Participation Mentor

We are seeking an enthusiastic Participation Mentor to support our work with children in our care and young adults leaving our care, within our Participation team. The views and experiences of children in our care and young adults leaving our care is very important to us; and this role provides direct support and mentoring of young people in our care in order to better understand their experiences and to facilitate their participation in activities, in our forums for young people, and in education, employment or training.

Suitable candidates will have experience of working with young people, mentoring in a school, college or local authority setting with specific insight into the experience and challenges facing children and young adults in care.

This is a unique role within the Transitions and Leaving Care & Participation service, with opportunity to collaborate and innovate. The Participation Mentor will provide direct support at our clubs, trips and activities for children in our care and young adults leaving our care as well as delivering some 1:1 mentoring or support. This requires some evening and weekend work (usually Monday afternoons, Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings), with flexibility to adapt the shift pattern to take account of this.

The successful candidate will be passionate about supporting and encouraging children in our care and young adults leaving our care to dream, believe and achieve with our support. The successful candidate will also support a number of projects within the service and work closely with the Participation Leader and Service Manager for the Transitions and Leaving Care Service in order to improve outcomes for children and young adults in our care.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from candidates with a range of backgrounds and diversity, which may also include lived experience of being in care.

The Participation Mentor will support the Participation Leader to deliver a monthly programme of participation activity that supports the learning and personal development priorities for children in our care and young people leaving our care. This will include contributing to planning, organising and sessional support that are delivered by the service (Monday Club, PJS programme, Conversation Club), or in collaboration with partner services (Cafcass Youth Justice Board, Youth Council, London CiCC, and other local and national CiCC events led by agencies including Coram, NYAS and Barnardos).

The Participation Mentor will record outcomes from sessions in a range of ways including minutes, debrief notes, attendance registers, child voice and photos and video to inform sharing and reporting.

The Participation Mentor will support the Participation Leader with delivering a wide programme of training and outreach to a range of audiences, to help them understand what it means to ‘Walk a mile in my shoes’, and to bring the 5 Good for Me priorities from the Bexley strategy for children in our care and young adults in our care to life through Skills to Foster, Children’s Services Induction, Total Respect, Train the trainer and other training and corporate parenting events as required.

This will include a special focus on ‘Becoming a child in our care’ and helping children and young people to have a softened landing when they come into care.

The Participation Mentor will work directly with children in our care and young people leaving care, using a relational approach to safeguarding, and supporting them with understanding what it means to be in care and how to make sense of their experiences as they…