The Fostering Network Scotland: Mentoring

The final report of the Mentoring project is now available, produced by the Glasgow School of Social Work and the Fostering Network Scotland.

Between 2002 and 2005 the Fostering Network's Scottish care leavers mentoring project was funded by the Scottish Executive and a number of trusts and grant making bodies.

Its remit was to set up and research a small number of pilot volunteer mentoring projects to examine the potential of mentoring as a complement to other services available for young people in or leaving the care system in Scotland.

Research on the outcomes of these schemes was conducted by the Scottish Institute for Residential Childcare at Strathclyde University.

The mentoring schemes were open to young people regardless of whether they were, or had been, in a family placement or residential care. Recent research suggested that at least one third of young people have experience of both and we believe that care leavers share many of the same challenges and dilemmas in moving on from their placements.

Five projects were developed in partnership with different local authorities and voluntary agencies. These schemes continue to operate in spite of the ending of funding for the Care Leavers Mentoring Project.

Each of these schemes was developed through local consultation to identify how best to support young people at a time, and in a way, that complemented the other services locally available to them. This meant that they offered the support of mentors at different stages of the transition to adulthood.

In addition, under the auspices of the Scottish Mentoring Network and the Scottish Throughcare and Aftercare Forum, the Fostering Network Scotland initiated and co-ordinated a Scotland-wide support group and network for co-ordinators of mentoring and befriending projects for excluded and disadvantaged groups of young people.

By 2005 this group had 31 members - sharing information and expertise and offering advice and guidance to individuals and agencies considering setting up mentoring or befriending services.