How to be a great Guardian! Growing Points

How to be a great Guardian! Got a few hours to spare a month? Got good networks – they can be professional or social – it is more about whom you know rather than what you know! Want to support people from excluded communities to achieve their dreams? This could be a great opportunity for you to volunteer……...

How to be a great Guardian! Our customers have ambition They have left their professional networks behind Many are well qualified in their country of origin and want to use their talents here Some want to get qualifications but dont know where to start!

How to be a great Guardian! What we do: We get customers referred from various organisations eg the City of Sanctuary or NHS organisations Referral forms state what the customer's ambition is The Director matches referrals up with a Guardian who can help and links them up

How to be a great Guardian! What you do: You make a phone call to arrange a meeting in a public place – coffee shops are good! You agree with your customer what their aims are and start agreeing a plan for what you can do to help and what they need to do.

How to be a great Guardian! What you might do for them…. Look at their cv and help them improve if necessary Help them understand 'how we do things here' and how systems work like the NHS or Education or Local Government

How to be a great Guardian! What you might do for them…. Think of people you could introduce them to – they might be in leadership positions who can make things happen; they might be happy to arrange some shadowing in their organisation so customers can see at first hand how things work; they might offer some work experience or consider them for roles in their organisation Think laterally…..

How to be a great Guardian! What you need to remember…. Our customers have often been let down or even treated with disrespect by those in authority They may lack confidence and self esteem They might test you to see if you are serious about helping them!

How to be a great Guardian! So…… Say what you are going to do and do it Keep in touch with them regularly If only to say how are you doing? Be persistent and consistent!

How to be a great Guardian! Remember! Most are refugees but not all Some are professionally qualified here or in their country of origin Some just want to get a job or start some training They all have ambition!

How to be a great Guardian! The relationship does not have to be a long term one Sometimes they just want a launchpad and off they go! Others come and go and some stay for a long time Some come back when they want more help

How to be a great Guardian! There may be a bit of mentoring or coaching but we are not there to sort out their everyday problems like benefit or housing – their referral agency will do that. We are simply there to support them to achieve their ambitions!

How to be a great Guardian! Safeguarding We need to treat all their information confidentially and respect their privacy If we find out something bad is happening to them or they are involved in something criminal for example we need to report it!

How to be a great Guardian! Support for you….. If you are stuck tell us! The Director can help with anything We will buddy you up with other Guardians and encourage you to meet to support each other But we keep our overheads and bureaucracy to a minimum…..

How to be a great Guardian! Sufyan had always wanted to be a doctor His family were in retail and did not know anything about the medical profession After six attempts and with our help he finally got a place at med school

How to be a great Guardian! His Guardian got a meet up with a GP who sat on selection boards She gave him practice interviews He also met a Professor at a teaching hospital who talked about his ambitions and advised on personal statements Simple things he could never have accessed himself!

How to be a great Guardian! Hira was studying botany when she had to leave her country She wanted to connect with professionals here We discovered (on google!) she had been on a study tour to Kew Gardens a while back We got in touch with Kew and they offered to find someone to support her professsionaly while she continued her studies here Simple lateral thinking…..

How to be a great Guardian! We have a lot of refugees who are engineers We have managed to get them reduced fees for signing up to relevant professional bodies so they can network We got one a returnship at Arup with work experience for six months

How to be a great Guardian! One customer was a film maker in Iraq We have connected him up to the producer of a local Arts Festival While he continues to improve his English Skills he is assisting in their events this year

How to be a great Guardian! Www.growingpoints.co.uk Contact Jane Rennie, Director of Growing Points on 07809151595 jane@growingpoints.co.uk Get in touch!