Council staff to help mentor every vulnerable child in city
Workers asked to join project to make sure no one misses out
A PROJECT that helps young people on the fringes of society has set a target of offering support to every vulnerable child or teenager in Scotland’s largest city after an army of 1,800 council staff were put on standby to act as mentors.
MCR Pathways, based in Glasgow, provides advisers and trusted confidantes for hundreds of the city’s young people on the fringes of society.
Iain MacRitchie, who founded the scheme 10 years ago, said he wants to give support to every child in the city after Glasgow City Council said yesterday at least 10 per cent of the workforce would be given an opportunity to take part.
They will be given paid leave for volunteering their time.
Mr MacRitchie said: “The education system is good, there’s no question of that, teachers are very committed, but what they are is time restricted.
“So they look at groups and any individual who cannot necessarily stay the course, if you miss a little bit, you drop off, you’re disciplined, you’re missing more than people maybe understand or realise.
“Everyone who needs it, who needs that additional support, doesn’t fit within the education system, the way the education system is set up.
“So while our immediate target is to recruit 1,000 mentors, we want everybody who needs one to get one.”
MCR Pathways is established in 15 city secondary schools and currently supports hundreds of young people.
Analysis in 2015/16 showed the return to school rate for S5 mentored young people across six schools was 87 per cent.
This compared to non-mentored care experienced young people at 31 per cent.
In 2015, 73 per cent of mentored school leavers went on to further or higher education and employment compared to the national average of 51 per cent.
The MCR model aims to raise attainment and aspiration in young people who do not have a steady adult influence in their lives.
Mentors commit to meet a child or young person for at least one hour a week over two years to offer guidance and support.
The target is to have 1,000 active mentors in place across Glasgow’s secondary schools by December next year.
Council staff who sign up to take part in the MCR scheme will be given paid leave for volunteering.
Liam Murray became involved with MCR when he was in first year at St Andrew’s RC Secondary, in Carntyne, and was paired with mentor Donna Cunningham in his third year.
Liam’s literacy skills at secondary school were at primary three level and his schooling had been interrupted due to moving between foster placements and homeless accommodation.
Ms Cunningham attended Liam’s university graduation and will attend the 23-year-old’s wedding. Liam is now a mentor himself.
He said: “I’ve had strong help from my mum but ...it helped to have a person there for me every week who did not need to be there.”
Ms Cunningham added: “It is not about solving young people’s problems, it is about empowering them to find their own solutions to their problems.”