Youth mentoring for ages 11 to 25

What mentoring means at FAM

Each young person is matched with a trained mentor who meets them regularly, listens properly and is still there months later.

Most of what makes mentoring work isn't clever technique. It's someone turning up when they said they would, week after week. A lot of the young people we meet have had adults come and go, so being reliable matters more than anything else we do.

Mentoring runs right through our pathway. For 11 to 16 year olds it's about staying on track at school. For 16 to 18 year olds it's about getting through the move to college, training or an apprenticeship. For 18 to 25 year olds who are out of education, employment or training, it's about building the confidence to take the next step and sticking with them while they do.

What a mentor can help with

Working out what you actually want
Staying in school or college, or getting back into learning
Confidence and speaking up for yourself
Choosing between college, training, an apprenticeship or work
Forms, appointments and online services
Using digital and AI tools with confidence, for learning, job hunting and everyday life
Staying safe, including online
Having someone to talk to who isn't family and isn't a teacher

How it starts

Anyone can refer: a parent or carer, a school, a youth or social worker, or the young person themselves.

We sit down with the young person first and talk about what they want from mentoring, and we're honest if we're not the right fit. Then we match them with a mentor and they meet regularly, usually somewhere neutral. Young women can ask for a female mentor, and we plan around young people with SEND so the sessions work for them. Mentoring lasts as long as it's useful and ends when the young person is ready.

If a parent or carer needs support for themselves, we'll point them to organisations that work with adults.