SPECIALIST ENGAGEMENTEnquireImpact & case studies
A child refusing support begins to participate. A family describes a calmer home. A school records fewer incidents. These are changes documented in ECNM’s evidence. Read the records and hear from the children, parents and professionals who describe what the work meant.
The people behind the progress
Former mentees reflect on the influence they attribute to mentoring long after their teenage years. Hear their words and explore the context.
Explore the long-term accountsThe organisations. The relationships. The work.
Explore schools, local authorities, care services, universities and programme partners connected with ECNM’s work. The labels show where each organisation is based or the area it serves.
Sandwell Children’s TrustSandwell, West Midlands
Phoenix CollegiateWest Bromwich, Sandwell
West Lancashire CollegeSkelmersdale, Lancashire
AllianzInternational organisation
Saltley AcademyBordesley Green, Birmingham
Sandwell CouncilSandwell, West Midlands
Edge Hill UniversityOrmskirk, Lancashire
Birmingham City UniversityBirmingham, West Midlands
SpectraWolverhampton, West Midlands
Girls’ Schools AssociationUK schools network
Cambridge Leadership AcademyCambridge, Cambridgeshire
Royal Borough of Kensington and ChelseaKensington and Chelsea, London
Blackheath Primary SchoolRowley Regis, Sandwell
Blakesley Hall Primary SchoolStechford, Birmingham
Active Care SolutionsWest Midlands and other English regions
NHS EnglandEngland · National health body
Independent Schools Association (ISA)UK schools network
West Midlands PoliceWest Midlands
Ealing Council (London Borough of Ealing)Ealing, London
Sandwell AcademyWest Bromwich, Sandwell
Accalia CareWest Midlands
Dudley CouncilDudley, West Midlands
Department for EducationEngland · National department
Birmingham City CouncilBirmingham, West Midlands
Perryfield High SchoolOldbury, Sandwell
Hodge Hill CollegeHodge Hill, Birmingham
Learning Unlimited Teaching School AllianceSheffield, South Yorkshire
St Michael’s Community AcademyCrewe, Cheshire
Waverley Secondary SchoolBordesley Green, Birmingham
Thornton Primary SchoolWard End, Birmingham
Monks Coppenhall AcademyCrewe, Cheshire
Regent International SchoolDubai, United Arab Emirates
Rockwood AcademyAlum Rock, Birmingham
Hathaway AcademyGrays, Essex
Washwood Heath AcademyWashwood Heath, Birmingham
St Mary’s SchoolCambridge, Cambridgeshire
TwentyFive/7Wolverhampton, West Midlands
Park View SchoolTottenham, London
St Bede’sOrmskirk, Lancashire
Wodensborough Ormiston AcademyWednesbury, Sandwell
East Cheshire Association of Primary Headteachers (eCAPH)East Cheshire
Wood Green AcademyWednesbury, Sandwell
Wapping High SchoolTower Hamlets, London
St Michael’s Church of England High SchoolRowley Regis, Sandwell
Ormiston Sandwell Community AcademyOldbury, Sandwell
Holte SchoolLozells, Birmingham
Chestnuts Primary SchoolTottenham, London
Highgate Wood SchoolCrouch End, London
Walsall Virtual SchoolWalsall, West Midlands
Lordswood Boys’ SchoolHarborne, Birmingham
Ministry of JusticeEngland and Wales · National department
Accrington AcademyAccrington, Lancashire
Chandos Primary SchoolHighgate, Birmingham
Shireland Collegiate AcademySmethwick, Sandwell
Southway Primary SchoolBognor Regis, West Sussex
West Bromwich Collegiate AcademyWest Bromwich, Sandwell
Oldbury AcademyOldbury, Sandwell
Greenfield Primary SchoolCountesthorpe, Leicestershire
Dormston SchoolSedgley, Dudley
Department for Work and PensionsGreat Britain · National department
Lewisham Virtual SchoolLewisham, London
Fearns Community Sports CollegeStacksteads, Lancashire
Wilkes Green Infant SchoolHandsworth, Birmingham
Tarleton AcademyTarleton, Lancashire
Walsall CouncilWalsall, West Midlands
Ormiston Forge AcademyCradley Heath, Sandwell
St George’s AcademySleaford and Ruskington, Lincolnshire
Handsworth Wood Girls’ AcademyHandsworth Wood, Birmingham
West Sussex County CouncilWest Sussex
Our Lady and St Hubert’s Catholic Primary SchoolOldbury, Sandwell
Chilwell Croft AcademyNewtown, Birmingham
Q3 Academy Great BarrGreat Barr, Sandwell
Q3 Academy TiptonTipton, SandwellNo organisations in this setting yet.
Also represented in our work: City of Birmingham Schools (Birmingham, West Midlands).
Our history is carried in relationships: the schools that opened their doors, the services that commissioned support and the partners who worked alongside us.
Across those settings, our commitment remains—to recognise strengths, build trust and keep working towards progress.
The thinking behind our workExplore the evidence
Choose a collection. Explore the people, the work and the reported progress, with the original accounts always close at hand.
Primary schools
4 accounts
Assistant Principal and SENDCo’s recommendation
The school describes greater confidence, resilience and self-belief through individualised mentoring relationships.
Principal’s account
The principal reports behavioural incidents halved within six weeks for the children receiving mentoring.
Primary-school programme
A Year 4 programme addressing aspirations, relationships and engagement with learning.
Whole-school capacity
A school account of extending mentoring support through staff development.
Schools & education
2 accounts
School recommendation
The school describes changes in cooperation, behaviour points and participation during the programme.
School recommendation
A KS3 mentoring account focused on rapport, reflection and goals.
CME & Fair Access
2 accounts
CME manager’s recommendation
Sandwell’s CME manager describes confidence, maturity and greater ownership of next steps.
Pilot and professional recommendation
Planning with schools and families, mentoring records and accounts of change during a managed-move context.
Children & families
4 accounts
Residential-care recommendation
A home manager’s account of consistent mentoring through changes in family, education and relationships.
Children’s-services recommendation
Creative engagement with young people affected by domestic violence, described by the commissioning service.
Original parent reviews
Parents describe their children’s experiences of direct mentoring support.
Individual family accounts
Parents describe support around school transition, college direction and feeling understood.
Care leavers & community
2 accounts
Related partner perspectives
Spectra and TwentyFive/7 describe mentoring within one NHS care-leaver employment project.
Grenfell Dedicated Service
A local-authority recommendation describes confidence, communication and school relationships.
Learning & development
2 accounts
Staff mentoring development
Training, a mentor surgery and consultation across seven education settings.
Participant experiences
Explore original learner reviews about reflection, perspective and mentoring practice.
Relationships over time
1 account
Former mentees’ testimony
Adults reflect on mentoring relationships that began during their teenage years.
Primary school · School recommendation
In her recommendation, Alicia Bullock, Assistant Principal and SENDCo at Our Lady and St Hubert’s Catholic Primary School, describes mentoring relationships that recognise each child’s individual needs, personality and aspirations.
The school reports greater confidence, resilience and willingness to believe in themselves. It highlights children feeling valued, listened to and understood. These are the school’s observations; the letter does not provide numerical outcomes or a programme date.
Relevant evidence
At Southway Primary School, Principal Mike Wood reports that behavioural incidents recorded on CPOMS halved within six weeks for the children receiving mentoring. Staff and parents contributed to the preparation; the school recognised the change.
Principal’s reported result for the children receiving mentoring, measured over six weeks. See the original testimonial for context.
Read the original evidence PDF · 1 page · 130 KBSt Michael’s Community Academy
“The programme has helped our children to have greater aspirations”
David Jobling · Principal · quoted in the case study
The school described pupils becoming less engaged with learning through Key Stage 2, with underdeveloped resilience and low aspirations.
ECNM co-designed an aspirational Year 4 programme, trained school staff as mentors and combined presentations, group and individual sessions, mentoring days and a parent engagement event. Every Year 4 child was given a mentor.
The school reports a more positive attitude to learning, improved pupil and staff relationships and stronger pupil voice. Children describe feeling happier and safer; staff describe greater awareness of barriers to learning.
Reported experiences and school observations. Enjoyment feedback is distinct from a measured wellbeing improvement; response numbers are not stated.
Thornton Primary School
“I feel there is more capacity to support children and reduce their barriers to learning.”
Rachel Clements · Headteacher · quoted in the case study
One part-time learning mentor could reach around 10% of pupils. The school wanted broader support while staff raised questions about time, training and safeguarding.
Over six months, ECNM helped develop a school improvement strategy and bespoke mentoring programme, with resources, consultation and training for leaders, teachers, teaching assistants and Year 6 pupils.
The account records every child having a named mentor, with more than 16 staff mentoring. Staff describe increased capacity and growing confidence; children report valuing time to talk.
Mentoring coverage and staff involvement describe delivery. The historical Ofsted references are not attributed solely to ECNM and do not establish the school’s current rating.
Saltley Academy
“There was a significant decrease in negative behaviour points, coupled with an increase in positive behaviour points for these students.”
Phillip Turner · Designated Safeguarding Lead and Senior Leader · May 2024
Hodge Hill College
“enabling a clear and tailored plan for our needs to be achieved.”
Ryan Fradley · Assistant Headteacher: Behaviour & Attitudes · October 2026
Why the relationship matters
Sandwell’s Children Missing Education and Alternative Provision manager describes young people who had struggled to share difficult experiences. Her recommendation records confidence, maturity and greater ownership of their next steps.
“Through the patient and nurturing approach of ECNM, they have found their voice”
The pilot case study / 2018
“I am confident, and independent I ask for help and I am happier.”
Student voice · quoted in the pilot case study
“Throughout the programme schools’ unanimously reported better relationships were emerging in their cohorts, attendance improved as did attitudes to school work and authority in general.”Read the panel recommendation · PDF 2 pages · 41 KB
Accalia Care
“The service has also had a positive impact on the young person’s behaviour, relationships and engagement.”
Halima Teniola · Home Manager · July 2026
Website copy: the author’s direct email has been removed.
Methodology recognised in practice
Sandwell Children’s Trust’s Teamworx recommendation describes creative engagement with young people affected by domestic violence. The service commissioned ECNM for two further projects after partners endorsed the work.
“They have demonstrated a unique methodology in their engagement with young people”Claire Martin · West Bromwich COG Manager · Sandwell Children’s Trust · June 2019
Parents’ experiences / Trustpilot
Parent reviews of direct support, linked to the original accounts.
“now has greater faith in himself and his positive attributes.”Read Temi’s full review
Published 20 July 2023 · Mentoring began November 2022
Temi describes low confidence and difficulty managing emotions.
Selected activities and supportive conversations formed the mentoring.
The parent reports stronger coping and communication skills, resilience and self-belief.
Parents’ observations, not guaranteed outcomes. Summaries are paraphrased; quotations are exact excerpts. Read the originals for context.
Parents’ voices / Personal accounts
Experiences shared by families. Each child’s needs and progress are individual.
Starting secondary school
“Within weeks, he was calmer, more confident, and actually looking forward to starting senior school.”
Sarah M.Parent of a Year 7 pupil
Finding direction at college
“With her support, he applied for a new course, found his footing at college, made friends and rediscovered his drive.”
Jonathan & Amita R.Parents of a college student
Care before commitment
“It was clear from the start that the goal wasn’t simply to enrol us, but to genuinely serve my child in the best possible way.”
Louise T.Parent of a 14-year-old
Spectra
“The mentoring provided played an important role in helping participants sustain engagement with the programme and progress into NHS roles.”
Matthew Gordon · Founder and CEO · Date not stated
Spectra and TwentyFive/7 provide related partner perspectives on NHS care-leaver employment work, not independent cohort counts.
Read the excerptRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Grenfell Dedicated Service · July 2024
Charles Ademeno, Participation and Inclusion Lead, describes greater confidence, resilience, communication and positive school relationships. The recommendation supplies no cohort size or comparative measures.
Teachers and support staff from seven schools trained as mentors for a Pupil Premium academic-mentoring pilot. ECNM co-developed and delivered interactive training, a mentor surgery and consultation around the work.
The case study reports stronger staff skills and confidence. Early pupil feedback was anecdotal; it does not establish a measured attainment improvement.
“I would highly recommend Every Child Needs a Mentor training and do so without reservation.”Andrew Holt · Assistant Headteacher · Pilot coordinatorRead the original staff-training case study PDF · 2 pages · 415 KB
“Made me look into myself
and I realised that
mentoring is definitely
for me.”
Looking inward and recognising a commitment to mentoring.
Seeing mentoring differently through the course.
Greater clarity about moving forward as a mentor.
Read beyond the highlights
Short excerpts introduce the experiences. The original reviews provide the fuller account.
Editorial themes help you browse. Names and years follow the original reviews. The full accounts remain on Trustpilot.
Participant feedback
These reviews were published on ECNM’s Trustpilot profile. The profile covers several services; its overall rating is not a Masterclass-only score. Individual experiences may describe earlier course arrangements. Participant feedback is not a guarantee of employment or outcomes for children.
The long view / first-hand testimony
They were teenagers when the relationship began. Decades later, they are still speaking about its influence.
Now adults with professional lives of their own, these former mentees have reconnected with Herman. Hear what they remember, the influence they attribute to mentoring and why the relationship remains part of their story.
The age at which the relationships described by Herman began.
A perspective that reaches beyond the end of a programme.
Adults reflecting on the influence they attribute to mentoring.
01 / The school-leader perspective
A former mentee, now a school leader, reflects on being mentored by Herman. Hear the full account in the supplied recording.
Source: former-mentee video supplied by Herman · approximately 2 minutes 8 seconds.
02 / Reconnecting with Dwayne
Herman and Dwayne reconnect in a short filmed conversation. A personal perspective on a mentoring relationship begun in adolescence.
Source: Dwayne’s mentoring journey recording supplied by Herman · approximately 30 seconds.
These first-hand accounts support the possibility of lasting influence: former mentees can reflect on what a relationship meant to them long after it ended. The photograph documents a reunion; the testimony supplies the personal interpretation.
These are individual retrospective accounts from Herman’s mentoring history. They inform ECNM’s foundations and longer-term ambitions. They do not measure outcomes across every ECNM programme or establish mentoring as the sole cause of a person’s achievements. Consistent follow-up across the wider service remains the next step in testing sustained progress.
The videos retain the full supplied recordings. Age and elapsed-time context are provided by Herman; they are not an independently verified longitudinal dataset.
Individual experiences and reported outcomes sit within their own context. Accounts are not combined into a single success rate.
Explore selected letters and case studies from schools, commissioners and delivery partners.
Recommendation
More participation and improved behaviour points.
Recommendation
Mentor placement, pupil rapport and weekly reporting.
Case study
Year 4 resilience, learning and relationships.
Recommendation
Recorded behaviour incidents halved in six weeks.
Recommendation
An independent chair’s account of the commissioned programme.
Recommendation
Confidence and support through secondary transition.
Recommendation
Confidence and pupil voice in CME and alternative provision.
Recommendation
A home manager’s account of the value of consistent support.
Recommendation
Programme engagement and progression into NHS roles.
Recommendation
Partner feedback and two further commissions.
Case study
How the school gave every child a named mentor.
Case study
How school staff developed their mentoring practice.
“They have helped our pupils develop confidence in themselves and improve their aspiration for the future.”
“I have seen first-hand the profound and positive impact their mentoring programme has on young people—academically, socially, and emotionally.”
“providing them with a forum and platform to develop their communication skills, and learning how to build relationships with peers.”
“Mentoring built my son’s confidence. He works harder and has more knowledge”
“he is now attending school on a regular basis and has returned to playing football for his local team”
“The students are now significantly more enthusiastic and willing to engage academically and with personal development opportunities within school.”
“They were dependable, solution-focused and committed to achieving positive outcomes for the young people involved.”
“Their compassionate and non-judgmental approach has allowed students to open up about their challenges and work towards constructive solutions.”
“The mentoring provided played an important role in helping participants sustain engagement with the programme and progress into NHS roles.”
Your next step
Share the challenge with ECNM and explore an appropriate way forward.