Our belief in our own ability to succeed plays a role in how we think, how we act, and how we find our place in the world. Our mentees are the future, so their belief in their ability to succeed matters. At Dallington, mentoring means companionship. It is a process whereby a mentor builds a supportive and positive relationship with their mentee to provide guidance and encouragement. As mentors, we help our mentees to develop their self-awareness, self-esteem, empathy, and independence through a combination of personal and practical sessions, supported by our uniquely designed curriculum, so that they can achieve their full potential.

We believe it is important to think, feel and do. As such, our sessions are divided into practical (life skills) and personal (emotional support) sessions. By doing so, we are engaging both the right-brain (emotional and intuitive) and left-brain (logical and analytical) development.

Mentoring is about the mentee. Whilst the mentor’s qualifications, experience, skills, and knowledge are integral to the development of their mentee, their role is to help the mentee help themselves. We call this “working on the shoulder”. When a mentee graduates from Dallington, they will better know, like and manage themselves.

“Mentoring is a learning relationship which helps people to take charge of their own development, to release their potential and to achieve results which they value.”

Connor and Pokora, 2007