1. Peer Mentoring WP Students through Transition: An Evidence Based Approach
Presentation by
Steffie Denton
UWE Cares Coordinator
Jo Lewis
Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) Manager
June 2019

2. Aims
Demonstrate the need of peer to peer support for Widening Participation (WP) groups
Explore partnership working between UWE Cares and Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) Team to deliver PAL Mentoring scheme
Highlight the PAL Mentor’s experience
Review scheme success and challenges to date
Identify opportunities for scheme enhancement

3. Widening Participation (WP)
Strategy that aims to encourage and support underrepresented groups to take up and succeed in Higher Education.
Monitored through Access and Participation Plans from the Office for Students.
UWE Cares is part of UWE Bristol’s approach, providing care leavers, estranged students and student carers with a range of support.

4. The Evidence Base
“Moving On Up”: care leavers over a third more likely to withdraw
Recommendation for HEIs to develop mentoring for care leavers to improve transition, retention and success
Supported by recent government policy paper around improving care leavers access and participation in H.E.
Stand Alone: 41% estranged students had considered or had suspended or withdrawn from studies
Estranged students more likely to want a mentor and did not know what support services were available to them.
The Carers Trust reports that 29% of young carers have dropped out of uni’ or college because of their caring role.

5. Applying Research to Peer Mentoring for UWE Cares Students
Aims of our pilot peer mentoring project are to help UWE Cares first year students:
settle in, meet people and reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness by promoting extra curricular and social opportunities
feel empowered to access support services by signposting
overcome low academic confidence by promoting professional development courses, study skills and employment awards
engage with the wider H.E. community.

7. UWE Bristol PAL Principles
Focussed on Foundation, Level 1 and Direct Entry students
Facilitated by ‘near peers’ who use mentoring and role modelling techniques
Benefits all students regardless of current academic competency
Focuses on what and how you learn
Encourages collaborative and active learning
Privacy to practise the subject, making mistakes and building confidence.
UWE Bristol PAL Principles

8. Putting Vision into Practice: Partnership Working with PAL Team
Senior PAL Leader
PAL Team (Learning Services, Library)
PAL Mentors
Student Success Services
Steffie Denton
UWE Cares Coordinator
(Equality, Diversity & Inclusivity)
UWE Cares Mentees

9. UWE Cares PAL Mentor: Role & Responsibilities
Provide peer-to-peer, one-to-one support to 4 or 5 UWE Cares students
Meet each mentee up to 6 times in the academic year
Help mentees set and work towards their individual goals
Empower them to overcome any barriers and ask for help
Help mentees make the most of the opportunities
UWE Bristol offers. This will help them meet people,
gain confidence and become more independent.

10. My PAL Mentor Experience
Isla Kouassi-Kan,
BA (Hons) History, final year

11. Evaluation & Monitoring
PAL Mentor training feedback
On-going analysis of records of mentoring
January review (interim feedback from PAL Mentors)
Mentee survey
Testimonials from mentees
Exit interviews with PAL Mentors

12. Mentee Testimonials
The best thing about my PAL Mentor was that they took the time and interest in helping me.
My PAL Mentor helped me to go the extra mile and apply for things I would not normally apply for.
My PAL Mentor helped me to find out my short term and long terms goals making me feel reassured.
I think mentoring is good because it pushes you outside your comfort zone and helps you meet people.
I think mentoring is good because it gives a perspective from someone in similar situations as you.

13. One Year On Successes Challenges Clear rationale and scope
Highly popular role
Recruitment from within UWE Cares
Excellent PAL Mentor training
“Worthwhile and rewarding”
Positive feedback from engaged mentees
ILM accreditation for PAL Mentors
Delayed start to project
Opt-out approach = Low uptake from UWE Cares students
Time gap between training and start of mentoring activity
PAL Mentor drop outs
“No shows” / frustrating
Communication challenges between mentees/mentors
Managing expectations

14. Developing & Enhancing
Pre-arrival communications with applicants
Change to “opt-in”
PAL Mentor role induction
Regular group debriefs (facilitated by Senior PAL)
Mentors encouraged to use alternative methods of communication with mentees
More explicit/ on-going contracting
Mentoring diary to support more robust and consistent mentoring activity
PAL Team to track mentee engagement (or lack of) more closely
Regular evaluation touch points
- Seeking to develop better sense of community by creating opps for PAL mentors to meet and share good, bad and ugly with others in similar role e.g. SPLs (networking events). Expand support network and possibly invite them to observe mentoring sessions where appropriate.
- Looking into tracking this year’s mentees in their second and third years in order to gauge whether levels of engagement with extra curricular opps and their self-efficiacy is sustained once the formal peer support is removed. Plus monitoring how many of them become mentors themselves.

15. Summary Context integrated with external evidence
Collaboratively developed, implemented & evaluated
Success indicators: self efficacy & personal development.

16. References
Carers Trust (2015) Supporting Students with Caring Responsibilities: Ideas and Practice for Universities to Help Student Carers Access and Succeed in Higher Education
Available from:
[Accessed 12 February 2018]
Harrison, N. (2017) Moving on up: Pathways of care leavers and care-experienced students into and through higher education. Project Report. National Network for the Education of Care Leavers, Winchester. Available from:
Department for Education (2019) Policy Paper: Principles to Guide Higher Education Providers on Improving Care Leavers Access and Participation in HE. London: Department for Education. Available from: [Accessed 5 March 2018]

17. References
StandAlone (2015) Focus on access and retention: risk for students who are estranged or disowned by their family. Available from: [Accessed 22 January 2018]
StandAlone (2015) Unite Foundation and Stand Alone - New Starts, the challenges of Higher Education without the support of a family network. Available from: [Accessed 28 January 2018]
StandAlone (2015) Hidden Voices: Family Estrangement in Students. Available from: [Accessed 28 January 2018]