Meet Lindsay Chilvers from Ratton School
This month we’re finding out more about a brand-new boys mentoring programme developed by Lindsay Chilvers at Ratton School in partnership with the University of Brighton.
Tell us about your role
I teach English, am a year 10 tutor and lead on boys achievement. I’ve been teaching at Ratton School for sixteen years and was a pupil here myself so I have a long history with the school and community.
How the boys mentoring programme come about?
I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time. I have researched mentoring for boys and was clear of the need for it in our school. The boys I wanted to take part were those I’m working with as a pastoral lead, supporting them in making good decisions when it comes to friendship groups, peer pressure and not having to live up to negative masculine stereotypes.
The school took part in the black, Asian and minority ethnic mentoring programme with SLN and the University of Brighton and I asked if here was a similar project we could do with boys. There wasn’t so we talked about what we thought was needed and Beth at the University of Brighton and I developed a new programme. The programme focused on boys that wouldn’t be chosen for programmes based on academic ability and are usually picked up through the increase in pastoral need.
How did the programme work?
It was a six-week mentoring programme with ten year 10 and 11 boys matched with ten university male students. Beth trained the mentors which included a session from Bexhill College looking at pressures through social media. The mentors and mentees completed profile forms and Beth used this information to match them up. It was very successful and felt like the university students had known out boys for years. Through the matching information the mentors were able to gage the situation really well and dive straight in.
The mentors either came to school or we met at the University each week and we finished the programme with the boys having a tour of the university and a celebration session. The mentoring sessions had an overarching aim of achieving a goal and throughout the programme the boys focused on getting to know each other, working together to set a realistic, achievable goal to achieve by the end of the programme; positive relationships and being a good friend, classmate and ally; positive role models and top tips for success including revision tops, staying clam and how to manage difficult situations.
We were worried that we started the programme a bit late in the school year but it was actually an ideal time to do it as we finished at the end of March and the timings work to keep the boys really fresh as they enter their mocks. The boys were given a letter from their mentors at the celebration event and the boys wrote one back to their mentors; a valuable keep sake for all involved. When situations or difficulties have arisen at school we’ve been able to talk to the boys to get them to think about what their mentor would have said to them about the situation. This has worked in keeping them positive and remembering the advice they’ve been given. None of the boys wanted the programme to finish which is incredibly high praise.
What impact has the programme had?
It’s been about changing mindsets, not just for the boys but for staff as well. We can become very quickly bogged down with negative associations but this programme has allowed staff to see the positive behaviour and created a new topic of conversation that is positive as they have been able to see the boys using respectful behaviour and being funny and happy.
Our Senior Assistant Head in charge of behaviour said she felt pride when she saw them and the programme has allowed staff to have positive conversations with the boys. There was not one issue with behaviour in the programme which was outstanding. Our school Trust has been nominated for the Community Trust of the year award and the boys have been interviewed about the mentoring. They have been filmed and for the boys, the staff, students, families and community to see them celebrated in such a positive light is a fantastic achievement.
Do you have plans to continue the programme?
We would like to and we’re in discussion with the University of Brighton and the SLN to see how we can make the programme sustainable and to develop it to include our boys acting as mentors to boys in our feeder primary schools.
In the future we want to think about how we can include parents / carers more in the programme. We want to develop the work we do to support boys who can benefit from additional support to succeed and have positive experiences at school. We run a boxing project with Eastbourne boxing club for years 8 and 9 in school and after school with year 10s. It’s an invitation only club, predominately for boys and has been very successful with pupils asking to be invited.
It helps with resilience and confidence and like the mentoring, it supports the pupils interacting with different adults. These sorts of programmes support positive behaviours but are run in such a way that the students don’t realising that by taking part they are adhering to structure and rules.
What would you say to another school interested in developing a programme like this?
It’s about finding any opportunity to give the boys something positive and turning their mindset to be positive about school while having high expectations of them I all aspects of school life. I’d be happy to talk to anyone interested in pursuing something similar for their students.
Where can people find out more?
Get in touch with Lindsay at LChilvers@ratton.co.uk or Debra at d.vice-holt@sussexlearningnetwork.org.uk