Mentoring for Progression: Peer mentoring in the FE setting
LEAD ORGANISATION
ADDITIONAL ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED
Abingdon & Witney College, Aylesbury College, BCA, Bracknell & Wokingham College, Nescot, Newbury College, Strode's College, Swindon College
PROJECT SUMMARY
This project set out to train pairs of Level 3 vocational students to mentor one another with the aim of inspiring them to progress to Level 4 and beyond. The project has been rolled out in 2008-09 and 2009-10 by training and mentoring consultancy The Learning Ladder to eight of Progress South Central's partner FE colleges, with over 200 students participating. The impetus for the project was a similar project delivered by The Learning Ladder on behalf of Aimhigher MKOB and the opportunity to introduce peer mentoring and its benefits to colleges that had not previously experienced it.
The sessions took the form of half-day workshops, delivered on the colleges' premises by The Learning Ladder. The sessions were interactive and required a high level of participation from the students. Participants were trained to mentor each other to identify life goals and aspirations, to research solutions and to produce an action/progression plan. Students were given the chance in the session to carry out internet research to assist them in producing their action plan.
Students worked in pairs to produce mini-Personal Development Plans. They worked through some 'Life Plan Questions', which included asking about their interests, their favourite subjects at college, what they did and didn't like doing, and their ideal job. This then led on to producing a summary of their abilities, experience and areas of interest enabling a more informed decision about what they wanted to achieve and, importantly, how they would achieve it. The final stage was to log the results of their internet research into job profiles, possible progression pathways and finance options and to note where they felt they needed additional support and information.
Eight peer mentoring sessions were run in 2008-09 and 10 in 2009-10. A total of 215 students participated in the peer mentoring sessions, 111 in 2008-09 and 104 in 2009-10. Most students who took part were studying BTEC National Diplomas in a range of vocational subjects. Additionally, 22 were studying A-levels, 19 were studying for the Foundation Construction Award and 9 were part of Aylesbury College's Apprentice Academy. Some changes were made to the 2009-10 iteration as a result of lessons learned from the first run of the project.
IMPACT
The project achieved its objectives both in terms of creating a positive experience and in terms of inspiring an intention to progress on the part of at least 50% of participants.
74% of participants responded that they had enjoyed the session and 74% responded that taking part in the session had made them feel more positive about studying to get further qualifications.
Following the session, 70% of participants overall stated that they were 'definitely' or 'probably' planning to apply to Higher Education (65% in 2008-09 and 75% in 2009-10).
Selected feedback from the students who took part:
"The fast-paced, interactive teaching style captured my attention"
"It was very useful and fun. Also learnt many new things I can use in the future"
"Loved it, so inspirational"
The project has also served to raise awareness of peer mentoring in the colleges concerned. Four of the colleges who took part in 2009-10 indicated that they would like to run peer mentoring sessions again in 2010-11 if this were possible.
Selected feedback from staff at the colleges who participated:
"My students ... really enjoyed the whole experience and have used the skills gained to mentor peers in an informal way. All students who attended benefited, particularly learning that it is important to listen to what others have to say." [Aylesbury College]
"[As a result of the sessions] we have been able to set up a peer mentoring group where our level 3 learners have been supporting our entry level learners. The focus has been on progression. A pack on mentoring has been produced by my department for the mentors to help them through the mentoring process. One of our mentors is disabled and her primary focus was to encourage her [disabled] mentee to improve her grades and move on to a mainstream programme." [Nescot]
"One [student] said to me the other day "that [peer mentoring session] was when I decided to just bite the bullet and go for my dream and now I am working really hard to do that!" I think the sessions have had a lasting effect on the small group of students that were involved." [Strode's College]