RWPN Mentoring Scheme –

Supporting the Rehabilitation Workers of Tomorrow

Training Programme for Would-be Mentors

What kind of relationship is envisaged in mentoring?

RWPN has decided, after consultation with members, that the people who are chosen to be mentored (i.e. the mentees) are people either at the start of their professional career as Vision Rehabilitation Workers or who have identified that they have lost confidence in key areas of their skills and abilities to the extent that they feel it is affecting their practice. Although we recognise that all workers benefit from both giving and receiving advice throughout their career, we feel it would not be appropriate for a “peer support” relationship to be considered the same as a mentor/mentee relationship.

What Mentoring would involve for the mentor?

  • Mentoring will be a one-to-one relationship between mentor and mentee based on a matching process facilitated by RWPN. We ask that mentees and mentors gain the support of their line manager to participate in this scheme. Mentors and mentees must be members of RWPN to join the scheme.
  • Mentor and mentee would not necessarily be located in the same part of the country so the mentoring will take place over the internet (Skype, Facetime or phone) unless another arrangement is agreed.
  • The mentoring sessions would last about one hour at a time and are envisaged to take place once a month over a period that is flexible but may last around six months, depending on the needs of the mentee.
  • A mentor will only be required to mentor one person at a time.
  • The boundaries of the mentor/mentee relationship are crucial to protect both parties in the relationship. These boundaries will be explored and made explicit to mentors through the training process. Mentoring does not replace professional supervision (we expect mentees to have regular supervision in their workplace).
  • Supervision will be available for the mentors, facilitated via RWPN, throughout the duration of any mentor/mentee relationship.

What are the benefits of mentoring?

Mentors receive no payment for mentoring however we have identified the following benefits that you may want to think about (and discuss with your manager, if applicable). Mentoring:

  • enables you to give back to your profession and pass on your knowledge and skills
  • providesrecognition for your skills and experience (including CPD)
  • gives a sense of fulfilment
  • strengthens your interpersonal relationship skills
  • provides learning with a highly motivated peer group
  • boosts your confidence and motivation
  • re-energises your career
  • enhances your CV
  • helps you learn from your mentee
  • develops your leadership role in the profession.

How the process will work?

  • Potential mentors identify themselves through an application process and will be required to attend the training.
  • The training provides the skills required to mentor whilst identifying and clarifying the boundaries and respective responsibilities involved in the process. The training draws out the issues that are likely to arise in the mentoring of Rehabilitation Workers.
  • The training will be in the form of specified pre-reading,plus attendance at two training days (you will have the choice of Leeds or London)separated by a period of approximately six weeks. Training will be free,but commitment to both days is essential. The group of potential mentors will be linked together into a learning set by aninternet learning platform called Noddlepod. Learning materials and a discussion forum will be set up on Noddlepod before the first training event.Noddlepod would appear to be accessible to JAWS and Supernova users.
  • The training will be provided by Resound Training, the company that ran our CPD consultation events in York and London
  • Following the training, trainees then confirm that they are prepared to be listed as mentors. Mentors can list any particular areas of practice interest that might appeal to mentees. We hope to recruit 24 mentors.
  • During the training process we will seek potential mentees, who feel they would benefit from mentoring.
  • A period of matching mentor and mentees will then take place. Mentees are able to identify a shortlist of four mentors from the total list of mentors and may make their decision on a number of factors that might include geographic location of mentor, particular skill-set of mentor or similarity of work setting.
  • At this stage we are not proposing an accreditation scheme or top-up training for RWPN-trained mentors. However, in order to ensure that mentors are supported in the on-going development of their practice we will be evaluating the impact of the mentoring sessions on the mentees practice and confidence, and inviting mentors and mentees to participate in regular feedback.

If the idea of being a mentor appeals to you, and you have your manager’s support (if applicable), please fill in the application form to apply for the training. Once filled in send toRWPN, 8 Mount Pleasant, Ilkley LS298TW, or email it to by9thSeptember. You can choose either London or Leeds to do the training. We will notify applicants if they have been successful in the week after the deadline. We may be able to help with travel expenses and will consider requests on a case-by-case basis. The training is likely to take place in late October and again in December for both locations. As soon as dates are known these will be advertised.