We are so excited to have you join us! In this stage, we will walk you through everything you need to do in order to get set up for mentoring with us. Please bookmark this page so that you can refer to it when you need to.
Please note: You will need to complete all these steps before being able to join us as a mentor.
Please set aside some time to go through the below steps in your own time. They are set up in the most optimal order to support you with your journey, but you can complete them in any order you like.
There are some steps which are important for you to complete before attending your Information Session – those steps will be clearly marked.
Remember – the sooner you complete your Volunteer Journey, the sooner you will be able to begin mentoring! Click on the steps below to find out what you need to do to get set up as a mentor.
To read about your rights and responsibilities as a mentor, click here to view our Volunteer Policies page.
Good news – if you are on this page, this means that you have successfully signed up on the website and registered your interest in joining a mentoring project, so you can cross this task off your to-do list!
This e-learning will give you a background into ReachOut & safeguarding. Safeguarding young people is everyone’s responsibility, and as you will be working directly with our mentees it is really important that you familiarise yourself with the concept, and know exactly what to do if you are ever concerned about a young person.
Click here to access your Safeguarding e-learning.
Please ensure that you complete this before attending your information session.
This is an optional step that helps us identify any areas in our recruitment and onboarding we need to work on.
You can complete the form by clicking here.
You’ll need your unique contact ID code for this (a combination of 15 letters & numbers starting with 003), which you will have received in the email that brought you to this page.
This is a short document that will help you understand what we expect of our mentors.
We will communicate the Information Session dates with you via email, including dates, times, locations (in person or online), and instructions on how to book onto a session.
Once you have been booked onto an Information Session, remember to save the date in your calendar so that you don’t forget!
You will have received a personalised link for submitting your references in an email upon signing up, so follow that link in order to do this. Guidance on the type of references needed is provided on the link itself.
Once you fill in this form, your referees will receive an email from us asking them to provide a reference for you. We are happy to accept references from referees outside of the UK as long as they complete the form in English.
A DBS is a police check that is essential for our volunteers to complete. All you need to do is fill in your application (you will be asked about your personal details, address history, and to upload some documents). Once you have done that, ReachOut will approve and pay for your DBS to be processed.
A helpful guide on how to do this can be found here.
If you already have a DBS certificate, you can check if this is valid for volunteering with us here.
Please ensure that you complete this before attending your Information Session!
Click here to view a helpful guide of exactly what IDs are acceptable and which aren’t.
Please collect the 3 forms of ID that you will be using for your DBS application & bring them with you to your Information Session, as a member of staff will be assessing these for you at the session.
Please ensure that you complete this before attending your Information Session!
Your Information Session will last 1 hour and it is a wonderful way for you to meet other mentors and to understand the roles and responsibilities that you will have as a mentor, so that you can feel prepared and confident before you begin your sessions.
It is really important that you have done the below before attending your Information Session:
1. Completed your Safeguarding e-learning
2. Filled in your DBS application (or already have a valid DBS certificate)
3. Prepared your 3 forms of ID (please bring them with you to the Information Session!)
It typically takes around 2 weeks since the day your DBS application was submitted for processing for the certificate to be issued and mailed to your address.
If 2 weeks go by and you still have not received your DBS certificate, please get in touch to let us know.
Remember, it is your responsibility to ensure that you keep your DBS certificate safe!
Only once your DBS has been cleared and all other steps of the journey have been completed, you will receive a firm position on your mentoring project. This will happen around 3-4 weeks before your project start date.
Please keep in mind that this is subject to the availability of mentoring spaces on your chosen project!
After your mentoring space is confirmed, you will be introduced to your Project Leader. They will tell you everything you need to know for your first session, including instructions for your first day and the session plan.
You’ll attend your first session and begin mentoring!
Safeguarding E-learning
Opening the E-learning on another Browser or different device can sometimes overcome this issue. If this does not resolve it, please get in touch with us at volunteer@reachoutuk.org.
Information Session
In your Information Session we will go over what you can expect from your time as a mentor and our expectations of you. We will make sure you know what you will be doing during sessions and how to be the best mentor you can be. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions and make sure you are ready to start mentoring.
Yes – please make sure that you do the following before attending your Information Session:
We will be opening up more Information Session dates on a rolling basis and as needed. It is best to try to book onto an Information session as soon as possible as there is no guarantee that more dates will be opened up.
DBS application
Once you have filled out an online DBS application, you will first need to book and attend a 1.1 meeting to have your 3 ID documents verified by a member of the ReachOut team before your application can be submitted for processing. It is only once you have done this that your DBS will start to be processed.
After your 1.1 meeting, it will take around 1-2 weeks before you receive your certificate in the post. It is therefore really important that you book onto a 1.1 meeting and have your 3 ID documents ready to show if you want to progress with your volunteer journey. If you attend your 1:1 meeting and 2 weeks go by and you still have not received your certificate, please get in touch to let us know!
You can view a full list of acceptable documents here.
Here are some of the most common documents that we see.
Photo ID document (the below need to be in physical form to show at the Information Session) – please use at least 1 document from this category
Acceptable | Not acceptable |
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Proof of address document (the below can be in paper or online format to show at the Information Session)
Acceptable | Not acceptable |
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If you still don’t think that you have 3 ID documents after checking the Gov. website – please get in touch with us at volunteer@reachoutuk.org.
If you have recently moved house and have no documents that match your new address, you can change your address details with your bank or utility provider and request a new statement/bill with your new address on.
If you are still struggling, please get in touch with us at volunteer@reachoutuk.org.
We do accept external DBS certificates, but only if they fall within certain specifications. You can check if we are able to accept your existing DBS certificate by clicking here.
If you have not received your DBS in the post after two weeks of your application being submitted, please get in touch with us at volunteer@reachoutuk.org. We can then have a look into the status of your application for you.
On average a DBS takes 1-2 weeks to be processed and received in the post, however it can take longer depending on the backlog at your local police station.
Please note: If you did not have all of the correct ID documents at your Information Session, the ReachOut team will not have been able to submit your application. If this is the case, please remember to E-mail the relevant ID document that you were missing over to us.
Your Mentoring Project
If you can no longer commit to the project that you have been assigned, whether you have been made active, are provisionally enrolled or are on the waiting list, please let us know as soon as possible via volunteer@reachoutuk.org. We can then try to move you to another project or withdraw you from programme for this year.
Once you have completed all of the steps in stage 1-3 of the Volunteer Journey and have received your DBS certificate we will be able to confirm your space on your project. This confirmation should occur 3-4 weeks ahead of your start date.
Please note that spaces are confirmed on a first come first served basis, so the quicker it takes you to complete all of your admin, the more likely it is that you will have your space confirmed. You might have to stay on the waiting list, if the project you have chosen is already full. There is still a good chance that you will gain a space on your project at some point during the year as other mentors drop out or new mentees are added to the group!
As a monthly mentor, it is very important that you do your best to attend all your scheduled sessions (as there are not many of them!).
That being said, we understand that things happen. If you are no longer able to attend a session and:
Starting Mentoring
You should hear from your Project Leader at some point in the week leading up to the start date of the project. They will introduce themselves and give you all the information that you will need before you begin mentoring. If you still have not been contacted the day before your session, please e-mail volunteer@reachoutuk.org.
You don’t need to prepare anything ahead of your first session. Your Project Leader will get in contact with you ahead of the start date and introduce themselves. They will then also provide you with all the information that you will need about your specific project.
Your Project Leader will get in touch with you in the week leading up to your first session. They will introduce themselves and give you all the information that you will need before you begin mentoring.
The best person to get in contact with once you have started mentoring is your Project Leader. They will be able to answer any questions or queries that you have about the project.
For more general questions such as about changing projects, withdrawing from mentoring, volunteer expenses, volunteer socials, Thank You events etc. you can contact the Volunteer team at volunteer@reachoutuk.org.
Please note that although all of our session dates are pre-planned and we will do our best to keep the dates fixed, these may sometimes need to be changed due to unforeseen circumstances with our partner schools. If this happens, we will be in touch with you to let you know and to communicate next steps.
We don’t have an official dress code, we just ask that you wear clothes that would be appropriate to wear in a school environment.
If you’re having any trouble with your Volunteer Journey, or if you have any other questions, please contact:
Susanna Allegretti
susanna.allegretti@reachoutuk.org
07379096257
“Hello, I’m Susanna, ReachOut’s Corporate Volunteer Officer. My role at ReachOut is to support you throughout your time as a volunteer mentor. Volunteering as a mentor to a young person is a fantastic way to make a difference and give back to your community, and you’ll be part of our brilliant community of volunteers. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!”
“My mentor helped me a lot because when I tried to say something I couldn’t express it, but he told me that I could try and keep trying, even if I get it wrong, so that I can express myself better.”
Rawan, ReachOut Mentee
“At first, I was really hesitant to take on the Project Leader role, despite having mentored with ReachOut. However, with the support of the team I’ve really developed my skills. For example, at the Mentee Graduation, I stood up in front of 200 people and presented an award which is something I would never ever have been able to have done before, and isn’t an opportunity I could gain in my other situations.”
Amy McCutcheon, Project Leader at ReachOut Academy, Dean Trust Ardwick, Manchester.
“Being able to spend the summer working at Rede Partners, was an amazing experience. Whether it was working in HR or Finance, I learned so much about the world of private equity, made great connections with fantastic people and I got to learn first-hand what it would be like to work there! I really believe that I can go onto build the career I want now I’ve been a part for a workplace for real”
Victor Adekunle, 18 years old, ReachOut Ambassador, London
“When I first my mentee, she was very reluctant to participate in the sessions. Now, I see a completely different person! Her confidence has grown and she is happy to join in! She still has some self-doubt when it comes to academic work, but that’s what I hope to help her overcome, because she is a very bright person!
Through mentoring, I’ve learnt I’m a lot more patient than I realised. There will be days where she refuses to participate and those are the days that I really see the importance of the character strengths, for both the mentees and the mentors. It also makes it easier for the mentee to understand the character strengths, when I use them myself”
Myrtle, ReachOut Club mentor at Tufnell Primary School, London
“There are more distractions than ever outside of school, and the commitment of our students to attend ReachOut sessions is testament to the value they place on the relationships they foster there, and the challenge and enjoyment they provide.
ReachOut’s focus on communication skills and character development has become an important aspect of our provision of support for these students. The opportunity to relate to a positive role- model other than their usual teachers is key to the programme’s impact, and the evidence of this has been seen in the students’ attendance, resilience and to their overall progress across all the subjects in the school.”
Thomas Janvrin, Assistant Vice Principal at the Petchey Academy London
