1. Enhancement of Learning Support
Introduction to Mentoring
Could you be a mentor?
This PowerPoint could be used to support you with the implementation of a mentoring scheme, to explain to possible mentors what mentoring involves .
The screen content is suggested only – please feel free to add, amend and contextualise to suit your organisation.
If you do use it, we would welcome any feedback, and would also be keen to see any changes you may have made in order to improve it.
On some screens, as here, the notes page contains some guidance to presenters and possible accompanying text. This is for guidance only, and, as above, it is up to each provider and presenter to adjust the presentation to suit them and their organisation's needs.
Guidance for presenters is written in italics. Potential accompanying text is in normal font.

2. Enhancement of Learning Support
What is mentoring?
The pairing of a more skilled or experienced person with someone less skilled or experienced with the mutually agreed goal of helping the less skilled person to develop their work related skills, knowledge and understanding
Relationship aims to improve skills, confidence and competence
Often referred to as a learning conversation
In practice, one of the most challenging issues about mentoring is defining what it means. A number of terms exist such as coaching, peer mentoring, counseling, role modelling and advising.
Here, we are exploring the use of mentoring as defined above.

3. Enhancement of Learning Support
What does a mentor do?
Encourages learners to take control of their own learning and development
Demonstrates and shares effective practice and professional attributes, knowledge and understanding
Provides advice and guidance without interfering or imposing solutions
Provides opportunities for the learner to reflect on, refine and review their own practice
Works with the mentee to agree professional learning goals to support progression
Facilitate a discussion around each of these points, encouraging the audience of potential mentors to reflect on how they might approach each.
Refer back to how they have developed skills, knowledge and understanding, and how they feel the process of mentoring might benefit less experienced staff.
Discuss the difference between providing advice and guidance and imposing solutions- encouraging potential mentors to appreciate the importance of supporting innovation
Share the draft paperwork, designed to support the process of agreeing goals and recording mentoring activity – discuss, review and where appropriate amend to suit your context.

4. Enhancement of Learning Support
What does a mentor do?
Models, articulates, observes and discusses practice to raise awareness
Supports the mentee in reviewing and action planning
May observe mentee’s practice and provide practical suggestions for development
May act as assessor, appraiser and contribute to the accreditation of practice where the mentee is working towards a professional qualification
Talk about the value of mentees having the opportunity to observe practice and to discuss issues related to their work. Ask potential mentors to consider how they might build this in, and any implications this might have for the allocation of a mentee
Stress the importance of providing positive suggestions for development, to maintain the mentee’s morale and to support development with practical things they can do to improve practice.
Where the mentor will act as an assessor for an award, it will be important to ensure they are familiar with the criteria for mentoring, which is set by the awarding body. This may involve different paperwork.

5. Enhancement of Learning Support
What personal qualities do I need?
A good mentor is;
Able to motivate others
An effective communicator
Empathetic, yet objective
Able to build confidence and trust - to act as a critical friend
Willing to share practice and experience
Able to tackle sensitive issues appropriately
Motivate – facilitate a discussion about how they might motivate others, and what/who has motivated them and why.
A good communicator -can ask questions, listen and respond without being judgmental, and also give good feedback which is practical and specific so that it can be acted on
Stress the importance of being empathetic whilst remaining objective – you are not their best friend, but there to support their professional development . This will involve being honest and fair
Discuss how to build confidence and trust - who do they trust and why? What does that mean for them in their role as mentor?
Are they willing to share practice and experience? If so, how might they do so in their capacity as mentor?
What sort of issues might they face- facilitate a discussion around this, and agree practical approaches. Also, discuss the personal qualities required for this and situations where they may need to involve the support of others .

6. Enhancement of Learning Support
What personal qualities do I need?
A good mentor is;
An effective practitioner
Skilled in reflecting on own practice
Able to support others to reflect on their own practice
Willing to devote time to fulfilling the role and responsibilities of mentoring
Respects and values equality and diversity
An active listener
An effective practitioner- understands the role and the challenges the new /less experienced LSA faces.
To encourage another to reflect on his or her own practice, you need to be skilled at reflecting on your own . You may find it useful here to refer to the guidance re reflective practice.
Facilitate a discussion about time- how might mentoring support be built into their schedules? What are the practical implications pertinent to your context?
Again, refer to your organisation’s policies and practice in respect of E & D
For active listening, see next screen.

7. Enhancement of Learning Support
What personal qualities do I need?
Active listening
Pay attention
Interpret
Put your own personal emotions aside
Ask questions
Paraphrase
Clarify and confirm understanding
Listen for feelings
Allow time for the speaker to respond
Pay attention- listen, but also observe the speaker’s behaviour and body language. Consider your body language –where and how you sit can influence the speaker’s perception of how much attention you are really paying.
Interpret their body language, tome of voice and expression, as well as what they say, will give you a more accurate understanding of the message
Make sure you put your own personal emotions aside during the conversation
Ask questions and paraphrase what you have heard- this does not imply agreement, but clarifies and confirms understanding
Listen for feelings and try to describe these – “You seem a little frustrated”
Allow time for the speaker to respond –facilitate a discussion around the power of pause in promoting independence when working with learners- the same approach works here. It is vital to allow the speaker time to think, process and respond. Your role as active listener is to support the individual in reflecting, reaching their own conclusions and coming up with strategies and approaches which might help them.. As a mentor, you guide and support, as opposed to imposing and directing. Effective use of pause and active listening techniques are key markers of your more developmental role.

8. Enhancement of Learning Support
Practical considerations
Allocation of mentors
Compatibility
Specialist knowledge
Purpose
Practical considerations
Expectations
Confidentiality
Professionalism
Compatibility - helpful if you mentor someone with whom you can develop a productive relationship. Look for things you might have in common, and endeavour to be approachable and supportive as well as professional. If the relationship isn’t working well, you need to discuss it with (whoever is managing the mentor scheme)
Specialist skills/ Purpose - in allocating mentors we need to consider the purpose of mentoring, and are likely to pair mentees up with a mentor who has appropriate specialist skills, knowledge and understanding.
Practical considerations - similar working patterns will help facilitate meetings
Expectations
Confidentiality – it is important to abide by the organisation’s confidentiality and professional conduct agreement. Consider where and when you meet, how you establish boundaries and under what circumstances you might share information.
Professionalism – facilitate a discussion here about what professionalism means in practice. It is about approach and values, being aware of boundaries – where and when you meet, what falls within the boundaries of professional mentoring, and what sits outside. It is possible that you might need to refer an individual to other sources of support, and also that you may need to share something the mentee has told you in confidence. Remind mentors of their responsibility to remain professional at all times.

9. Enhancement of Learning Support
Process and Expectations
Both parties sign the agreement
Preliminary meeting to ensure you are both clear what is involved and are happy to work together
Find / make time to meet – how can you build this into your schedule?
Agree overall purpose of mentoring, initial frequency of meetings and likely timescales
Work with the mentee to identify goals
Identify and agree mentoring activities to support the achievement of these
Review progress
Review the agreement and ensure the mentors understand the implications.
Discuss what the priorities might be for a first meeting. Refer to the mentee development plan. Although it is unlikely this would be completed at the first meeting, the overall purpose of mentoring should be discussed.
Refer back to previous discussion re practicalities. Gather suggestions for how best to facilitate this.
Again, refer to mentee development plan. It is likely that timescales may change over time, but it is important to secure some joint understanding about how much time is likely to be involved, how often you will meet, so that both parties have shared expectations.
Remind the mentors that the mentee needs to have ownership of his/her own goals, - as mentors, they will need to use active listening skills and reflection and provide guidance, to support the mentee in identifying and expressing these, but the goals themselves are the mentees.
Once the goals are agreed, you need to work together to plan appropriate activities. The mentee should be encouraged to share his or her ideas about this, and you will draw on your experience as an effective practitioner, coupled with your greater knowledge of the organisation to suggest appropriate activities to support the achievement of these goals.
Reviewing the process – discuss how you will review progress with mentees, as well as how you will review the mentoring experience. Refer to both the mentoring log and the mentee development plan to support you in this.

10. Enhancement of Learning Support
Next steps
If you feel mentoring is something you are interested in, let us know
Give us any information which might support us in allocating a mentee – details of your work timetable, areas of professional interest and so on
Undertake the process, keeping us in touch with how it is going
Reflect on the process, and let us have any relevant feedback about what has worked well, what is less effective and any recommendations to further improve the process