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Refugee Education UK
Refugee Education UK"Equipping young refugees to build hopeful futures through Education."Our Mission:In conflict, schools are destroyed, occupied by armed groups and used to shelter displaced people. Where learning continues, students and teachers can be targets of violence. For many, continuing to learn is just not possible.When children and families are forced to flee their homes, they miss…
Description

Would you like to support an asylum-seeking or refugee young person with their education? Refugee Education UK is looking for volunteers to act as educational mentors for at-risk young refugees, asylum seekers, and survivors of trafficking.

In conflict, schools are destroyed, occupied by armed groups and used to shelter displaced people. Where learning continues, students and teachers can be targets of violence. For many, continuing to learn is just not possible.  When children and families are forced to flee their homes, they miss out on more education as they make dangerous journeys trying to find a place of safety. For refugees arriving in the UK, education is a priority: it’s how lives begin to be rebuilt and hope for the future is rekindled. But getting back into and progressing in education is fraught with challenge.

Your role as volunteer educational mentors at Refugee Education UK can help plug the gap, rekindle hope and make the difference.

Duties

Educational mentors meet with their mentees once a week, in a public place, to help them with an agreed aspect of their education for a minimum of six months. This is typically in the form of English and maths support but mentoring can take different forms, from structured sessions around English reading and conversational practice to educational trips to museums. We provide support in providing you with resources and training to feel equipped to support your mentee.

"Do I have the right skills/experiences to help a mentee?"

As individuals who have made each of their own journeys through education, you ALREADY hold considerable experience of navigating college/university that a young person could already benefit from. With your recent experiences navigating exams, revision and study motivation, we think you would be best placed to help someone re-find hope through thriving in education at REUK.

We accept volunteers with a wide range of skills and experiences. Why? Because the young people we work with also have a wide range of aspirations and YOUR skills can help someone grow.

Training
Mentors who apply to work with us go through an application process involving an interview, external references and a DBS check before they attend our mandatory training which covers child protection, boundaries, the asylum process, and how to structure mentoring sessions.

Time commitment

Volunteer mentoring is typically 1-2 hours a week, once a week.

We ask the mentor to start their mentoring session by 5:30 pm at the latest on a regular weekday and we ask both mentors and mentees to commit for at least 6 months. This can be extended to the latest starting time at 6:30pm. Volunteering can pause depending on holidays/college breaks and just needs to be confirmed by both mentor and mentee.
Application deadline

Causes

This organisation is one of our community partner organisations.

Like all volunteer recruiters we work with, they have signed up to our service standards, agreeing to abide by our policy on partnership working to keep you safe and supported whilst you volunteer.

You’ll never be out of pocket for volunteering through us – with in-London travel expenses to and from your volunteering guaranteed.

In addition, the team here at Students’ Union UCL Volunteering Service is here to support you throughout your volunteering journey – you can get in touch with us at any time.