial for enabling young people to do well at school or college.
