A recent independent research and evaluation report has praised the work of Forth Valley College’s Time4Me Mentoring Programme - just as the UK celebrates National Mentoring Day (Wednesday 27 October).
This transformative FVC mentoring initiative has been made possible by four years of full funding from The Robertson Trust since December 2017. The project operates from within the department of Inclusion and Student Services.
Thanks to the project, 60 Forth Valley College staff have been fully trained as mentors. These mentors have provided support to more than 70 students aged between 15-26, who may be care experienced, young carers or reside in regeneration areas.
The College’s Time4Me project also recently achieved the Project Quality Award recognition from the Scottish Mentoring Network, which MSP Dean Lockhart highlighted in the Scottish Parliament in October.
The impressive independent findings will help Time4Me demonstrate its impact and hopefully provide the evidence base for the next phase of the project.
The report found that the programme was making a positive impact on the lives of students, who recorded a marked improvement in their soft skills such as confidence, problem solving and communication skills. These new or enhanced skills helped to support many of the mentees to complete their course; improve their chances of finding paid work; encourage them to take up volunteering and/or continue with their further education journey.
One Mentee, said, “Thanks to my mentor I have been able to stand up for myself and voice my feelings to professionals I work with”.
Another, said: “I felt supported all the way through the most difficult year by far for education. As lockdown really started wearing down on me, my mentor helped me go through all this.”
The report also revealed how several FVC mentors had felt that their involvement had benefitted them professionally as well as allowing them to make a difference to the lives of young people.
One Mentor said: “This has probably been one of the most rewarding things that I have ever undertaken in my personal and professional life” and “it is an excellent idea and really makes a difference to the young people it supports.”
Another Mentor added said: “You have a chance to learn new skills… it helps you to listen and really understand what the issues are in terms of challenges and not just jump to conclusions/answers.”
As well as contributing to and dovetailing with the aims of the College’s own Strategic Plan, another welcome result of the Time4Me programme was the establishment of even stronger links with the three local authorities in the Forth Valley area.
The independent consultations highlighted Mentor Coordinator, Sarah Tervit’s, role in the project “massively contributed to the success of the programme,” and was the “glue” to link the mentees, mentors, College departments and local authorities together.
Sarah said: “Whilst we internally monitor and evaluate Time4Me as part of our continuous improvement process, it was important to us that this evaluation was conducted by independent consultants, to ensure those carrying out the evaluation had the expert skills and capacity to do so, whilst bringing a degree of objectivity to the process. The evaluation focussed on assessing the impact of Time4Me on all its participants, and sought to capture the views of all stakeholders. We are delighted with the positive results, and are already planning any future activity with the reports’ recommendations in mind.”
Training existing staff members to become volunteer mentors reflects the College’s commitment to supporting young people who face challenging circumstances, helping them make a successful and sustained transition into college life.
Mentors help the mentees with goal setting, problem solving and communication and the young people taking part will gain confidence and develop skills which will help them with their studies, career and life goals.
The full evaluation report and executive summary can be found here https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/about-us/equality-diversity/
Any member of staff who would like to find out more about volunteering or who may have any student referrals, should contact Sarah Tervit on sarah.tervit@forthvalley.ac.uk