Bucks &amp; Oxon


<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring.jpg" alt="St Helen St Katharine mentoring" class="wp-image-194485" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Dr Clare Holyoak, Head of Mentoring at St Helen &amp; St Katharine school</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-head-of-mentoring-sounds-important-what-does-it-mean-nbsp">Head of Mentoring – sounds important! What does it mean?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>I’m really fortunate in having the job of co-ordinating all the different peer mentoring programmes we run at <strong><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/kids/school-reviews/st-helen-st-katharine-school-abingdon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">St Helen and St Katharine</a>.</strong> Mentoring can mean so many different things, but in my role I look at how our students can help each other. We know that teenagers listen and act on the advice of their peers much more than they listen to us teachers and parents. In fact, studies show that peer influence is the greatest social influence on teenagers’ behaviour for good or for bad &#8211; Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore’s work is brilliant at explaining this for those who want to look into it further, <a href="https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Inventing-Ourselves-by-Sarah-Jayne-Blakemore/9781784161347" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">click here</a>. My job is to harness this influence for the benefit of all the students in the school – so, yes, we think it’s very important!&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-are-you-one-of-the-first-schools-to-create-this-role">Are you one of the first schools to create this role?&nbsp;</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-Helen-St-Katharine.jpg" alt="St Helen and St Katharine students" class="wp-image-199379" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-Helen-St-Katharine.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-Helen-St-Katharine-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-Helen-St-Katharine-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-Helen-St-Katharine-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>I think so. There are lots of schools interested in developing and using peer mentoring to increase student wellbeing and success of course, and we do work with other schools to train groups of Sixth Formers in mentoring, helping them to build networks of other students locally who are interested in giving back to younger peers. That said, I’m not aware of any colleagues in other schools who have this type of role in overseeing and co-ordinating a range of different programmes. </p>



<p>What’s really specially about my role at St Helen and St Katharine is that the focus is on the benefit that mentoring can have specifically for girls. There’s plenty of research to show that mentoring leads to better outcomes both in education and in the workplace, but importantly these benefits are strongly enhanced for girls and young women when their mentor is female. We want to harness this power within the school.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-your-background-credentials-nbsp">What’s your background / credentials?&nbsp;</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-2.jpg" alt="St Helen St Katharine  " class="wp-image-194483" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-2.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-2-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-2-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">St Helen &amp; St Katharine school</figcaption></figure>



<p>I’m a chemist by training and did a PhD in mass spectrometry and chromatography but after 12 years in industry, I became a teacher because I love working with young chemists and sharing my passion for all things science. Over the course of my career I have been heavily involved in the pastoral side of school and I’m also the Deputy Head of Middle School which means that I look after progress and wellbeing of our students in Years 9, 10 and 11. This puts in me in the ideal position to really understand the challenges that girls are facing as they go through their educational journey and to identify ways in which mentoring might support them.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-kind-of-things-do-you-help-the-girls-with-nbsp">What kind of things do you help the girls with?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>As Head of Mentoring, my role is really to help the girls help each other! We run a variety of different schemes. Our Peer Support Leads are Sixth Formers who train in the active listening skills to work with younger students, especially those in Years 7 and 8 who maybe encountering the sorts of challenges that becoming a teenager tends to throw your way &#8211; the ‘Why didn’t I get invited to that sleepover?’ type of issues. Our Academic Coaches are trained to support students in working towards their own personal academic goals – listening to them coach their mentees to see their way to their own solutions is always impressive! More informally, I help students to co-ordinate a homework help club in the Library – a way to get friendly and quickly accessible help at lunchtimes and after school if they’re finding a piece of work isn’t quite coming together for them.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-remain-the-biggest-challenges-for-girls-in-the-workplace-nbsp">What remain the biggest challenges for girls in the workplace?&nbsp;</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-3.jpg" alt="St Helen St Katharine students " class="wp-image-194482" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-3.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-3-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/bucksoxon/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/08/St-helen-St-Katharine-mentoring-3-400x267.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p>Don’t get me going on this question! There are still so many challenges to face, but to stick to the measurable, the gender pay-gap and under-representation of women in leadership roles is a good starting point. In 2024, a report by McKinsey predicted that, if we sustain current efforts in promoting gender equality, white women will not achieve parity in the workplace for another 22 years and even more depressingly, for women of colour, this figure increases to 48 years. </p>



<p>But there is plenty of hope &#8211; a large body of research suggests that female mentors and networks have a role to play in promoting women’s success in the workplace, and we use our Kate Scheme to facilitate this. The Kate Scheme is an opportunity for our students to connect with our alumnae community, seeking out role models and mentors to support them in developing their careers. We’re really fortunate at St Helen and St Katharine to have an alumnae community full of bright, ambitious and successful women across the whole spectrum of possible careers, and it’s this type of connection between women that can bolster future success.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-you-see-that-what-you-are-doing-makes-a-difference-nbsp-nbsp">Can you see that what you are doing makes a difference?&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



<p>So much, that’s the best thing about my job! I see girls encouraging each other to enter competitions, make ambitious university applications, step outside of their comfort zones and not to be shy about wanting to aim for the very top. It is so brilliant to hear girls say that they were given the confidence to go for something because they had seen an older girl succeed before, or because their mentor suggested it. I see the bravery the older girls instil in the younger ones as they are just beginning in secondary school and the way in which they encourage them to give things a go, to not let the fear of making a mistake hold them back and to find the fun in all aspects of school life. The school’s commitment to this role has seen some big wins but also important for me are the smaller every day benefits &#8211; seeing the girls working together in homework club, develop an argument to answer an essay question or just enjoying each other’s company and learning together is a huge source of joy in my job.&nbsp;</p>



<p><em>To arrange a family visit, contact the Admissions team at&nbsp; <strong><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/[...slug]" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a</a></strong><a href="https://bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/[...slug]" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>dmissions@shsk.org.uk</strong></a>&nbsp;or call&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tLP1TcwMi-2MEkxYLRSNagwsTA3S7IwT0s0TTRIMjYwtTKosDSwMDVLSUy2MEo1N09NtvCSLi5RyEjNSc0rVkjMS1EA8rITSzJSizLzUosBcNEYCw&amp;q=st+helens+and+st+katherines&amp;oq=ST+HELENS+AND+S&amp;aqs=chrome.1.0i355i512j46i175i199i512j0i512j69i57j0i512l5j46i175i199i512.2998j0j4&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">01235 530593</a></em>.</p>



<p><em><a href="https://shsk.org.uk/home.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">St Helen and St Katharine</a>&nbsp;, Faringdon Rd, Abingdon OX14 1BE.&nbsp;</em></p>


Should every school have a Head of Mentoring?

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