Scottish Mentoring Network 2013 National Networking Event and Recognition Awards
5 December 2013
On Thursday the 14th of November SMN held their national event which gave members and other interested parties the opportunity to network, attend workshops and see the presentation of our National Recognition awards.
We would like to say a huge thank you to our Keynote Speaker, John Carnochan OBE, form Violence Reduction Unit and to all the individuals and organisations that ran workshops on the day.
We hope those of you who were able to come found it a useful and enjoyable day.
We would also like to say a big congratulations to all the projects and the two mentors who were presented with awards.
Below is a list of the winners. More details and photographs are available in the full report available to download below.
*Mentoring Project of the Year-Tayside Council on Alcohol
Since first offering mentoring provision in 2003 TCA has consistently evidenced effective engagement with, and delivered positive outcomes for, its service users. Its work with young people in the Link Up project was the beginning of their involvement in mentoring and over the years this has grown to also encompass Women Only Mentoring, Mentoring for Men and recently the Plusone mentoring programme for 8 to 14 year olds. Now offering a range of services in Dundee, Perth and Kinross and, Angus, TCA is an exemplar of good practice as demonstrated by the recognition and awards it has received both locally ( including high praise by the local sheriffs in Dundee) and nationally including the Scottish Mentoring Network Project Quality Award.
This was recently further endorsed by the award of @pound311K from the Reducing Reoffending Change Fund to expand their work with women and persistent young male offenders. TCA has a dedicated and committed staff and a growing number of willing and well trained volunteer mentors. It was unanimously agreed that Tayside Council on Alcohol were worthy winners of the Scottish Mentoring Network Project of the Year for 2013.
*Childrens and Families Award: One Parent Families Scotland Peer Mentoring Programme
This project is a prime example of an organisation establishing an evidence based need by identifying the problems being encountered by its proposed service users. These included stigma, poverty, isolation, low confidence and lack of family support. The Teen Parent Peer Mentoring Service helped the development of the Parents Progression Pathway and the service has expended to operate in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Edinburgh and Dundee.
Working with both young fathers and young mothers One Parent Families Scotland Peer Mentoring Programme is exactly the kind of intervention the Scottish Government has been encouraging.
*Early Intervention Award: Peeblesshire Youth Trust – Achieve Your Potential Programme
This project has now been operating for over 4 years and works in the Borders with at-risk young people aged 10 to 14. The Achieve Your Potential programme is a 6 weeks’ confidence building course run by trained adults and followed by 2 to 3 years 1 to 1 mentoring by adult volunteers. Building on the success of Achieving Your Potential S6 pupils in Peebles High School have been trained to offer peer support to S1’s who struggle with transition and then to give targeted 1 to 1 support to the S1 pupils. In addition in conjunction with the High School a DVD had been produced about transition from Primary to 1st year in the High School and was shown to 225 P7 pupils across 9 feeder primary schools.
This project is a wonderful example of harnessing community support in a creative and effective way.
*Mentoring for Young People Award: Move On Mentoring Service
This established project has now been running for 9 years and has two groups of service users. One works with young people (15-19) who have experienced care/being looked after or at risk of homelessness and the other with young people 14-17 who are not engaging with education, training or employment. In the last year the service has expanded due to increased partnership working and more mentors have been engaged than ever before. This is an organisation that is not afraid to innovate whilst at the same time ensuring that the bond of trust between mentors and the young mentees is totally secure to enable the best outcomes possible.
*Peer Mentoring for Young People Award: Xplore Peer Mentoring
This mentoring programme which has been running now for 7 years has developed a bank of fantastic role models who act as mentors to troubled young people needing some direction in their lives. In addition to their peer mentoring activity the volunteer mentors also run a summer school with a range of activities to keep mentees busy and engaged. This programme has at its core the development of both mentors and mentees. The comprehensive 26 week training programme for peer mentors demonstrates the level of commitment required and the service is about to expand to add the mentoring of young people who are looked after.
*Mentor Exceptional Contribution Award – Callum McKay-Xplore Peer Mentoring
*Jane Kille – Employment Mentoring, Volunteer Centre
Highly Commended Certificates
*RealLiving Mental Health & Older People’s Services, LinkLiving
*Moving Forward Mentoring Scheme, National Autistic Society
*Visually Impaired Mentors, Visibility
*Abriachan & Community Challenges, Apex Scotland
Certificates of Merit, Individual Mentors
*Flora Bennet – Move On Mentoring Service
*Chris Murphy- Kirkcaldy YMCA Plusone Mentoring
*Christine McCann – LinkUp & Plusone Mentor, Tayside Council on Alcohol
*Paul Beatton – Achieve Your Potential Programme, Peeblesshire Youth Trust
*Kirsty Ainsworth – Moving Forward Mentoring Scheme, National Autistic Society
*Janet Prydie – Visually Impaired Mentors, Visibility
Certificate of Continuing Excellence
*Kirkcaldy YMCA Plusone Mentoring
*Peer Connections, University of Dundee
*Lochaber Hope Mentors
Congratulations again to all the winners!
