Education Volunteer

We're now The King's Trust. And we're still working for young people.

We've changed our name from The Prince's Trust to The King’s Trust. Rest assured, the support we offer young people remains the same. This change marks an exciting new chapter for us, and we hope you'll continue supporting us to transform young lives.

Volunteers are at the heart of everything we do. The King’s Trust couldn’t function without the support of thousands of volunteers across the UK, who are able to offer a vital network to young people facing significant barriers to jobs, education or training.

Our Education Mentors support groups of young people on our Mosaic Programme, to develop their confidence and skills and support their future employability. At the core of being a successful mentor is having belief in the potential of all young people and optimism for their future. Mentors will share their growth story and inspire and empower young people to raise their aspirations.

What the role involves

By volunteering to be an Education Mentor on the Mosaic Programme, you will be helping to shape the next generation.  You will be working with groups of young people who are taking part in The King’s Trust Mosaic programme. The Mosaic programme was developed with a particular focus on raising the aspirations, self-belief and employability of the young people who take part. One of the keyways this is achieved is through connecting more young people to positive, diverse, relatable role model mentors. 

You will be supported throughout the whole programme by a King’s’s Trust Youth Development Lead.

You and your fellow Education Mentors will deliver sessions with a consistent group of young people. The frequency and time of these sessions will vary and be led by the school or partner organisation.  Your King’s Trust contact will do everything possible to match you up with a programme that suits your availability as it is important that you are able to attend all sessions.

Training consists of completing online self-led modules, attending an online webinar and face-to face programme specific training with your dedicated Youth Development Lead.

Planning meeting – Alongside King’s Trust staff and fellow mentors you will discuss roles and responsibilities and choose from the Mosaic session menu the themes that will best meet the needs of the young people and your skillset.

Welcome session – King’s Trust staff will lead the young people and mentors through a variety of fun and interactive activities designed to build relationships, break down barriers and create a positive group culture.

Mentor led sessions – Mentors facilitate between 6 and 8 sessions from a structured session menu, provided by The King’s Trust, focusing on developing socio-emotional and employability skills. Activities are interactive and engaging. These sessions could cover a variety of topics such as communication, emotional intelligence, problem solving and preparing for work. There is also the option to create your own session plan.

Celebration event – Organised and led by your Youth Development Lead, the final session is an opportunity to celebrate the programme.

Review - King’s Trust Youth Development Lead will gather feedback and prepare a review of the programme.

Optional attendance

World of work visit –Alongside our partners in employability The Kings Trust will arrange a visit to a local workplace.

Most of the sessions will be face-to-face and will last between 40 and 90 minutes. There will be some preparation to do before these sessions (i.e., planning content or reading a fellow mentor’s delivery plan) so mentors will need to be well organised. A successful volunteer will feel comfortable and confident planning and delivering sessions to a classroom of young people as well as leading smaller conversations and breakout activities.

What makes a great Education Mentor?

Passionate about Young People and making a change

You do not need an education background to apply for this position, however an interest in engaging with and developing the skills of young people is essential. Empathy and active listening are highly valued. Full training on the King’s Trust, health and safety, the Mosaic programme and our mentoring approach will be provided.

Mentors will be required to deliver sessions that are designed to build young people’s socio-emotional and employability skills therefore it is important that mentors can role model these skills throughout the sessions.

The King’s Trust is committed to embed EDI into everything we do. We support a wide range of young people and aim to provide a group of mentors as diverse as the young people and the communities we serve.

Benefits of mentoring

• Support young people to reach their potential. It is very rewarding
• Grow your communication and presentation skills
• Build your leadership and facilitation skills

• Improve your wellbeing- Giving back has been identified as 1 of 5 ways to wellbeing.
• Strengthen relationships within your local community
• Resources and training are provided free of charge
• Building Community links and contacts
• Access to other King’s Trust Networking and Volunteering Event

In return for your valuable time, we provide the benefits of being part of a dedicated community of colleagues and volunteers, the satisfaction of directly impacting our success, and the undoubted personal development and pleasure that comes from working for the cause of, or directly with, children and young people, the majority of whom face significant barriers and have significant challenges to overcome.