In the same way an Ofsted Inspector would visit to inspect your school or academy for the quality of learning that you provide, I do the same concerning effective mentoring provision.
Just to add, I do this in a friendly way as a critical friend that adds value to enhance what you are doing to inspire your learning community.

For this reason, you can call me “The Mentoring Inspector” and with good cause:

• I have 20 years mentoring experience across a number of areas and industries
• From an Ofsted inspection, my work was quoted: “High quality provision for mentoring”
• I am the author of “Every Child Needs a Mentor” – also available on Amazon
• As a part of my own delivery team I work with a well versed Lead Schools Inspector
• My signature programme was awarded for closing the achievement gap by: improving student morale and attainment with a 50 per cent improvement in English and Maths
• I have been the Lead Mentor for one of the big cities on behalf of their Local Authority
• My articles are published nationally and I speak via BBC and other outlets on mentoring

For this reason my findings, research, experience and knowledge grants me a very technical plus philosophical mentoring insight. Yes it all sounds good but what is the why?

When I was young, I was loved but had a very complex up bringing (like many). I never came from a 2 point 4 family like the soap powder adverts. I came from a place called “Handsworth” which is in inner city Birmingham that wasn’t the easiest places to live. Enjoyable but environmentally, socially, culturally, eco socio economically hard, especially living in a single parent family.

At times in my life academic learning was secondary and not easy to access even though my body was at school. Geography just does not matter if your parents split up the night before. GCSE revision is not that important if someone you know has passed away. These are extremes but real examples, from real lives maybe in your school, or the one up the road. For this reason, mentoring needs to be made widely accessible to all young people in schools.

I am passionate about mentoring. Like some are passionate about Pedagogy, Geography, Philosophy or sociology I am passionate about mentoring programmes! How they work, look, perform, impact-learning communities and to what extent they evidence the changes of mentees, mentors, communities, families, attainment and life opportunities.

In this day and age the development of high quality mentoring programmes, the potential they have to transform and add exponential value to lives cannot be sniffed at or understated.
Can I be real? Many children in school that we are teaching, we are not reaching! And there does need to be an additional strategy to fill the void and close the gap. Could it be mentoring?

However, many exceptional schools, academies and other youth service providers are under utilising their mentoring provision and not maximising the potential of their programmes.
So with my Mentoring Inspector hat on, here are a few questions that could help you to assess how effective your mentoring provision is:

1. How accessible is your programme to ALL students or service users?
2. What does the data say about the effectiveness of your mentoring programme?
3. What is the perception of your children and parents of your mentoring provision?
4. What measurable difference is your mentoring programme making to the learning community?
5. Is mentoring in your Self Evaluation Form, Strategic Intent or School Development Plan?
6. Who is your strategic lead of organisational mentoring delivery?
7. Are your governors involved in or contribute to your mentoring programme?
8. As it stands, what is your personal perception of your in-house mentoring operation?
9. To you (or fellow staff) what type of children need or should access mentoring?

There is a lot more questions I could ask but the above will give you a quick snapshot of what mentoring looks like in your organisation. And you may not know-all the answers but rest assured someone should know all the answers or at least knows what they don’t know.

In 2014, there is no reason why mentoring provision can’t be an integral and robust component to effective student engagement, achievement and pastoral care, as well as a CPD strategy.

The schools that get this right will be positioned to experience more long lasting results that are far reaching within their learning and surrounding communities.
Thank you for your time.

Note: The Mentoring Inspector is a fictional alias of Herman Stewart and does not intend to or implies any affiliation with Ofsted.