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[ Home » What We Do » Vol Vm Dev Prog Group Work.php ]

Does group work have a place in a mentoring project?

The core function of a mentoring project

Mentoring is one-to-one support from a more experienced person to another, usually younger or less experienced. This should be the core function of any mentoring project.

The benefit of mentoring is that it offers the mentee the chance to be themselves without the external pressures of peers, family, friends or colleagues. They can say what they think and feel without fear of being judged by others. The one-to-one relationship allows this open and supportive environment to blossom.

 

Group Activities

Some very successful projects compliment this support by offering group activities where mentees on their own, mentors on their own or both together can attend. These are useful to develop social and practical skills, an important part of both the mentor's and mentee's personal development.

Bringing mentees together as a group or mentors together as a group is also a great way to offer networking and peer support opportunities. This forms part of the support and supervision process that project co-ordinators should be offering their mentees and mentors.

 

One-to-one mentoring in a group situation

In some schools, where peer mentors (pupils from senior level classes) mentor pupils lower down the school, co-ordinators may decide that mentoring will always occur in a group situation with a member of staff present. However, the key element of one-to-one must not be lost! A mentor must have the opportunity to talk on a one-to-one basis with the mentee they have been matched with. Every effort should be made to ensure that each pair of mentors and mentees has some privacy, within the group environment, to carry out their discussions, set and review targets and complete session records.

 

Mentoring more than one mentee

Some volunteers are able to take on more than one mentee, or indeed are assigned more than one as part of the project. In most cases, they will meet up with mentees separately. However, in some instances a mentor may be asked to meet the mentees together. The same concern applies as above. It is vital that the one-to-one element is not lost. A mentor may meet the group of mentees together but s/he should have regular opportunities for one-to-one sessions where they can discuss hopes, fears, progress and goals.