Pupils at Bishopton Primary School are benefitting from a mentoring programme run by charity The Salvation Army.
The Starfish Project is a schools-based mentoring programme run by the charity and has been operating in Bishopton Primary for the last two years.
Those in primary 4 to 7 have been able to meet with trained mentors to talk about their worries and get extra support to improve their emotional health and wellbeing.
Husband and wife corps leaders Matt and Sam Brown have become familiar faces to pupils and parents alike and regularly attend assemblies and parents’ evenings.
Aaron Kirkwood, acting Head Teacher for Bishopton Primary, explained:
We were finding that we had a growing number of pupils who, in discussion with their parents, would benefit from someone to talk to about anxieties and problems—both at home and school—and provide some strategies, but for whom counselling was not quite the right support.
We also needed something that was ongoing, rather than a shorter block of input, and a means of supporting pupil’s mental health by building resilience and creating space to talk about anything from family changes to school relationships and worries. This led us to pilot Starfish.
We already have a successful Teacher Mentorship programme established in school, but Starfish has given pupils a regular opportunity over the course of a 45-minute period to explore worries and issues at home or school in a safe environment in our school Snug space.
Matt Brown said:
Starfish provides opportunities for young people to feel supported, to develop positive personal and relational life skills, to build healthy emotional wellbeing and to reach their potential.
Working as part of a school’s student wellbeing programme, trained Starfish mentors commit to meeting with young people who have been identified as needing help with their health, educational or social development.
At Bishopton Primary School, we have seen a strong partnership grow, and the opportunity to engage and support pupils in these mentoring relationships has been amazing.