The Pilot Project
The pilot is a major, two-year, Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) funded project, which will establish a formal peer mentoring scheme that can be evaluated to assess the positive impact on pupils and schools.
The pilot is run by The Mentoring and Befriending Foundation (MBF) - the national strategic body for mentoring and befriending, offering support to practitioners and organisations throughout the sector.
Purpose of the Project
National Peer Mentoring Pilot Project is Underway
Last September saw the start of the National Peer Mentoring Pilot, with 180 secondary schools taking part in the two year DfES funded programme. The aim of the pilot is to evaluate the effectiveness of different peer mentoring models in schools and to assess the impact that they are having on the students involved.
Training for participating schools took place at the start of the project using the newly updated version of the MBF Peer Mentoring Resource Pack for Pre-16 practitioners. Schools were taken through the processes involved in setting up a project, monitoring and evaluation and how to develop a sustainable model of peer mentoring in schools.
From Summer 2006 to Spring 2008 the MBF project team, and appointed regional support agencies from around the country, will work with the schools to gather information on the activities taking place in each project. Projects have chosen to focus their peer mentoring activities on a range of issues including attainment, bullying, behaviour and transition. The findings will be used to disseminate good practice taking place in schools and provide valuable information on the impact of peer mentoring.
The Peer Mentoring website will provide participating schools, as well as other peer mentoring projects across the country, with access to resources, news, events and useful links around the area of peer mentoring.
Schools will also be given help in working towards the completion of the Approved Provider Standard, the national benchmark for safe and effective practice in the sector, managed by the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation.
