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Views from Home: Report Published

4th October 2022 By Eilidh Watson

A new report, Views from Home, captures the views and experiences of children, young people and families supported through intandem and what more must be done.

Funded from the Promise Partnership in 2021 intandem sought to understand more where mentoring adds value, where there are gaps and what can be done to develop intandem in the way children, young people and their families need and want.

This is an important piece of work as we know from previous research that children and young people who are looked after at home do not always have the support they need, in a responsive and timely way.

A vital part of the project was the recruitment of a Development Officer, who had experience of the care system, who supported the design of the research and conducted the interviews.

More than mentoring 

A key theme was the importance of developing flexible support with children and young people telling us that building positive, long term and trusted relationships with others is important to them.

 

From the survey responses it is clear that children and young people value their relationship with their mentor. The mentoring provided by intandem was perceived as reliable, responsive and enriching. These included the ‘stickability’ of mentors and the longevity of mentoring relationships – with the average intandem mentoring relationship lasting 17 months.

The findings also confirmed intandem is more than mentoring and working alongside families is vital.

Recommendations

The report concludes with 10 recommendations made by the children, young people and their families all of which intandem acknowledges and is committed to taking forward. To do this, we need to continue to invest in our approach to involve children and young people in the design and development of intandem; how we share learning with others and embed change across our partner charities; and how we collaborate and partner with statutory services, particularly social work teams.

Part of a collective response 

While this research was intended for intandem’s own learning and development, it highlights where we can focus our collective efforts.  intandem recognises– we can only be successful in delivering on The Promise if we work together to ensure children and young people grow up loved, safe and respected.

We hope that this report will be useful to anyone involved in the lives of children and young people who are looked after at home.

  • Read the full report: intandem Views from Home Report 2022
  • If you would like to discuss or have a conversation about any aspect of the report we would like to hear from you.

Filed Under: News, Slider

intandem expand their team and help map mentoring to Keep the Promise

9th August 2021 By Eilidh Watson

As part of our ongoing commitment to amplifying the voices of children and young people, intandem are taking action to Keep the Promise of the Independent Care Review.

After a successful application to The Promise Partnership, we secured investment to recruit a Programme Development Intern to support the national mentoring programme, and are delighted to announce that Josh Hurd has joined us in this new role.

Josh will play a crucial role within the fund over the next year, helping to embed the voice of young people within intandem’s mentoring programme.

Upon joining the fund, Josh said:

“I enjoy working as a team and learning new things. I am a very enthusiastic person who loves spending time with people. I enjoy down time with family and friends and like being in people’s company.

I’m excited to meet everyone in the team and can’t wait to started. Family and friends are the most Important to me, as we build each other’s confidence up and help each other to overcome the bad times.”

Debbie Zima, performance advisor for intandem, added:

“We are delighted to have Josh join intandem. He brings experience of working alongside young people in sports coaching and most importantly has an infectious drive to get the views and ideas of young people at the front of all our minds, which will ensure intandem develops with their voice at its heart.”

In addition to welcoming Josh to the team, intandem have been working with the Scottish Mentoring Network and YMCA Scotland to map mentoring provision for care experienced children and young people in Scotland. The goal is to identify gaps in mentoring provision by mapping an accurate picture of where and how care experienced children and young people can currently access mentoring services.

Scottish Mentoring Network have launched a nationwide survey to enable mentoring services to contribute to the mapping exercise. Responses will help SMN and partners to better understand the current mentoring landscape and will allow them to make informed recommendations about how to improve access to mentoring services for all care-experienced children and young people.

Sarah Barr, Scottish Mentoring Network’s project lead for the mapping project, said:

“We are really excited to have been awarded funding to enable us undertake this vital piece of work. We know the positive impact that the mentoring services we work with have on the lives of Scotland’s young people and by contributing to this project you will be helping to ensure these opportunities are equally available across the country”.

Susie White, intandem performance advisor, added:

“Mapping mentoring provision will provide a clear picture of the current support available across Scotland. By working together to understand what mentoring services are available and where, we can build better connections across the sector to complement each other’s work and, most importantly, ensure young people get the support they want and need at the right time.”

Filed Under: News, Slider, Uncategorised

Read intandem’s 2020/2021 report

9th July 2021 By Sophie Kirkwood

We’re delighted to share our 2020/2021 report, which showcases the impact of intandem during an incredibly difficult year for everyone.

With anxiety, loneliness and isolation at an all-time high during the pandemic, we knew it was more important than ever to ensure mentoring relationships could continue.

Therefore, despite the challenges, intandem volunteer mentors, coordinators and partner charities adapted quickly to Covid-19 restrictions, ensuring that the trusting, community based mentoring relationships continued.

We listened to young people and their families, and mentoring was tailored to respond to each young person’s wishes. Communications between mentors and mentees were conducted virtually, or in person with social distancing, where restrictions allowed. Volunteer mentors embraced remote mentoring as a means of keeping in touch with their young mentees. Partner charities sprang into action to implement new working measures, and coordinators stepped in to support volunteers and families when times were difficult.

Our 2020/2021 report highlights the incredible dedication of our mentors and resilience of our young people during this difficult year. The stories of intandem mentees in the report bring to life the true impact of mentoring on intandem’s young people, many of whom have overcome challenges to achieve incredible outcomes. Feedback from parents and guardians show the extent to which mentoring relationships can positively influence not just young people, but their home lives and families, too.

We are incredibly proud of the impact intandem has made in 2020/2021, and are hugely grateful to our partner charities, volunteers and funders, who make our work possible.

As we focus on the future, we look forward to continuing to build towards our vision: that all young people who are in care or on the edge of care will have the confidence and resilience to succeed in life.

Filed Under: News, Slider

Mentoring adapts and continues

9th September 2020 By intandem

Mentoring adapts and continues

We have been so impressed with the flexibility, creativity, and resilience of our intandem volunteer mentors, young people and charities over the past six months.

After adapting quickly to weekly video or telephone calls, our young people, volunteers and coordinators have come up with lots of creative ways to continue relationships despite not being able to meet face to face.  Art and nature projects, dance moves, darts and treasure hunts have all featured. A huge proportion of our matches have successfully transitioned to meeting virtually to listen, share experiences, and try new activities and challenges each week.

The structure of a regular meet-up online has also helped our volunteers to stay motivated and connected during often difficult times.  Activity packs, fun competitions and pamper boxes have provided a welcome boost and when needed, more frequent contact by video or phone or post has made things more bearable. It has been challenging time for everyone, but from our survey of young people we know that having someone to talk to out with their immediate household has been a positive, practical help.

We continue to adapt intandem mentoring to enable young people to set new goals and achieve their potential.  If you would like to speak to an intandem coordinator about volunteering or being mentored, details of our 12 partners and their locations are listed below:

Local Authority
Organisation
Contact
Email
Phone
Aberdeen
Befriend a Child
Aleisha
aleisha@befriendachild.org.uk
07852 305816
Clacks.
Quarriers
Wendy
Wendy.woolfson@quarriers.org.uk
07531 193637
East Ayrshire
Barnardo’s
Kayleigh
kayleigh.christie@barnardos.org.uk
07834 106409
East Lothian
Move On
Angela
angela@moveon.org.uk
07787 256828
Edinburgh
Move On
Angela
angela@moveon.org.uk
07787 256828
YMCA Edinburgh
Bruce
bruce@ymcaedinburgh.com
07715 208528
Falkirk
Quarriers
Wendy
Wendy.woolfson@quarriers.org.uk
07531 193637
Fife
Kirkcaldy YMCA
Jo
intandem@ymcakirkcaldy.co.uk
07788 982 866
Glasgow
Y People
Caroline/ Jerri
Caroline.McIntosh@ypeople.org.uk
jerri.forrest@ypeople.org.uk
07794 383969
07384 515614
Volunteer Glasgow
Steven
steven.dunn@volunteerglasgow.org
07468 863919
Highland
Action for Children
Sarah
Sarah.Sproul@actionforchildren.org.uk
07717 780465
Inverclyde
Aberlour
Brian
Brian.gallagher@aberlour.org.uk
07864 625063
Midlothian
Move On
Angela
angela@moveon.org.uk
07787 256828
North Ayrshire
Barnardo’s
Kayleigh
kayleigh.christie@barnardos.org.uk
07834 106409
North Lanarkshire
Y People
Caroline
Caroline.McIntosh@ypeople.org.uk
07794 383969
Renfrewshire
Aberlour
Brian
Brian.gallagher@aberlour.org.uk
07864 625063
South Ayrshire
Barnardo’s
Kayleigh
kayleigh.christie@barnardos.org.uk
07834 106409
South Lanarkshire
COVEY
Terri
 t.young@coveybefriending.org.uk
07384 514486
Stirling
Quarriers
Wendy
Wendy.woolfson@quarriers.org.uk
07531 193637
West Dunbartonshire
Y Sort It
Lyndsey
lyndsey@ysortit.com
07852 147734
West Lothian
Move On
Angela
angela@moveon.org.uk
07787 256 828

If you have any questions about the national programme then please contact Susie or Debbie on 07860 272 261 or 07860 272 256. Email susie@inspiringscotland.org.uk or debbiez@inspiringscotland.org.uk

Filed Under: News, Slider

intandem mentoring will continue during the coronavirus outbreak

27th March 2020 By Eilidh Watson

In these challenging times, we want to make sure we stay in touch with our intandem community.

We have transitioned our weekly mentoring to an online or telephone service to help keep everyone healthy during this period of social distancing.  We recognise that many people will be anxious about families, friends and carers during this time so want to make keeping in touch with us as easy as possible.

Our mentor coordinators have already been in touch with families, young people and volunteers to explain the changes we are making and how we can safely continue to offer mentoring support and perhaps help guide you to other support if needed. The coordinators have also contacted referring agencies to make sure they know our plans and that we are limiting referrals at present.

If you need to speak to an intandem coordinator about an existing match, then please contact:

Local Authority
Organisation
Contact
Email
Phone
Aberdeen Befriend a Child Aleisha aleisha@befriendaschild.org.uk 07852 305816
Clackmannanshire Quarriers Wendy
East Ayrshire Barnardo’s Kayleigh kayleigh.christie@barnardos.org.uk 07834 106409
East Lothian Move On Angela angela@moveon.org.uk 07787 256828
Edinburgh Move On Angela angela@moveon.org.uk 07787 256828
Edinburgh YMCA Edinburgh Bruce
Falkirk Quarriers Wendy
Fife Kirkcaldy YMCA Linda
Glasgow Y People Caroline/Jerri
Glasgow Volunteer Glasgow Steven
Highland Action for Children Sarah
Inverclyde Aberlour Brian
Midlothian Move On Angela angela@moveon.org.uk 07787 256828
North Ayrshire Barnardo’s Kayleigh kayleigh.christie@barnardos.org.uk 07834 106409
North Lanarkshire Y People Caroline
Renfrewshire Aberlour Brian
South Ayrshire Barnardo’s Kayleigh kayleigh.christie@barnardos.org.uk 07834 106409
South Lanarkshire COVEY Elisa e.mclean@coveybefriending.org.uk 07950 788569
Stirling Quarriers Wendy
W Dunbartonshire Y Sort It Marilisa marilisa@ysortit.com 07376 570606
West Lothian Move On Angela angela@moveon.org.uk 07787 256828

NB – full details will be updated here as information is confirmed.

If you have any questions about the national programme, then please contact Susie or Debbie on 07860 272 261 or 07860 272 256. Email susie@inspiringscotland.org.uk or debbiez@inspiringscotland.org.uk

Filed Under: News, Slider

intandem film launch celebrates three years of Scotland’s mentoring programme for young people

26th February 2020 By Eilidh Watson

intandem, Scotland’s national mentoring programme for children looked after at home has launched a new film to celebrate the third anniversary of their first mentor-mentee match.

Screened for the first time at an event at Edinburgh’s iconic Scotsman Picturehouse, the film takes a closer look at some of the individual stories of eight young people aged 8-14 years with experience of mentoring through the intandem programme.

With footage gathered across various locations over December and January, the film also captures a special reception for intandem mentees held by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at Bute House, her official residence, as part of her commitment to hearing from young people with experience of the care system.

Guests at the launch event included young people featured in the film, as well as members of the wider intandem community, which encompasses mentors, families, charities and social workers involved in supporting the programme.

Continuing her close relationship with the intandem programme, Minister for Children and Young People Maree Todd was also part of the celebration, presenting participants with commemorative certificates and trophies.

 “I was very pleased to be part of intandem’s three-year anniversary celebrations, and I welcome the benefits that having an intandem mentor has had for young people and recognise the achievement of 300 matches being made.”

“The Scottish Government is committed to improving the care, support and opportunities for care experienced children and young people. We are keen to work with intandem and all relevant stakeholders to take forward the Care Review’s conclusions to ensure that all young people get the right support at the right time, and for as long as necessary.”

Inspiring Scotland Chief Executive Ceila Tennant said:

“This new film highlights the amazing group of people involved in intandem over the last three years. From the 140 incredible young people involved every week, the charities who provide the essential scaffolding and support, to the volunteer mentors from communities around Scotland.

“As the recent Independent Care Review shows, the importance of listening to young people and supporting them in building trusting relationships has never been more significant, and we know that intandem is making an enormous difference in young people’s lives.

“However, there is a huge amount still to do, and we’re determined to extend intandem’s reach to even more children who are looked after at home across Scotland.”

https://www.intandem.scot/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/In-Tandem-film-Social-Media-Clip.mp4

Funded by Scottish Government and delivered by Inspiring Scotland, intandem is Scotland’s mentoring programme for young people who are looked after by their local authority and living at home.

Launched in November 2016, the programme was developed to support children and young people looked after at home by helping them to build a consistent, trusting relationship with a positive adult role-model. Having a committed and positive role-model who listens and takes an active interest can help young people facing difficult circumstances to build relationships, experience new things, become more involved and realise their full potential.

The programme is delivered by 13 charity partners across 20 local authority areas, and there have been more than 300 matches between young people and intandem mentors across Scotland over the past three years. There are currently around 140 active intandem matches, meeting weekly on a voluntary basis in communities around Scotland, which will continue for as long as needed.

intandem will be holding other information and screening events. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact Susie White susie@inspiringscotland.org.uk or Debbie Zima debbiez@inspiringscotland.org.uk

Filed Under: News, Slider

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Inspiring Scotland is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in Scotland, No. SC342436, and a registered Scottish Charity, No. SC039605


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