Mentoring.

In a world where exam pressure can sometimes seem overwhelming, success may also come from nurturing a child's interests and passions outside of the classroom.

“Minerva was the third agency we looked at, and hit the nail on the head for me – didn’t want to push my son too much and is now seeing fantastic benefits...
Ellora, Minerva Parent

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Introduction to Mentoring.

We have a dedicated team of Mentors of all ages that work alongside our expert tutor team. They are inspiring individuals, natural motivators and confidence boosters.

They are role models for their mentees. If a child is struggling with organisation, enjoyment of learning, confidence, motivation or even “purpose” then perhaps its a mentor that they need, rather than a tutor.

There are many different reasons for when a mentor is required. We have a highly experienced customer services team who are here to discuss all your needs.

Please choose a subject from the list below.

What’s the difference between mentoring and tutoring?

Let’s be honest – lots of tutors apply “mentoring” to their sessions. And any decent mentor will also be able to focus on specific academic goals with their mentees. But to differentiate them: our clients tend to require mentors for their children when there is no specific academic goal or exam in the near future. They want an amazing role model to come after school to help with homework, get their kids organised, set long term goals and monitor their overall progress or someone to get them away from computer games and TV, take them out to museums, galleries or the theatre.

One of our mentors is helping a pupil with a particular science passion. The pupil is doing his GCSEs this summer but his mother didn’t want a tutor. The mentor goes once a week and the sessions are nothing do with the GCSE curriculum. They do awesome experiments, go to science lectures, museums and have big scientific discussions. Another mentor looks after a pupil with severe anxiety. Like an older sister, the mentor takes the pupil out and about practising communication skills, boosting her confidence. Another mentor is employed by the family to take a broad view of the child’s schooling. The mentor liaises with the tutors, the school and the parents to ensure the child, who has ADHD and organisational issues, stays on track with their goals.

When is mentoring more appropriate for children?

When confidence or motivation is the issue, not ability. Or when perhaps the parents are too busy to be taking their kids to museums, galleries, the theatre or reading with them. If a child has no interest whatsoever, is disengaged, apathetic (usually with teenage boys), and the parents can’t seem to get through to them, then a mentor might be able to help more than a traditional tutor.

Do parents sometimes think their child needs tutoring when in fact they need mentoring?

Yes. You see this when there is a child doing badly at school and struggling academically across the board. A parent might think more maths tutoring is the answer. But the last thing they need is a maths tutor making them repeat at home what they hate doing at school. A mentor looks at the bigger picture and gets to the route of why they are unhappy, unmotivated or lacking in confidence. You want to unlock that specific child’s inner passion. You want them working out what is key for them in terms of happiness. It is a more long term approach, but once they work all this out then you can start focusing specifically on subjects. But to be honest if they’re happy, you won’t need much tutoring.

Should more children get mentoring?

Every child needs role models other than their parents. Whether that’s specifically a mentor coming to the house once a week or taking them on trips in the holidays is a different matter. It could be a sports coach, an older brother or sister, a favourite teacher or head of year at school that they can have 1 on 1 time with and talk about things other than school. More and more parents are contacting us asking specifically for a mentor rather than a tutor.

To speak to our team of advisors about mentoring please call +44 (0) 208 819 3276 or email hello@minervatutors.com