Educational Mentoring
Refugee Support Network offers tailor-made mentoring opportunities to at-risk young refugees and asylum seekers who need extra support with their education, particularly separated children. We currently run schemes in North and South London, partnering with local colleges, and taking referrals from a variety of organisations and individuals. We also run a specialist mentoring programme for trafficked girls, in partnership with ECPAT UK.
Our mentors are CRB checked and trained in:
- Child protection and maintaining appropriate boundaries
- How to be an effective mentor
- Specialist issues relating to unaccompanied minors (the asylum experience, the rights and entitlements attached to different kinds of status, the role of Social Services, common problems faced by unaccompanied minors, trafficking etc).
The trained mentors meet with a young refugee once a week to help them with their education. Mentors often become important adults in the young people’s lives, acting as role models and helping to combat isolation and loneliness.
“I am happy when I meet my mentor. He helps me with lots of things and my spelling is better. He is very nice to talk to.”
– 16 year old boy from Afghanistan
“My mentee was really happy in our session last week. She said she would never forget us her whole life. It was great to see that we’d had a positive impact on her.”
– Jen, RSN mentor.
Would you like to become a mentor?
If you would like to refer a young asylum seeker for educational mentoring, please contact Hannah.