Transitions - One to One Mentoring intervention

Address

Sandwell Christian Centre, Langley Crescent
Oldbury

Contact

Mark Cavell
mark@krunch.org.uk
0121 552 5556
https://www.krunch.org.uk

Ages

9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Gender

All

Krunch mentoring has always been about empowering young people to make positive life choices. We recognise that some young people need more support and encouragement in taking next steps than others. Where a young person finds themselves in a position of having to moving school, this is often not their choice and there can be many barriers to this transition being successful. Such difficulties include the pupil being bullied or socially isolated, breakdowns in relationships with staff and in particular, behaviour difficulties.

We believe that our Transition Mentors can contribute to successful school transitions in the following ways:
• A ‘pupil-centred’ approach - an overarching principle of ‘personalisation’
• Understand and accommodate the unique needs of each pupil
• Facilitating the hearing of the pupil’s voice with all involved professionals and maybe parents/carers, to ensure the child experiences full involvement in the transition process
• Represent the transition as a ‘fresh start’ and opportunity
• Work with the child on ownership of behaviour
• Encourage the preservation of positive friendships, as well as encouraging new social connections
• Move with the child - mentor in the school they are leaving and joining to aid settling in
• Ensure new host school understands the complexity of needs that pupils can present with

Our Service Aim is to facilitate the successful transition of a pupil from one school to another:

• One to one sessions with an experienced Krunch Mentor
• Supporting children and teens to have open and honest discussion around issues which are currently affecting their day to day life and may affect future opportunities, with a solution focussed approach
• Pre and post impact measures via the use of Outcome Stars and an Emotional Health and Well-being Questionnaire
• Sessions focussed around Krunch’s Personal Development and Life Skills Programme which encourages self-awareness, achievement and the development of relevant life skills and short term target setting
• Signposting young people to positive activities and opportunities outside of school
• Regular communication with the referring agency and attendance at multi agency meetings when necessary in the best interests of the young person Target Group…
• Children aged 9 years and upwards
• These children must not be currently receiving any other similar intervention

Our Transition Mentors can work within the leaving and receiving schools to help reduce these barriers for children and ensure that successful integration to mainstream settings becomes a more regular practice. Krunch has 24 years of working with children and teenagers who find themselves out of school, or moving between educational placements.

We understand that the following contextual factors affect successful transitions:

In-school factors:
• Consideration of Child and Parent Views
• Personalised Intervention
• Staff Skills
• Pupil Characteristics
• School Ethos
• Enabling Ownership of Behaviour

Awareness of the Process of:
• Raising Awareness of Legislation and Rights
• User-friendly communication of the details
• Consistency of Personalised Support

Out of School Factors:
• Parental Role
• Friendship Groups
• Social Connectedness
• Out of School Support
• Social Networking

Length of programme/sessions…
• 45-60 minute sessions by arrangement with schools
• Minimum 6 sessions
• Sessions in school or they can be at Krunch premises (transport is not provided)

EWB

Opening hours

	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

Accessibility details

We have a good awareness of the SEN categories and frequently associated diagnoses such as ADHD, autism and anxiety. We have close links with CAMHS, as one of our staff is a therapist seconded there. We also work with the Inclusion Support Team and have access to support if we are not familiar with a particular medical diagnosis, neurological disorder, or area of learning difficulty. Our staff team are also aware of attachment theory, the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and they all work in a trauma informed way. Krunch works daily with children from local Sandwell Special Schools, Westminster and Brades Lodge as well as SEN YP from local colleges. We bespoke all of our interactions and provision to meet physical, sensory and emotional needs. On average, at least 30% of those students we work with on a weekly basis will have some kind of SEND and we are used to working with those who have full statements/EHC plans both in groups and a one to one setting. We successfully provide education sessions and accreditation for young people living with a wide range of SEND.

Staff qualifications

We have a longstanding, stable staff team with a plethora of qualifications: qualified teacher and mentors, therapist working alongside Sandwell CAMHS, internal moderation for accreditation, youthwork, Masters Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Masters Applied Psychology, Counselling (various stages of training), Diploma in Trauma Recovery. Career backgrounds of our staff relevant to this contact include: teaching/mentoring - mainstream, special, Steiner and free, young offenders institute, post-16 college, homeless foyer, life coaching, church youth worker, stay at home parent, child sexual exploitation, teenage mental health. Our staff undertake regular training on a range of topics which affect our service users, both inhouse and via Sandwell Children’s Trust, Safeguarding Board and quality external providers. A sample of training sessions this past year: • Suicide Awareness • Betsy de Thierry trauma consultant - online how to help the angry, frustrated child • Risk, Rights, Resilience & Relationships: safeguarding and supporting adolescents - Research In Practice • Safeguarding 16-25-year olds • Effects of Domestic abuse upon children • Managing sexualised behaviour in schools • County Lines, gang affiliation and Exploitation • Equality diversity and inclusion training

Additional notes

• The Krunch referral form must be completed and sent to Mark Cavell at mark@krunch.org.uk. This does not guarantee a place on the project. • You must provide us with a key worker within your school with whom we can liaise • We require parent/carers to complete Krunch consent form • We expect referrers, parents/carers and participants to completed short feedback questionnaires for us in order that we can evaluate service delivery and project impact • We set targets with the young person and review them regularly and agree a weekly reporting structure to someone at school (usually via email) • A final report summarizing our intervention and the achievement of the young person will be sent to school and home and other involved professionals for whom we have consent • All Krunch staff have an enhanced DBS certificate and Safeguarding Training • Krunch has public liability insurance, a current Safeguarding Policy, Health and Safety Policy and many of our staff are First Aid trained • Our face to face mentoring sessions are risk assessed too. Our staff are trained and regularly updated in relation to Social Distancing rules and hygiene procedures in line with changing government and educational guidelines For further information please call Krunch and ask for Lynsey Grant or Mark Cavell and we will be happy to discuss the referral process and the project with you.

Categories

PERSONAL, SCHOOL LIFE/BEHAVIOUR AND PEER RELATIONSHIPS