The Kids Network is looking for volunteer mentors aged 18+ to support a primary school child aged 8-11 years old in the transition from primary to secondary school by connecting them to a volunteer mentor who supports them for a year.

Visit our website to sign up to volunteer!

What will I do as a volunteer mentor?

• Hold weekly sessions, lasting 1-3 hours over the course of one year
• Support a child during a crucial stage in their social and emotional development
• Focus on the individual needs of your mentee-building confidence, supporting resilience and developing the tools to manage feelings for a positive future
• Join our peer to peer network of mentors, building role confidence and sharing knowledge and experiences
• Receive individual support from The Kids Network team, throughout the full year.

What will the sessions involve?

Sessions will be one-to-one and will take place at a time and place of you and your mentee's choice. Sessions will be child led and will be as creative and varied as your imaginations!

The options are endless-from the local park to London's great museums, you as a volunteer will experience the capital in a new way, through the eyes of a child.

Commitment

• Volunteer once a week, either during the week or on weekends for a full year.
• 6 consecutive face to face sessions at the start
• Attend our first training day that will be run all day on a Saturday
• Attend our second training day that will be run for a few hours in the evening during the week
• Participate in evaluation
• Attend a peer volunteer meet-up at least once every 3 months

What are we looking for in mentors?

• Positivity: Embraces fun and positive thinking
• Commitment: Attends all mentoring sessions and demonstrates patience and understanding in the face of challenges
• Communication: Communicates well with children, young people and The Kids Network using compassion
• Resilience: Meets challenges with optimism, seeing them as an opportunity to learn
• Professionalism: Complies with all of TKN policies and procedures particularly regarding safeguarding
• Non-judgemental: Demonstrates kindness and openness and does not impose personal values
• Solution-focused: Offers guidance and constructive feedback with compassion and understanding.

Please note that due to legal requirements, if you have lived abroad over the last 5 years for 3 months or more, we will require a DBS from that country so processing may take longer. 

?Safeguarding

We are committed to the safeguarding and welfare of the children we work with.

We have a zero tolerance approach to any harm or exploitation of a child by any of our staff, volunteers, partners or trustees.

We are looking for mentors who will promote the safety and wellbeing of the young people in our network.

Diversity

We are looking for mentors who embrace and value diversity. The Kids Network is committed to diversity and inclusion.

We want to reflect the society we live and work in by representing a diverse pool of mentors. You can't be what you can't see.

By providing children with access to diverse opportunities, people, professions and perspectives, they can have positive experiences and make meaningful connections to increase wellbeing and resilience for positive futures.