Start a mentoring business
Build a local service of your own. You would develop relationships with schools and community partners, build your team and lead delivery in your area.
ECNM Franchise
Build a mentoring business in your area.
Help local schools give more young people access to a trusted mentor. Start your own business or add specialist mentoring to your existing organisation. You lead locally, with support from Herman Stewart, ECNM’s Founder and CEO, and access to the Asset-Based Mentoring model, training and delivery tools.
A short enquiry. No payment or commitment.
What you could build
Two ways to bring mentoring to your area.
Add mentoring to an existing organisation
Use the relationships and team you already have to introduce a dedicated mentoring service, with ECNM’s approach and resources supporting its design and launch.
In either route, you run the service and take responsibility for its quality. ECNM would give you access to its mentoring model, training and delivery materials, and help you prepare to launch.
The business opportunity
Start with a school.
Grow with demand.
Begin with one-to-one mentoring that a school can commission around pupils’ needs. As demand grows, you can build your team and expand what you offer. You lead locally, with ECNM helping you put the model into practice.
One-to-one mentoring
Deliver your first programme.
Agree which pupils to support, how mentoring will run and what progress you’ll report to the school.
Delivery capacity
Build your delivery team.
As schools commission more one-to-one mentoring, recruit and develop mentors to deliver the agreed sessions. You lead the team and oversee the quality of its work.
Additional services
Expand what schools can commission.
Where your agreement allows, add staff development or help schools review and strengthen how they run mentoring.
The proposed partner programme
What ECNM would
help you put in place.
Herman Stewart, Founder and CEO of ECNM, will support you as you build your local service. The proposed programme brings together the practical tools for your first school conversation, your first programme and the next stage of growth.
01 Plan
Launch with a plan.
Induction in operations, delivery and business development, with a launch plan built around your area and the schools you want to serve.
02 Deliver
Learn the model.
Training in Asset-Based Mentoring, with session frameworks, programme design guidance and materials you can use to plan delivery.
03 Lead
Build your team.
Recruitment and onboarding guidance, mentor development resources, and routines for supervision, safeguarding and raising concerns.
04 Grow
Earn local trust.
School engagement packs, proposal and case study templates, and help preparing for conversations with school leaders and commissioners.
05 Improve
See what’s working.
Progress tracking and reporting tools, guidance on showing what’s changing for pupils, and quality reviews that help you improve delivery.
06 Connect
Keep developing.
Ongoing business coaching, opportunities to learn with other partners, and guidance as you develop your team and local relationships.
During discovery, we’ll explain the confirmed support package, what you would need to invest, how territories work and what you would be responsible for locally.
The work behind the model
See ECNM mentoring in practice.
These examples show how ECNM has delivered mentoring in different settings.
Mentoring a whole school cohort
At Blakesley Hall Primary School, mentoring reached the whole Year 6 cohort and 18 staff trained as mentors. The case study shows how pupil, staff and family involvement can work together.
Read the Blakesley Hall case studyHelping young people re-engage
The Fair Access pilot shows how ECNM planned support with schools and families in a managed move context.
Read the Fair Access case studyThese are examples of ECNM’s delivery, not franchise results.
Your route to becoming a franchise partner
Explore the opportunity.
Make an informed decision.
Each step answers a different question: is this right for you, can it work in your area, and are we ready to build it together?
Initial fit
Register your interest.
Tell us your preferred area and whether you want to start a business or add mentoring to an existing organisation. ECNM reviews your enquiry and invites suitable candidates to an initial conversation.
First conversation
Meet our franchise consultant.
Talk through your experience, school relationships, time and resources. We’ll explore what you want to build and what ECNM would expect of you as the local operator.
Local viability
Test your local plan.
Identify who could commission your first programme, how you’d recruit and supervise mentors, and what you’d need to cover your costs before schools pay. Discuss the proposed area and what you would need to get started.
Confidentiality
Sign a confidentiality agreement.
If the initial conversations indicate a good fit and you want to proceed, ECNM will ask you to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before we share the confidential franchise pack.
Due diligence
Review the offer.
With the NDA in place, review the confidential pack, written offer and draft agreement, including costs, territory, obligations and ongoing support. Take time to ask questions and seek independent legal and financial advice.
Decision
Decide together.
ECNM reviews your readiness and safeguarding plans. If both sides choose to proceed, sign the agreed terms and make the agreed investment before starting induction and launch planning.
An enquiry does not reserve an area. School contracts and earnings depend on local demand and how you run the business.
Start a franchise conversation
Once you become a partner
From your first school
to a stronger local business.
The launch plan is shaped around your area and your capacity. Here’s how the proposed support would work in practice.
Prepare for your first commission.
Complete induction and plan your first school conversations. Put recruitment, safeguarding, supervision and reporting arrangements in place before you start delivery.
Use what you learn to grow.
Review pupil progress with the school and check what the programme costs to deliver. Use that evidence to discuss renewal or expansion. Recruit for confirmed demand and expand as your team can maintain the quality of the work.
Before you register
Practical questions.
What would I be responsible for?
You would run your business or service locally: building relationships, leading your team and taking responsibility for safeguarding and delivery quality. Discovery will clarify what ECNM provides and what you lead.
What would I need to invest?
This opportunity requires investment. We’ll discuss the confirmed costs, what they cover and how territories work after the initial fit review and a signed NDA, before you decide whether to proceed.
What experience should I bring?
Tell us about your work with young people, leadership, community partnerships or experience running a service. Discovery helps us understand how that experience would translate into safe, high-quality mentoring.
Check your fit
Could you be an ECNM franchise partner?
Whether you’re starting a business or adding mentoring to an existing organisation, use this checklist to see what you would bring and what you’d need to put in place.
I know the area I want to serve.
I can name the town or borough, explain a local need and identify the first schools or partners I’d approach. I don’t need a school contract to enquire.
I can win work and lead delivery.
I can build relationships with school leaders, turn a need into a proposal and take responsibility for the service my team delivers.
I can put safe delivery in place.
I have a credible plan for who would run the service day to day, how I’d recruit and supervise mentors, and how I’d work with schools on safeguarding and reporting.
I can commit time and funding to launch.
I can make time to build the business and have a credible way to fund the initial investment and running costs before schools pay.
I’m ready to work to ECNM standards.
I’m willing to train in Asset-Based Mentoring, report on delivery and act on feedback. I understand that I’m responsible for winning local work and maintaining quality.
Looking for paid mentoring work? Become an Associate. Looking for training? Explore The Mentoring Masterclass.
Start a conversation
Could this be your area?
Tell us where you’d like to work and what draws you to the opportunity. ECNM will review your enquiry and, if there’s a potential fit, share it with our franchise consultant to arrange a first conversation.
Registering interest carries no commitment and does not reserve a territory.