Children in Care
Our long-term Aspirations Mentoring programme is for children who are Looked After and Care Leavers. Aspirations Mentoring can run for up to two years. Young people are matched with a trusted adult, and through action planning they are supported to improve their self-confidence, self-esteem and resilience, helping them to think positively about their future. Sessions are offered in community spaces, over the phone and video calls.
In the Aspirations programme, young people (8-15-years-old) meet with a volunteer mentor fortnightly for up to two years, under and guidance of a Youth Support Coordinator.
Mentoring encourages informal development of literacy and numeracy skills; helps the young person develop their confidence and self-esteem through collaborative goal setting to meet their self-identified targets; and supports young people to build positive attachments.
The meetings with a mentor take place in a variety of community settings such as cafes, libraries, or parks, and may also make use of the BLGC facilities to allow the mentor and young person time to read together, to use the gym, play pool, or practice their cooking skills.
Children and Young People Coordinators are invited to the CLA and PEP reviews for the young people on their caseload to ensure they are up to date with changes and able to support targets in their PEP The ways that we work with our Young People through Aspirations mentoring, along with the outcomes we are supporting them to work towards, are outlined in this Aspirations Theory of Change Model
Care Leavers
Care leavers are assigned a Youth Support Worker to help them with a wide range of things that may be having an impact on their life. They are supported to develop their confidence and self-esteem, alongside independence, employability, travel training, and mental health and wellbeing.
The young person will meet fortnightly with their allocated Youth Support Worker for between 6-24 months, dependent on the needs of the young person. They set goals together and progress is monitored at regular intervals through the completion of an Outcome Star. As the young person reaches the end of their mentoring journey with BLGC, they will be signposted to other support services and programmes as appropriate.
Case studies
Making a Referral
- Live in the Bolton area and have a Bolton postcode.
- Be in the care of Bolton Local Authority or living in Bolton for a long time if another Local Authority has legal responsibility.
- Be between 8-24-years-old
- Want to engage with a mentor.
- Able to work safely with a volunteer on a 1:1 basis.
Send a Referral Form and consent from whoever holds parental responsibility for the Young Person to mentoring@blgc.co.uk
