Case studies: Assistant learning mentor: Jeff

Jeff’s role is quite broad. He has to work with a variety of clients, including mentees and parents, and runs music and sport sessions, one-to-one mentoring sessions, and group work sessions.

Jeff had found his previous learner mentor experiences very interesting so when he saw a job advertised in the paper for an assistant learning mentor with Birmingham City Council, he applied for it and secured the post. His tip for securing a learner mentoring role is to get relevant experience by working in schools or communities in various contexts.

Jeff has a foundation degree in Professional Learner Mentoring from University College Birmingham. He found his studies useful as they gave him a more in-depth knowledge of the subject and a better understanding of the theory behind it.

Jeff’s role is quite broad. He has to work with a variety of clients, including mentees and parents, and runs music and sport sessions, one-to-one mentoring sessions, and group work sessions. He also has to develop resources to underpin his work. His role has developed spatially as he works for his team in various schools throughout the academic year.

Jeff very much enjoys working with the children and building positive relationships with them. This makes up for the times when he has to deal with paperwork and difficult parents, children, and teachers. In the past, Jeff has also previously worked as a lecturer, and is considering a return to a similar role within the field of learner mentoring.