Increasing student resilience - case study

2 min read

Over the past few weeks, I have posted a few case studies to exhibit the effectiveness and impact of how mentoring can work within a school setting to address issues faced by students and school leadership.

Our guiding principle of "children are people first and students second" has transformed our practice and organisational mission, and vision like no other.

It is always refreshing to meet school and academy leaders who still remember the importance of children holistically and why they are in their role. This case study was done in partnership with David Jobling a school leader that I both admire and like.

I hope you enjoy it.

Every Child Needs a Mentor St Michael’s Community Academy Mentoring Programme Case Study

Wanting a better future for children

St Michael’s Community Academy in Crewe has more than 400 pupils aged three to 11. The school felt that its children in year four needed greater support to get the most out of school. A third of its pupils were below the expected achievement level, and a high percentage had complex needs or came from a deprived background.  

"Individual resilience was underdeveloped in many of our pupils" - Principal

Principal David Jobling said: “We had noticed that a number of our children became increasingly disengaged from their learning as they progressed through key stage two. This was despite a lot of exciting opportunities that we were ensuring they had access to as part of the curriculum. It was also plain to see that individual resilience was underdeveloped in many of our pupils and that the majority of them had very low aspirations for themselves and what they were capable of in their future.”

Mentoring to support education

St Michael’s is part of the St. Bart’s multi-academy trust. Its CEO Chris Brislen introduced Principal David Jobling to Every Child Needs a Mentor (ECNAM).

"It also offered a way to equip our staff"

As many of the children who needed support at the academy were not being mentored, it seemed like a good fit. Principal David Jobling said: “We decided to work with ECNAM to provide quality coaching and mentoring experiences to help the children. It also offered a way to equip our staff with a way of working that would keep our older pupils engaged with their learning and enthusiastic about what education, in general, has to offer.”

The programme

ECNAM collaborated with St Michael’s in strategic planning sessions to create a specific and personalised programme for the academy that would include all year four students. The programme was an aspirational curriculum to improve well-being and learning for the children, which included year wide presentations, group and one to one sessions, mentoring days and more.

"a diverse team of staff from the school was selected to be trained as mentors"

The first steps were to create bespoke materials for staff, students and parents. Moreover, a diverse team of staff from the school was selected to be trained as mentors and get Continuous Professional Development (CPD) credit.

The parents were then introduced to what the school planned, and ECNAM hosted a parental engagement event to get their support for the programme.

The programme itself included:

·      All children in year four were given a mentor – not just a minority with challenging behaviour

·      A wide range of staff members were trained to be mentors

·      Professional mentors spoke to the students and staff members

·      Staff members shared their life stories with students

·      Classroom support for teachers and students

Improved attitudes. Improved relationships. Improved learning.

"The programme from ECNAM had a tremendous impact on St Michael’s"

The programme from ECNAM had a tremendous impact on St Michael’s – the school won ECNAM’s bronze award in recognition of providing mentoring to everyone in a year group. The students showed a significant increased positive attitude to learning. There were improved relationships across year four – both between students and between students and staff.

Principal David Jobling said: “It was a challenge to the mindset of many of our pupils and it was interesting to see how they responded. The children took to the new ideas and ways of thinking fairly quickly and enjoyed working with their mentors. The ECNAM organisation itself has been very supportive throughout and are regular visitors to the school.”

St Michael’s students are better prepared for the next stage of their education, pupil voice has been enriched, and children feel safer and happier across the year group.

"our older children are more aware of the barriers to learning that many of our pupils encounter"

“We also have the beginnings of a solid culture in school whereby staff working with our older children are more aware of the barriers to learning that many of our pupils encounter, as their attitudes, levels of resilience and self-belief. Our staff now have the tools to help them work with children to overcome these.”

"Parents are more engaged and aware of their children’s development"

The academy has another tool to add value to overall school improvement. Its staff are more resilient and have a greater bond with the year group. Parents are more engaged and aware of their children’s development. Moreover, St Michael’s has a strategy to deal with impact, transition, well-being, parental engagement, aspirations and behaviour for learning.

"A focus on the well-being, attainment, and aspirations of our students and getting our silver award."

“The programme has helped our children to have greater aspirations, and it has given both the children and staff a more aspirant language that we all use. We have retained all of our staff for the new academic year which is great. We are looking forward to working with Every Child Needs a Mentor again, this time with a focus on the well-being, attainment, and aspirations of our students and getting our silver award.”

Words of the children:

“Thank you for being the best mentor ever.”

“My favourite thing about mentoring was getting to know things that will help me now and in the future”

“I felt very safe and that I could say whatever was on my mind or bothering me too much.”

“I miss doing mentoring.”

“My favourite thing was when Mr. Wright said we were unique and special.”

“I enjoyed creating ideas and being in a group and creating better ideas.”

"I have managed to do things better, and it is really helped, you have helped me a lot.”

“I felt happier and safer because I had someone to talk to at anytime"

“I felt special.”

“My favourite thing about mentoring to me was filling in my books and listening to life stories.”

Words of the mentors:

“It was a privilege to be asked to be a mentor. I would certainly get involved again.”

“I still enjoy speaking to my group individually before a lesson or at lunch times.”

 “The day sessions were really useful; the children loved meeting with their mentors and sharing.”

“Children in year five have commented that it is great to feel comfortable to speak with others and with your mentor.

We are proud to partner with St Michaels which is a forward thinking school, with an heart to give children more than academic teaching but also skills for life. We would like to say a big thank you to their Principal David Jobling and his staff for making our collaboration enjoyable as well as memorable.

If you have a cohort of students that you would like to give a boost for their next stage of education, staff who you would like to equip with broader skills or parents you would like to work more closely with, I would love to have a chat with you.

So if you are ready to explore our work further or to receive more info and other case studies, please feel free to email me directly at [email protected], and I would be happy to arrange a chat with you.

Have a great evening.

Herman