Run the activities

Overview

Peer mentoring forms the heart of the Stepping Stones programme. It provides Year 7 pupils with another source of support during transition. It involves providing mentor training to older students (year 10) who are then matched Year 7 pupils.

Peer mentoring takes place as weekly, one-to-one interactions throughout the school year.

Mentoring sessions are normally semi-structured, allowing time for pre-planned focus areas (such as preparing for exams techniques or resolving conflicts with friends) but also non-informal catch ups, and mentor-led games and quizzes.

Indicative cost per pupil

£137

Key benefits

• Year 7 students benefit from positive role models, peer advice and homework support, increasing self-esteem and confidence.
• Peer mentors develop in maturity, which can contribute to improved behaviour.
• Regular interactions between pupils in different year groups can contribute to a wider sense of community between year groups in schools.

Key learnings

• There is no right or wrong model for who can become a mentor: both ‘high achievers’ and pupils that still encounter challenges can be effective mentors with the right pupil, but the latter need sufficient support.
• Early mentor training at the end of Year 9 ensures mentors are sufficiently prepared.
• Peer mentoring works well when profiles of mentees and mentors are reviewed to ensure a match of interests, backgrounds and lived experiences.
• Sessions before school may require additional incentives such as free breakfasts. Sessions can alternatively be integrated into the school timetable (e.g. form time).
• High visibility of peer mentors in schools can help to support leadership and role modelling among mentors and identify clear contact points for younger pupils.

Overview

Summer schools help incoming Year 7 pupils meet each other, make friends and get to know their new teachers and school.

At what point during the summer holidays schools are run, how long they last, and what they consist of can vary. Common activities include art, drama, cooking classes, nutrition workshops, numeracy and literacy classes, and sport activities.

Indicative cost per pupil

£233

Key benefits

• Summer school brings particular benefits for pupils who struggle with social interactions or anxiety; it helps them overcome fears in advance of the school term.
• Summer schools help pupils make friends and get to know teachers and school layouts before term start.

Key learnings

• Summer school works best as a social – rather than an academic – space. Focus on activities that encourage social interaction.
• If possible, schools should provide a breadth of activities to ensure there is ‘something for everyone’.
• It can be hard to engage the most vulnerable pupils and parents in summer school. At the start of the autumn term, it is important to be particularly mindful of the most vulnerable students who could not attend summer schools and missed out on the benefits.

We also have a dedicated Summer School resource to help schools deliver activities.

Overview

Stepping Stones lessons explore key themes that help young people to develop their confidence and ability to deal positively with a range of social and academic situations.

Stepping stones lessons can be run as part of a normal curriculum for all Year 7 pupils and/or they can be targeted to help some pupils manage specific challenges that they face.

Indicative cost per pupil

£63

Key benefits

• Stepping Stones lessons provide schools with creative opportunities and a more focused approach on how to help pupils explore and reflect on feelings and behaviours, especially disruptive pupils.
• The lesson content helps increase pupil self-esteem and address anxiety related problems.

Key learnings

• The downloadable templates here are quick and easy for teachers to tailor to their school and pupils
• Stepping Stones lessons can be incorporate within PSHE lessons if teachers face timetable challenges.
• Appoint a passionate member of staff to ensure consistent, effective delivery of lessons.

Overview

Aspirational and career-based activities help Year 7 broaden their perceptions about what is possible for their futures and connect school activities to these.

These can take the form of a wide range of activity, but typically involve career-based days or workshops in schools with external organisations or individuals. They can also include aspirational trips to, for example, universities, theatres and museums.

Indicative cost per pupil

£34

Key benefits

• These types of activities hold particular benefits for raising aspirations about what pupils can achieve in the future, which also supports pupil motivation.

Key learnings

• Finding the ‘right’ representative is essential to making careers seem relatable and achievable. Local community members tend to be more relatable to students.
• Aspirational trips and days out can be difficult to organise amid a crowded school timetable and gain of parental permission. They need to be carefully planned within school timetables.

Overview

Community mentoring is where schools work with an external individual, organisation and/or charity to help delivery part of or all of their Stepping Stones activities.

Indicative cost per pupil

£91

Key benefits

• Community mentoring can have particular benefits for pupils with challenging behaviour – it provides pupils with a non-judgemental space and relatable role models.
• It also helps pupils gain social confidence through providing opportunities to talk with and work alongside peers and adults.

Key learnings

• Community mentoring works best delivered outside of a school space and/or classroom, which enables pupils to feel more relaxed.
• Pupils benefit from less structured sessions where they lead conversation.
• It can be difficult to identify a reliable, affordable external partner amid a crowded market of providers.

Overview

Primary school engagement helps build stronger relationships and networks between secondary schools and feeder primary schools.

This supports increased interactions about pupils due to transition between secondary and primary schools before the start of the school year.

Activities can include secondary school teachers or pupils visiting schools to speak with incoming pupils, pupil observations and discussions, or co-organising secondary school tours.

Indicative cost per pupil

£52

Key benefits

• Primary school engagement provides schools with a better understanding of new Year 7 pupils. This gives them an opportunity to set up a more targeted Stepping Stones programme.
• It builds awareness among parents of transitions support – and improves perceptions of schools.

Key learnings

• Pupil observations often help teachers to better understand knowledge/behaviours of incoming Year 7s.
• Primary school engagement provides a valuable opportunity to engage parents early ahead of transition.