Mentor Frequently Asked Questions

A. We currently mentor in eight locations - six in Redlands City and two in Logan. We are a school-based mentoring program and do not undertake mentoring outside of school hours or on the weekend.

A. We ask mentors to commit to two hours a week for a school term (12 weeks/three months) as a minimum. Research shows that less time is not beneficial. You would be just another person who comes and goes in the young person’s life and this reinforces their belief that nobody cares enough to stick with them.

Once you have been accepted and trained as a mentor, you will meet with the same young person (mentee) each week at the same location at the same time. It becomes something you easily can timetable into your week. There is no mentoring in the school holidays.

A. As with any relationship, you simply let people know what is happening. If you are not well, call us as soon as you can so we can let your mentee know and arrange a fill in for them. If you have a specialist appointment or things that can’t be put off, talk to your mentee and let them know what is happening.

If you are going away, give us and your mentee as much notice as possible. It is OK to bring them back a trinket or send a postcard to let them know you were thinking about them while you were away! If you are going to be away for extended periods, mentoring might be something to put off until you have settled back home again.

A. All mentoring is undertaken in school hours not during the evenings or weekends. Employers are often willing to provide flexible hours, for example we have a number of mentors who use their lunchtime for mentoring and have another hour gifted to them each week by their employer.

We are happy to provide a phone call or letter to your employer to aid in your negotiations to do mentoring during work hours. You can even ask your boss to get involved in the program and come along to your mentoring session together. It’s a way a local business can give back to your community!

A. After you complete and return the application form we ask you to attend an interview. You will need to apply for a Working with Children Suitability Card (Blue Card) and we will also do reference checks. After this screening, you take part in a free, 20 hour mentor training course with Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE.

A. We put you through a TAFE accredited module called "Mentoring Your Colleagues" at no cost to you. It runs over four consecutive Wednesdays and is held four times a year.

By successfully completing the four sessions you are considered "trained" by Mentor-One and can start as a mentor straight away. If you would also like to have the TAFE recognition, then there is an assignment and journal that need to be completed to their standards. It is a nationally recognised module and will count as a credit or RPL if you go onto further training. This entire process is free.

Buddy training is available to those who join the program when the TAFE training has just finished or is too far away. It involves an onsite induction followed by four weekly sessions with experienced mentors who can answer all your questions. Even if you start by doing buddy training, you must do the TAFE training when it comes up.

A. Because our mentors come from all walks of life, we need everyone to be on the same page when it comes to dealing with young people. We can’t have mentors doing different things. We need to make sure you understand confidentiality, mandatory reporting, the schools expectations and the issues that affect teenagers today. We also make sure that everybody knows how to listen actively and is ok with silences.

A. Yes. As with any workplace, there are many ways of doing things. We need to show you how we do mentoring here at Mentor-One so we are all doing the same thing with the young people and reporting appropriately. This lets us work as a team instead of as a group of individuals. It’s a synergy thing!

A. We have a wide range of people who have come from all walks of life. Our youngest mentor is just 20; we also have a great-grandad and everyone else in between. We have many retired people, business owners, stay-at-home mums and TAFE and Uni students. They all share a desire to give back to the community, enjoy working with young people, and have great listening skills, lots of patience and some life experience to draw on.

A. We are primarily a prevention program, mentoring kids who usually aren’t receiving enough attention at home. This occurs for lots of reasons: parents who work long hours in their business; parents with large families; a disabled brother or sister who needs a lot of the family resources; a single parent holding down more than one job; families where there is chronic or terminal illness. In these families there isn’t always the energy to give all their kids the attention they need. Mentoring is an adult set of ears to listen and approve of them in those growing doubt filled years of being a teenager!

A. It is Queensland Department of Education policy that anyone coming onto school grounds to work or spend time with the students must be in possession of a current valid 'Working with Children Suitability Card' or Blue Card. If you already have a Blue Card, we will require a validation form to be completed at your interview.

A. Mentoring is lots of fun! Some people bring along board games, cards, paintings, bead work or other crafts. Others have made Bonsai’s, model motorbikes and a clock! Some look at information on the internet, others have a game of two on two basketball. Some times they do an assignment or home work, other times they just sit and read the paper. Mostly it is about building a relationship with your Mentee and using a game, the net or a model motorbike to do it.

A. You will feel great! You will gain new friends and have people around who think you are wonderful. You will know that you have really made a difference and you will be able to see it. You are guaranteed to learn new things such as working mp3’s, computers, the net and mobile phones! You will get awards, certificates and special treats from us every so often – we can never thank you enough.

A. Yes! Each month we do personal development training that is useful, relevant and free. Topics have included conflict resolution, financial literacy, art therapy, bullying, the effects of domestic violence and drug and alcohol training. Training is held once a month and plenty of notice is given to mentors via email, our newsletter and through the supervisors at the schools. Its great fun, informative and is a chance to meet other mentors.

A. The M1 office is housed inside a demountable classroom at the Winter Memorial Park on Mt Cotton Road. It is set back off the road slightly making it easy to miss. If you are heading towards Mt Cotton the office is on the right 50m past the Mt Cotton Rd and Moreton Bay Rd intersection (Aldi and K Mart stores are on the corners). It can be easier to turn into the first street on your right and come back rather than try to turn if there is traffic behind you.

Coming from Capalaba College Junior Campus on Mt Cotton Rd (NOT the School Rd entrance) the office is approximately 1km down the hill on the left as you approach the intersection of Mt Cotton Road and Moreton Bay Rd. Look for the bus stop it is almost on our driveway.

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