NatCen Social Research will carry out a six-year evaluation of the Mosaic Secondary School mentoring programme.

Mosaic, a Charity founded by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2007, provides fully-funded mentoring programmes that create opportunities for young people growing up in our most deprived communities.

The Secondary School mentoring programme connects volunteer professionals with schools to provide mentoring for pupils with the aim of raising aspirations, encouraging attainment and developing employability skills. NatCen will explore mentees personal development and assess changes in attitudes and motivations.

The longitudinal survey will track young people on the programme for six years using both online and paper questionnaires. Alongside this, NatCen will carry out in-depth qualitative interviews, including previous participants in the programme. The impact of the programme will be measured with a comparison group of similar young people and look at a range of issues including:

• Friendships and family
• Leisure activities
• Self-esteem and happiness
• Confidence and self-efficacy
• Future aspirations
• Attitudes to school and work

NatCen will deliver a report for Mosaic each spring culminating in a final impact evaluation report in spring 2020.

The survey will position Mosaic as a thought leader in the area of mentoring and help shape the narrative around the provision of mentoring in schools. Its work has been cited in the Department for Education’s 2014/15 report into careers guidance and inspiration in schools, which further backs up research showing that mentoring programmes can help raise the aspirations of young people of all cultures.

Emily Tanner, Head of Children, Families & Work at NatCen Social Research commented: “As well as determining whether Mosaic is doing what it sets out to, this evaluation will tell us more about the role of mentoring in schools. For a generation of young people so often being told that good jobs are hard to come by and competition is fierce, it is crucial that we find out what works to inspire, support and motivate young people.”

Jonathan Freeman, Managing Director of Mosaic said: “There has been no studies to-date about the positive impact on school children mentoring programmes such as ours can have.

“Our goal is to demonstrate what our own research is telling us, that the mentoring provided by Mosaic cultivates a new generation of successful adults who become beacons of positivity and role models for fellow pupils, siblings and the wider community. This is demonstrated not only by the engagement of these more vulnerable sections of society into their own education, but also the wider impact mentoring has on their families and within their own communities.

Jonathan adds: “We look forward to working with NatCen to produce a study that will help shape young people’s lives for years to come.”

To find out more about the survey please visit www.mosaicnetwork.co.uk/natcen