Many young people struggle with the unstructured nature of the summer holidays. Sadly, for a significant number getting six weeks off from school means spending six, uninterrupted weeks in an environment that is at best challenging and at worst, harmful.
About this programme
The Challenging Me Summer Mentoring Programme is designed to provide fun, enjoyment, structure and focus over the summer holidays, engaging these young people on a fundamental level and channelling their energy constructively. We use our decades of real-life experience to challenge them to reflect on who they are, how they came to be where they are, and to think about what they want from life and the future. Through the prism of shared experience, our mentors are able to build trust with these young people and challenge them to see the possibilities and successes their life could hold, as well as helping them develop the self-awareness, self-esteem and self-belief these young people need to begin making positive changes towards their goals.
By teaching important life-skills like self-discipline, fairness, and consideration and respect for others, our mentors are able to challenge the way these young people see themselves in relation to the world around them and the relationships they have experienced. We aim to decrease the amount of stress and anxiety these young people feel, helping them identify trigger points for conflict and arming them with de-escalation and conflict-resolution strategies. And wherever appropriate, we’ll embark on a fun journey through developing other life-skills like cooking, budgeting and money management.
Our hope is that we can inspire young people to become confident, resilient young people with hopes, aspiration and goals, and make a long-lasting, positive impact on the way they think about themselves and their place in the world.
What participants say:
The first time I met Dave & Ian, I was working in a large high school in Manchester as a coordinator for ethnic minority achievement. Some of the pupils were having running battles, with groupings split firmly along ethnic lines, and the school had brought them in to try to stem the escalating violence. The techniques they used were eclectic but effective. The incidents of fights between different racial groups dropped to zero.
Mark Darbey
They understand, first hand, the pressures on teenagers in the inner city. They bridge the gulf between teacher and pupil, pupil and parent, and parent and school. The pupils hang on his every word, their respect self-evident. The year before, there had been seven expulsions. After the mentors arrived, there was one.
Oliver Swanton
There are no words to describe my mentor and how great he is. If I had to choose one word to describe the programme it would be Amazing! I didn’t think anything would help me but joining the programme was the best choice I ever made. My mentoring programme helped me to realise I can do things, not that I might be able to, that I can do this! I would recommend this programme to anyone.
Mentee – aged 16
Challenge Me has been an engaging programme for all of our young people in our residential placements. The mentors are hard hitting and can really relate to the young people through using their real life experiences. We have seen a significant change in behaviours and how the young people use coping mechanisms as a result of working with their mentor. We especially like that each mentor is matched appropriately with each young person, taking into consideration their needs. We would recommend the mentoring programme to other residential providers as we have found it massively beneficial for our young people.
Ana – Operations Manager for Triangle Care Residential.
In-depth information, not just about understanding the young people and their behaviour but how to emphasise the open mind and help through asking questions in a more productive way. The course was thoroughly enjoyable and beneficial. It would be a great addition to our current training.
Delegate from Care 4 Children
The course was relevant, valuable and full of enriching information. It was very educational and detailed; giving a different view of life in general. All content is useful and insightful equipping with transferable life skills.
Delegate from Triangle Care Group
Eye-opening. Thought-provoking. Empowering. Encouraging. Informative. Motivating. Vibrant. Inspiring. Refreshing. Relatable. Best training course and would love to do more training with the team at Challenge Me.
Key phrases from Residential Staff at Next Stage
We have seen an increase in attendance, behaviour and improvement in home life from the several pupils we have working with Challenge Me. I believe this is through having a 1:1 mentor and an individual programme that has been tailored to fit them. The young people see the mentors as good role models; who listens to them and understands their needs/issues. I would certainly promote the programme as being unique, bespoke, supportive, reliable, engaging and professional.
Debi Capper – Alternative Provision Coordinator at Impact Pupil Referral Unit
My grandson has a lot of very complex issues going on in his life and his mentor had a certain way of interacting with him, getting him to open up, which is something he finds difficult to do with his family. During his time on the programme his attitude and approach to these issues has definitely improved. We as a family can’t thank the mentor enough for the commitment to my grandson and his wellbeing.
Lynn Wright – Parent/Guardian
Ops Manager
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