NEWS: SMN Launches Our Map of Mentoring Services for Care Experienced Children and Young People

#KeepingThePromise by mapping the mentoring provision for care experienced children and young people

Over the last year, Scottish Mentoring Network have been working in partnership with Inspiring Scotland and YMCA Scotland to investigate what provision of mentoring exists for care experienced children and young people in Scotland. This work to map these services has resulted in a digital map, where families and referrers, can see what services exist and where.

Using this technology to map the services for care experienced children and young people gives us a visual snapshot of the provision - and the gaps that exist. This was the primary aim of the mapping research, to enable us to make recommendations about how established mentoring services may be able to offer their expertise to fill gaps in provision.

Our work within the greater landscape of The Promise change programme has been to think about one of the ways that the proven intervention of mentoring, can be offered to all children and young people. We know that, for those with care experience, having consistent and stable relationships, is a hugely important aspect of helping overcome the challenges that living in the care system can create. We envision a Scotland where every care experienced young person can have a mentoring relationship, at every stage in their life, if they want one.

The map we have created is the first step in this process and will be followed by a report into the findings of this research. The report will be officially launched later this year, with a roundtable event happening at the Scottish Parliament on the 24th of November. Scottish Mentoring Network and Inspiring Scotland will invite the key partners who have been involved in this piece of work, plus MSPs who may have an interest in mentoring.

Colin MacFarlane, National Programme Manager at YMCA Scotland said,

"Working in partnership with Inspiring Scotland and the Scottish Mentoring Network has been a great way to share learning, practice and knowledge of the opportunities available for children, young people and families to engage in mentoring.

The YMCA in Scotland has a long tradition of providing support in communities through a whole range of different services designed to put people at the centre of their own learning. YMCA Scotland coordinates a range of mentoring services across the country based on the provision of a stable adult role model.

The work to put this mapping together has identified where young people don't have the opportunity to access the support they need in relation to mentoring, As part of this partnership YMCA Scotland is keen to tackle this issue. Given the challenges young people have faced in recent years it is vital that we work together to provide the services they need to grow and develop their fullest potential."

Susie White, intandem Fund Manager at Inspiring Scotland also commented:

"We understand how important supportive, reliable mentoring relationships are to all children and young people for developing positive wellbeing, gaining access to opportunities and building a strong foundation for relationships in the future.

intandem's volunteers and 12 partner charities can offer long-term mentoring relationships for children and young people involved in the care system, specifically those living at home with compulsory supervision orders, across 19 local authority areas.

This mapping work highlights cold spots where some young people can't benefit from mentoring. We would like to see every child in or on the edge of care offered mentoring support to help them build their wellbeing, resilience and future."

Maureen Watson, SMN Chief Executive, said:

"We want to take this opportunity to thank the Scottish Government for funding this much-needed mapping exercise and our project partners, Inspiring Scotland and YMCA Scotland, for their valuable insights and practical knowledge of the care-experienced landscape. A big thank you also to everyone who completed our surveys and participated in our online focus groups. SMN's strategic vision is for effective, high-quality mentoring, recognised, valued and available to all. This exercise has highlighted some of the gaps in provision that we need to work with members and partners to remedy. As always, longer term funding for such services is key. "

To view the map, please click here.