The Victory Primary School has a Lead Learning Mentor, three full time Learning Mentors and one part time. Their role is to help children to be confident and have a positive outlook, encouraging good attendance and assist in removing barriers to learning.
Learning Mentors' aims:
- to remove barriers to learning for pupils
- to raise attainment
- to effectively communicate with pupils 1-1
- to help raise self-esteem and motivation.
They work alongside teachers and parent/ carers to ensure that all children are able to get the best out of their time in The Victory, primarily supporting children who are experiencing difficulties due to social, emotional or behavioural problems.
The focus is for all children to:
What does a Learning Mentor do?
Learning Mentors use a variety of approaches, which can be tailored to individual needs. These include:
- one to one mentoring to discuss problems and look at solutions
- individual sessions looking at particular issues– such as anger management
- group work sessions focusing on one issue– social skills
- limited support to a student within lessons
- observations within lessons
- support and assistance to school staff
Two of the Learning Mentors are also Emotional Literacy Support Assistants. (ELSA). They help children to understand their emotions and respect the feelings of those around them. They give children the time and space to think about their personal circumstances and how to manage them.
The Referral
How does this work?
We welcome and encourage parents to talk to the class teacher about any additional emotional and social support, so they can work together and put additional support in place.
Children who are in need of extra social and emotional support can then be referred to a Learning Mentor by the class teacher after talking to parent/carers.
The Learning Mentor /ELSA will then work alongside the class teacher to set targets which may involve working in the classroom, in groups or individual support.
The length of support varies according to individual needs and can involve anything from a daily meet and greet to weekly focused sessions. Some examples of the skills worked on includes: social skills, self-esteem, resilience, friendships, anger management, anxiety and preparation for transition.
The aim is to build a positive relationship to encourage good attendance, participation and a successful engagement in school life.