No formal training is required prior to you joining us; however we will require you to attend our own online training which should last about three hours before you will be permitted to mentor our Mentees. There will also be other opportunities to up-skill with frequent workshops run by one of our professional partners.

We believe that to be a good Mentor, you will need to be caring, empathetic, reliable, discreet, trustworthy, aware, positive and really enthusiastic about helping people. You will potentially be having a major impact on someone’s life and as you have now been through your teen years, perhaps have think what sort of a person you might have liked to have helped you and maybe you will find further answers to the question!

All the information that we need will be detailed in application process. In short; contact information, evidence of your address, a DBS check, formal ID, your bank details (so we can pay you) and two references from people other than your friends (college or university tutors as well as employers are great sources of references). There will also be an online interview with one of the Freemind team where we can learn about you as well as giving you an opportunity to ask any questions you may have.

Freemind is unable to pay for your DBS or training. As with most jobs, if you wish to take up some form of work, it is your responsibility to have the necessary requirements and skills. However, in certain situations we will help you pay for the DBS and then deduct the cost from your first round of earnings.

As part of your application we will ask you to tell us a little bit about yourself. We do the same when we talk to the young people wishing to be mentored. When we have that information, we will be best placed to match you to their needs.

Sessions last between 30 and 45 minutes and we encourage you, all things being well, to stick with your mentee for as long as you both are able. The benefits of mentoring are proportionate to the length of the mentor/mentee relationship.

To a point, it’s up to you and your diary. However, to be effective and reliable (which is very important), we would probably not recommend you mentoring more than six hours of mentoring per week. So, depending on how long each session is, the maximum would be 12 different Mentees.

We are really pleased that you have asked this question. We will ask both your mentees and their parents/guardians how they think that you’re doing, and we will feedback to you anything that we believe will help you. Our rating system will give you instant feedback on the sessions and for those Mentors that are doing really well and that have been with us for a while, we will seek to reward you with an increased hourly rate, gift or other tokens of appreciation.

To avoid any complications, all meetings are to be conducted online. Both the Mentee and their parents or guardians are told that there will be no face-to-face contact between Mentors and Mentees. If a Mentee becomes insistent about meeting, you must tell us, and we will discuss with the parents or guardian.

As part of our Safeguarding policy, you must alert us immediately if you hear or see something of concern in your mentoring session. We will then deal with the issue. You must not in any circumstances try to address the situation yourself. Listen, do not make any promises, and immediately seek help.

There is no shame in not knowing the answer to something! Therefore, if you do not know the answer to a question; admit that you don’t know the answer but will revert with an answer when you can. Freemind is here to support you so you can be the best mentor to your mentee – if you need help, ask!

If your Mentee refuses to engage with you, despite your best interests, feel free to end the session, let us know and we will contact the parent and mentee.

If a Mentee is rude, please advise them that their behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. If they persist or it is too much, feel free to end the session, but please log the experience and report it to us.

The best mentoring comes from a positive and strong relationship between Mentor and Mentee. If you don’t get on or enjoy your session with a Mentee, there is a greatly diminished value in carrying on. Therefore, we suggest you let us know right away and we will look to place you with another Mentee. However, remember some relationships take a little time to form.

Please note you will not get paid if a session is cancelled. So as a matter of courtesy to you as a Mentor, we have asked Mentees and Parents/Guardians to give a minimum of 24 hours’ notice should they to cancel a mentoring session. Obviously there maybe exceptional circumstances, but for anything less than 24 hours, the session would be chargeable, and you will be paid.

Yes, you get paid! Your rates of pay will be confirmed during our initial chat with you. You will be paid an hourly rate for every completed session. We will pay you at the end of every month for the total number of hours you have completed (since your previous payment), via BACS. Please note that you will only be paid for the sessions which you have completed and filed the reports for!

Yes, we love and value or mentors and if you work hard, are reliable, committed to your work and you do a great job, then you deserve to be rewarded. We will discuss how our processes work during our initial chat.

Absolutely! As our ethos and business is all about helping people, we will be delighted to write an honest reference for you. The better you perform for your Mentee and us, the better your reference will be!

We are great believers in community and rewarding those who excel or do something special. Through our business partnerships we will be rewarding the Mentors who are meeting those criteria with additional rewards such as tickets to events, meals, flights, coffees etc. New rewards are handed out each month so look out for your name and if you have something you are proud of do tell us and you never know………?! We also reward Mentors who introduce us to great new Mentors and also new clients, so the more you help us to grow the more we’ll reward you!