Why training peer mentors matters

Mentors at Saffron Walden County High getting their certificates after training

For the peer mentoring experience to be truly valuable and safe, Talk2Nish argues that peer mentors need to be properly trained with safeguarding at its heart.

Just matching an older student with a younger one without proper training is not enough. Mentors and their mentees need to feel properly protected. Otherwise mentors can become overwhelmed or may give advice that may not have the desired impact.  They are not trained counsellors and they cannot be expected to solve their mentees' problems.

Talk2Nish peer mentor training involves:

• A big focus on active listening - that is, being in the moment, paying attention to what is being said and not being said, not overthinking things or feeling pressure to jump in  and 'solve' mentees' issues.  They need to feel okay about silences and they need to ask questions that open up conversations rather than limiting mentees to yes or no answers.

  
  

• An emphasis on empathy. Mentors are not there to judge, but to listen.

  
  

• The need to set boundaries. Mentees need to know from the get-go that what they say is confidential, but if they reveal information that suggests they may be at risk of harm the mentor must report this to a responsible adult [generally their coordinator]. Mentors practise this and learn why it matters.  They also understand fully the limits of their role so they don't get out of their depth and who the adults they can report to are.

  
  

• Safety around school. All mentor/mentee meetings take place in safe areas in the school.

  
  

• Mentor wellbeing and confidence. All information on boundary-setting is backed up through the Talk2Nish app which has a big emphasis on the mentors' wellbeing and how they can protect this. The training also covers in detail wellbeing and confidence issues as well as the process for matching mentors and mentees and how mentors can boost their visibility around the school so that the programme has a whole school effect.

  
  

• Sustainability. The adult coordinator of the programme - usually someone from the school's pastoral support team, but not always -  takes part in the training so that they can eventually lead the training in years to come, making the programme sustainable. They gain access to a Train the Trainers programme which is backed up by a Talk2Nish app, which reinforces that learning.

Find out more about our programme here.