Enable young refugees to build hopeful futures - become a volunteer mentor with Refugee Education UK!
Refugee Education UK
Would you like to bring hope to the lives of young refugee or asylum seeker through education?
Educational mentors meet with their mentees once a week, in a public place, to help them with an agreed aspect of their education (mainly ESOL-related) for a minimum of six months. Mentors who apply to work with us go through an application process involving an interview, external references and a DBS check before they attend our mandatory training which covers child protection, boundaries, the asylum process, and how to structure mentoring sessions. We ask the mentor to start their mentoring session by 5:30 pm at the latest, for a minimum commitment of six months.
Befriending, Buddying & Mentoring
Language Skills, Maths, Organising & Planning
1. Experience of working with young people and the related challenges (ie: flexibility and patience sometimes required for youth work). 2. Capacity to travel to a location convenient for the young person and an ability to meet the young person by 5:30 pm at the latest. 3. Experience of working with people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures 4. Ability to work on own initiative and a willingness to take on relevant preparation 5. Ability to think creatively and problem-solve 6. Excellent communication/interpersonal skills 7. Good organisational skills 8. Ability to cope with emotionally-demanding and stressful situations 9. Motivated by promoting the wellbeing of children and young people 10. Commitment to and ability to work in accordance with REUK’s Child Protection policies and Christian Ethos: https://www.reuk.org/our-story
Mentors get the chance to be positive influences and role models in the lives of young people arriving in the UK with limited support networks. Here is a testimonial from a current mentor and on the things he has enjoyed from volunteering: There are more than I could list here, but one of the main ones for me is when your mentee makes a breakthrough on something that was giving them difficulty, especially after you've been working on it together for a while. I've also really enjoyed seeing my mentees flourishing and doing well in their lives, like when they get through their exams or when you hear about the activities they are enjoying outside of education. It's a real privilege to share part of someone's life through the mentoring role. - Duncan L. 2023
One hour per week, for a minimum commitment of six months.
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We organise our mentoring matches across London, supporting young refugees and asylum seekers in the community at public spaces like libraries. Across our four mentoring hubs (North, South, East and West London), please let us know where you would be able to mentor.
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