Learning mentoring programmes can be effective tools for increasing social, personal
and educational development for young people. This article explores the views of
girl mentees who experienced difficulty managing their mentoring programme within
their school. Mentoring can be employed in different ways with different pupils to
help the overall academic reputation of the school as well as helping individuals
work through social and academic issues. The overarching finding from this research
is that mentoring programmes can benefit relatively high achieving girls as well as
those who may be defined as a ‘problem’ for the school. Schools
that bring in outside agencies to assist those pupils considered in need of some
extra support need to clearly communicate the mentor’s role and purpose to
all members of school staff to ensure that effective mentoring can take place and
sit comfortably within the school’s social inclusion policy.
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