Providing mentor s upport for practice e ducators in training

1. Providing mentor support for practice educators in training Exploring and evaluating approaches used by Bournemouth University 2010 -2013 Sarah Williams – williamss@bournemouth.ac.uk Fiona McKinnon – fiona@seaspaceconsultancy.com

2. Thinking about mentoring…… If you were offered the opportunity to have access to a mentor for the next six months to support you with a new aspect of your role.. • What type of support would you want? • What qualities would you want the mentor to have? • What would you want to gain from the relationship? • What would be the barriers to making it work?

3. Practice education at BU • BU Currently delivers practice educator programmes in partnership with 18 major employers • Programmes are delivered on site in Bournemouth and in 7 off–site locations • In the academic year 2012/13 we have around 170 candidates undertaking their practice educator training with BU.

4. The starting point • The Practice Educator Framework (2010) specified that mentor support should be provided whilst practice educators ‘in training’ are taking responsibility for social work students for the first time • This requirement is carried forward to the Practice Educator Professional Standards (2012) • No definition of mentoring is included in the Standards and no minimum requirements are specifiedfor the mentor support

5. The questions we asked ourselves…. In discussion with employers and candidates we asked… • What is mentoring? • What do we hope to achieve through offering mentor support to candidates? • How can we achieve these objectives – different models? • Who should be responsible – the university? employers? • What skills, experience, training and support do mentors need? • How would we know if what we offered was useful and effective?

6. Defining mentoring ‘Mentorship is a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or knowledgeable person. However, true mentoring is more than just answering occasional questions or providing ad hoc help. It is about an on-going relationship of learning, dialog and challenge’ Wikipedia (accessed 12/6/13)

7. Defining mentoring ‘Mentoring is a learning relationship which helps people to take charge of their own development, to release their potential and to achieve the results which they value’ Connor and Pokora (2007), p11

8. Deciding what we wanted to achieve? To provide P E’s in training with cost effective and achievable mentoring that would give them access to: • advice and ideas for practice • encouragement and motivation • a ‘safe space’ to discuss issues and explore ideas • support with the development of own interpretations and solutions • emotional and practical support at times of challenge and uncertainty • support with the development of their own professional capability • Support for the development of capability

9. Putting it into practice we agreed that mentoring should (ideally) be…… • separated from assessment and line management • managed and provided by employers (a cheaper and more flexible option) • provided in the workplace by people with advanced, skills and knowledge in both practice education and mentoring • available when needed (within reason) • flexible – with local arrangements developed to meet organisational and individual needs • regularly evaluated

10. Holding on to uncertainty – we were still unsure about… • Whether mentor support was best provided through a 1:1 relationship • Whether mentor support always needed to be face to face • What support and training mentors needed if they were already experienced practice educators • Whether BU should be specifying a model for mentoring rather than simply advising on best practice and minimum standards

11. First steps………. In 2010 the University agreed with the employers that they worked that employers would be responsible for organising and providing mentor support. To support employers, BU produced a Guide for Mentors, Assessors and Employers that set out: • the basic principles agreed through the initial discussions and • 3 possible alternative models - 1:1 mentoring - group mentoring - a mix of individual and group

12. Mentoring Evaluation – 2011(questionnaires and focus groups) Results indicated: • very widely differing levels and types of mentor support (none to 30 hours!, group, 1:1 and mix, all face to face to all phone / e mail) • very widely differing levels of satisfaction from mentees • widely differing support for critical reflection from mentors • poor engagement from candidates in some areas • inadequate arrangements by employers in some areas But some clear preferences did emerge • minimum of 6 hours contact with mentor • mix of group and individual mentor support • support with critical reflection AND direct guidance and advice • mentor being available on an ad hoc basis

13. Response to the 2011 evaluation • BU Produced best practice guidance for employers, mentors and assessors based on the evaluation data – but still left overall responsibility for the design of mentor support with employers • Introduced information on use of reflective frameworks in handbooks and workshops for mentors. • Explored the role of mentor support to candidates in course workshops. • Stressed the importance of mentor support to employers in management meetings and in correspondence.

14. Evaluations in 2012 and 2013 • There have been progressive improvements in reported candidate engagement, support for critical reflection by mentors and overall candidate satisfaction. • In 2013 there was no clear overall preference for one model over any other (1:1, group or mix) – all are equally well evaluated, although candidates who report having experienced problems in placements tend to value a mix of group and 1:1 support. • The factor with the strongest link to overall satisfaction appears to be the mentor’s ability to enable candidates to understand different perspectives and find their own solutions to problems.

15. Evaluations continued • Mentors that are able to motivate and inspire are also particularly highly valued. • Mentors who provide less support for reflection and more direct guidance are generally less well evaluated (although direct guidance was linked to higher overall rating by candidates with failing / marginal students) • A significant number of candidates reported that although the quality of support was good or excellent that more contact time would have been beneficial. • Some people said that their own ‘pressures of work’ made it difficult for them to engage fully in the mentoring process and give time to reflection.

16. Evaluations cont. – the importance of relationship Words frequently used to describe well evaluated mentors; Supportive, dependable, informative, friendly, honest, open, encouraging, relaxed, interested, equal. Words used to describe less well evaluated mentors; Professional, distant, basic,

17. Candidate feedback ‘ The mentor enabled me to carefully unpick my concerns around the student’s abilities and development and separate out the various aspects in an objective way, exploring evidence, intuitive feelings / concerns and helped me explore productive ways forward’ ‘The mentor support overall was hugely valuable – if I had concerns I know I could have counted on my mentor for support’

18. Challenges moving forward – sustaining mentoring • Some employers are now questioning the cost of providing mentor support and are looking for more cost effective solutions. • We have not yet been able to evaluate telephone / internet based support as an alternative to face to face as most reported on mentoring has been face to face. • In some areas there is a shortage of appropriately qualified mentors. • Social workers under high levels of work pressure can find it hard to prioritise accessing mentor support (reported by a significant number of candidates in 2013 evaluation).

19. Discussion • What does the group believe to be the most important features of effective mentoring programmes for practice educators in training? • Do mentors who are already qualified practice educators need additional training for their role? • In the current challenging financial climate will we need to be more creative in the way that we provide mentor support?

20. What is it that mentoring engenders? • Mindfulness- containment provides reflective space for learning • Focus on the relationship to release potential • Holds paradoxes, which are inherent in critical thinking and development • Process is free from assessment and case management • Values the mentee- provides space for uncertainty and exploration, so deep learning may result