The efficacy of a volunteer mentoring scheme in supporting young people at risk

In recent years, the development of mentoring schemes designed to support young people deemed as being at risk, both socially and in respect of educational underachievement has become a common strategy deployed by Local Authorities. The majority of these schemes have been school based or managed within the formal systems of other agencies such as social services. This paper describes how a mentoring scheme, which drew upon the services of volunteers, (the majority of whom had no professional experience of working with young people), was established and managed for the benefit of young people identified as having social, emotional or behavioural problems. The mentoring scheme was subjected to an independent evaluation as described within this paper. The findings of the research are used to discuss the efficacy of the scheme and to consider the development of the mentor and mentee relationship as observed within the specific context of this project.