Volunteer Mentor (Part-time) Review
at City Year UK
Placement (10 Months+)
Voluntary, Teaching
Manchester
Review Submitted: June 2024
Overall Rating
3.6 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
3/5
-
Overview of Role
3.5/5
-
Skills Development
4/5
-
Support and Guidance
3.8/5
-
Company Culture
3.5/5
-
Overall Experience
3/5
-
Future Career Prospects
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
2 days a week:
- Mentoring secondary students to develop their interpersonal skills and address issues around attendance, behaviour, curriculum and social-emotional learning
- Providing whole class subject support
- Working on team projects through the charity or extracurricular activities like clubs through the school
Every Friday:
- Training sessions online and in-person to develop interpersonal skills
- Mentoring secondary students to develop their interpersonal skills and address issues around attendance, behaviour, curriculum and social-emotional learning
- Providing whole class subject support
- Working on team projects through the charity or extracurricular activities like clubs through the school
Every Friday:
- Training sessions online and in-person to develop interpersonal skills
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
Yes, I received guidelines for mentoring sessions and had to plan out all of my sessions weekly. My team and I were responsible for supervising during break and lunch duties at the school, as well as planning team projects and extracurricular school events. I was responsible for planning which lessons to support and when to use my allocated admin time to work independently on CMI coursework.
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
3/5
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
Leadership - delivering presentations, supporting volunteer recruitment events, enterprise project
Teamwork - working in a small team at the school, completing team projects
Organisation & Time Management - completing two CMI qualifications
Speaking - delivering mentoring sessions to students
Teamwork - working in a small team at the school, completing team projects
Organisation & Time Management - completing two CMI qualifications
Speaking - delivering mentoring sessions to students
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
3/5
How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
4/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
4/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
3/5
Support and Guidance
How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
I received a lot of support with planning team projects and extracurricular events, but not enough support with mentoring and working with students, especially in regards to those with SEND needs or challenging behaviour. I did not receive any training on how to provide academic support through teaching.
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
5/5
How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
3/5
Company Culture
What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
In my team, there was a positive atmosphere - my impact officer encouraged and motivated us when we were in school. For the wider team training days, I had to take part in multiple group exercises like performing team chants before and after training sessions. The charity promotes a healthy work life balance but sometimes I had to complete tasks outside of work because the time given was not enough (CMI).
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
4/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
4/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
4/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
3/5
Overall Experience
To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
I have mostly enjoyed this placement because of the meaningful mentoring relationships built with students to develop their skills. Daily tasks are very manageable because of the flexibility around responsibilities. There were occasions where unrealistic expectations were set for team project timelines, and I was also not informed well in advance about upcoming events where the cohort was expected to work for longer than the usual hours (due to trips, school events, etc).
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
4/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
3/5
Future Career Prospects
Please rate the future employment prospects at City Year UK
3/5
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend City Year UK to a friend?
No
What advice would you give to others applying to City Year UK
Consider additional tasks you may have to take on and if you will be able to manage it. You will have to be involved in school extracurriculars, City Year activities for the school, mentoring, completing 2 CMI qualifications, providing class support, working on other projects like a Ted Talk presentation and more. You will be expected to work for longer on some days.
