The Department for Education reported that on 31 March 2024 there were 83,630 children being looked after by local authorities in England. That is about 70 per 10,000 children.
For children in the care system and care leavers, the journey through adolescence and into adulthood can often be fraught with unique challenges. Navigating transitions, forming a sense of self, and overcoming past traumas requires immense resilience.
In this landscape, mentoring emerges as a powerful intervention, offering not just guidance but a vital source of stability, empathy, and positive influence. Indeed, the most recent NICE guidelines recommend mentoring for supporting positive relationships. “Consider programmes (with professional oversight) to support mentoring relationships. For example, by pairing looked-after young people with near peers with care experience to provide positive role models, particularly for looked-after young people with social, emotional and mental wellbeing needs.”
Additionally, practice guides issued by Foundations concluded that programmes for skills development and 1-to-1 mentoring can improve mental wellbeing and post-traumatic symptoms in children in care who have experienced significant harm.
Both adult-led and peer-led mentoring programs play a crucial role in fostering personal growth, aiding trauma recovery, strengthening identity, and significantly improving long-term prospects.
Trained Mentors
Trained mentors can bring a wealth of experience, understanding, and structured support to the lives of young people in care and care leavers. Programmes for this group often blend the practical skills needed to make their way in the world, with more emotional support for personal growth.
For instance, the Young Lives Foundation runs a programme which aims to “support care leavers in building confidence and independence, offering help with budgeting, job searches, housing, and regular contact to reduce isolation and develop life skills.”
Whilst, extern’s 2023/24 LAC Mentoring Support Programme “made a difference in the lives of 105 young people, offering guidance, encouragement, and support to help them thrive.”
These mentors are more than just friendly faces; they understand the complexities of the care system and the potential impact of trauma and are driven to make a meaningful difference to their mentee.
Stabilising
Some would argue that one of the most significant contributions of mentors is their ability to act as a consistent, reliable presence. As the NSPCC report, “Many children move repeatedly in and out of care, or between placements. Placement breakdowns can have a detrimental impact on a child’s emotional wellbeing and mental health. It can also prevent them forming stable relationships with the adults who could help protect them.”
For children and young people who may have experienced numerous changes in their living situations and relationships, a mentor offers a stable anchor. This consistency builds trust, a fundamental element often eroded by instability.
A trained mentor provides a safe space for young people to express themselves without judgment, offering a listening ear and a source of unconditional positive regard. This sustained, healthy relationship can be a powerful antidote to feelings of abandonment or isolation.
Trauma Informed
Training for youth mentors often includes establishing an understanding of trauma-informed support. This is particularly important for children in care and care leavers. Indeed, organisations such as Become have called for a national roll-out of trauma informed training for schools to provide more consistent, joined-up support for children in care within education.
Trauma informed training allows mentors to recognise when challenging behaviours stem from past experiences, helping them to approach situations with empathy and patience. They can guide young people to develop healthier coping mechanisms, process difficult emotions, and gradually build a sense of safety and security. This guided support is instrumental in enabling trauma recovery, moving beyond survival mode towards healing and thriving.
Mentoring is based on developing a sense of trust and safety, and as such creates a space where young people can begin to process their experiences. While not therapists, mentors can encourage healthy expression of emotions, help identify triggers, and guide young people towards developing self-soothing techniques and healthy coping strategies.
As part of this, mentors can help young people to reframe their narratives. Instead of being negatively defined by their past, they are encouraged to see themselves as resilient individuals capable of overcoming adversity. This shift in perspective is fundamental for healing and moving forward.
Future Proofing
As stated, mentors provide practical guidance alongside their emotional support. They can help with academic goals, career planning, developing life skills, and navigating official systems that may be overwhelming for care leavers.
In The Big Ambition report 55% of responses for children with social workers agreed that their thoughts about the future were listened to, compared to 71% for children without a social worker. When this is the case, it is far harder for these children to engage with thoughts of planning and preparing for the future. Having a mentor who actively engages with their dreams, and helps them take the first steps towards making them a reality, can make a profound difference.
Mentors can introduce young people to new opportunities, expand their horizons, and help them envision a future filled with potential. This exposure to positive adult role models who are successfully navigating the world is invaluable for young people who may lack such figures in their lives.
Peer Mentoring
Peer mentoring programmes can provide a slightly different, yet equally vital, form of support: connection, understanding, and shared experience. For children in care and care leavers, connecting with someone who has walked a similar path can be incredibly validating and empowering.
In a Childline counselling session with one girl, aged 16, she described how “I moved schools when I went into foster care, and I don’t fit in at all. I’ve got no friends, no one will sit with me in lessons. I just spend lunchtime in the toilets crying. I don’t feel like I can tell my foster carers how depressed I’m feeling, I don’t want to mess this up.”
Peer mentors, such as slightly older care leavers, offer a unique perspective. Like many of us, young people are more likely to open up to someone they know personally understands the challenges that they are facing. Peer mentors truly understand the realities of the care system, the emotional rollercoaster of transitions, and the challenges of independent living. This shared experience creates a powerful sense of belonging whilst reducing feelings of isolation.
As a mentor they can share practical advice on navigating housing, education, employment, and accessing support services from a lived experience perspective. They are able to offer tips and strategies that resonate because they come from someone who has successfully overcome similar hurdles.
Additionally, peer mentoring programs help to build a sense of community and develop resilience. By supporting each other, young people develop strong social networks, which are crucial for long-term well-being. What’s more, seeing a peer who has successfully transitioned out of care can serve as a powerful source of inspiration and hope, demonstrating that a positive future is attainable.
Conclusion
Ultimately, mentoring helps to break cycles of disadvantage. By providing consistent support, fostering resilience, aiding in trauma recovery, strengthening identity, and building essential life skills, mentors equip young people with the tools and confidence they need to thrive. They offer a pathway to stability, self-sufficiency, and a future filled with possibility, proving that with the right support, every child, regardless of their start in life, can reach their full potential.
Discover more about the training available for Youth Mentors on our course page.