Page Content
Job profiles
Learning mentor
Hours
37 per week
Starting salary
£16,500 + per year
If you enjoy helping people overcome barriers and want to work in education, this could be an ideal job for you.
Learning mentors work with students and pupils who need help with overcoming difficulties that are getting in the way of their learning.
To be a learning mentor you will need a good standard of general education. You will also need experience of working with children or young people. People working with children will need Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance.
A learning mentor has good communication and listening skills. They also have a non-judgemental approach.
WorkDesc
The work
As a learning mentor, you could work in schools or colleges, and would support students of all abilities with issues such as:
- poor attendance
- lack of self-confidence, self-esteem or motivation
- failure to achieve their full potential
- behaviour or emotional difficulties
- difficulty settling into school or college
- personal difficulties, for example due to bereavement, bullying or problems at home.
You would work with students on a one-to-one basis outside the classroom. You may also provide group activities such as anger management sessions, and you may be involved in out-of-school activities like before and after school clubs, and homework clubs.
Your work would include:
- developing one-to-one mentoring relationships with pupils
- visiting parents at home to give them advice about dealing with issues and concerns
- developing action plans for students and monitoring their progress
- working closely with teachers and other professionals, like social workers, educational psychologists and education welfare officers.
HoursDesc
Hours
You would usually work Monday to Friday, during term-time. You may sometimes need to work in the evenings, for example to run after-school activities, go to training or visit parents who work during the day.
Some mentors work 37 hours a week and others work on a part-time or job-sharing basis.
IncomeDesc
Income
Full-time earnings can be between £16,500 and around £26,000 a year.
There is no national pay scale, and wage rates are set by each employer. Learning mentors who work part-time and those who are paid during term-time only, earn a portion of full-time rates (known as pro rata payment).
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
EntryRequirementsDesc
Entry requirements
Local Education Authorities (LEAs), schools, colleges and academies have varying entry requirements. However, as a minimum you will need:
- a good standard of general education, especially literacy and numeracy
- experience of working with children or young people (paid or through volunteering).
You will also need Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) clearance. For details see the CRB website.
Some employers may expect you to have a qualification or experience in an area such as teaching, learning support, social work, education welfare, youth work or counselling. You may also find it useful to have experience of other types of mentoring, either as a giver or receiver. Visit the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation website for details of joining a volunteer mentoring scheme.
TrainingAndDevelopmentDesc
Training and development
As a new learning mentor, you will need to complete the five-day National Learning Mentor Induction Training Programme. The school or college you work for will probably provide training as well.
You will also have opportunities for further training once you have started work, which may include working towards qualifications such as Level 2 Certificate and Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce.
You could also complete higher education qualifications, like the foundation degree in Supporting Learning and Teaching.
You may wish to get further training in particular aspects of the work, such as counselling skills.
SkillsAndKnowledgeDesc
Skills and knowledge
To become a learning mentor, you will need to have:
- good communication and listening skills
- a non-judgemental approach
- the ability to gain trust and respect from pupils and parents
- a confident and positive outlook
- a flexible and creative approach to solving problems
- the ability to interact with people and work as part of a team
- an understanding of child development
- good planning and organisational skills.
MoreInformationDesc
More information
Local Government Careers Information 
www.lgcareers.com
LSIS Information and Advice:
Tel: 0300 303 1877
Email: lluk.advice@lsis.org.uk
http://www.excellencegateway.org.uk/320142
OpportunitiesDesc
Opportunities
With experience, you may be able to progress to lead learning mentor, and learning mentor coordinator.
You could choose to do further training and gain qualifications so that you can move into roles such as teaching, speech and language therapy, and social work.
You may find the following links useful for vacancies and general reading (links open in new window):
Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
LMIData
Related industry information
Industry summary
Early years, children and young people’s services are represented by the Skills for Care and Development Sector Skills Council. This includes those working in early years, children and young people’s services, and those working in social work and social care for children and adults in the UK. The social care sector comprises two sub-sectors:
- Adult social care – with a workforce of nearly 1.5 million, accounting for 5% of England’s workforce, and 38,000 employers
- Children and young people – with an estimated workforce of 2.7 million
Early years, children and young people’s services provide publicly funded services accessed by between 1.5 and 2.5 million families per year, including early years education, childcare, children’s social care, family support, child protection, fostering and adoption services. There are more than 500,000 workers delivering these services in England.
[N.B. Following the change of Government on 11th May, all statutory guidance and legislation referred to here continues to reflect the current legal position unless indicated otherwise, but this document may not reflect Government policy.]
Key facts:
- The children and young people’s social care workforce includes:
- Over a quarter of a million people working within early years and childcare settings, with 165,200 employed in full day care and 58,300 workers in sessional day care
- An estimated 111,484 nannies
- An estimated 1,152 portage workers in England (who provide a home-visiting service for pre-school children who have developmental or learning difficulties, physical disabilities or other special needs)
- About 1,985 in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS)
- An estimated 7,500 residential childcare workers in children’s homes and 2,100 in care homes for disabled children
- 25,460 full-time equivalent social workers
- Approximately 37,000 foster families in England
- Approximately 14,000 learning mentors
- 2,247 educational psychologists
- Between 3,000 and 5,000 education welfare officers in England
- 65% of full day care provision is privately run, with 22% of settings run by a voluntary organisation.
- The majority of sessional care settings are run by voluntary organisations or are privately run.
The children and young people’s workforce includes a wide range of workers, jobs and professional occupations, including:
- Early years and childcare – Early years/nursery teachers; Nursery nurses/workers; Portage workers; Nannies; Home Child carers; Heads of children’s centres; Volunteers in childcare settings
- Children and young people’s social care – children and family court advisory and support service officers, foster carers, residential childcare workers, children and family social workers
- Learning, development and support services (LDSS) – learning mentors, educational psychologists, education welfare officers, behaviour and education support teams, family support workers
National and regional data
[N.B. National and regional data are currently unavailable.]
Career paths
Our Job Profiles
Further sources
View full Job market information
News
