Chance UK and Gold Star Plus get ministerial recommendation

25 November 2008

On Tuesday 18th November the Prime Ministers think tank the Council on Social Action, launched its report on mentoring and befriending ‘Side by Side’. The report outlines 40 recommendations for the expansion of one-to-one support programmes to be available to all children and young people across the UK.
One of the top 20 recommendations is that the expertise of the Gold Star programmes be to:

“Promote one to one support for children and young people in order to bring about a cultural shift in both attitudes to children & young people and to volunteering as a way of bring about a change in society. In addition we (Gold Star Plus) intend to bring about a cultural shift in how third sector organisations share ideas and spread effective services.”

It will:

* Raise the profile of children’s and young people’s mentoring and
* befriending opportunities nationally.
* Increase the number of young people accessing mentoring services.
* Increase the number of volunteer mentors across the UK and ensure
* high level training.
* Develop a generic mentor training programme that all projects
* should adopt as a basis, with an option to add on project specific
* elements – this could be accredited.
* Provide for best practice sharing and networking.
* Create a shift in culture within communities around sharing ones
* own experiences and supporting another individual.
* Improve mentoring and befriending services for children and young
* people nationally.
* Generate clear evidence of what works through impact
* measurement.

The report says:

'This would require significant investment, early figures suggest a total cost of around £3.2m over five years, but given the accumulated experience in this group and the impressive records of its members, it would be inconsistent to progress on other fronts and not give serious consideration to this one. Without a continuation of the existing funding beyond March 2009 the sectors leading agencies will all be making service cuts in the next six months. With additional investment they have the knowledge and the expertise to make a step change in both the extent and the standards of mentoring and befriending for children and young people'.

Chance UK are leading this work on Gold Star Plus and it’s Chief Executive Gracia McGrath says:

“We welcome the Council on Social Action’s report ‘Side by Side’ and in particular its recommendations that ministers and officials examine ways of taking forward our proposals.

The Gold Star organisations have received significant investment from Government over the last seven years and as a result we have become, as the report states a ‘unique repository of wisdom and experience’. As GoldStar organisations we understand that the safe working practice of mentoring and befriending organisations is paramount and will be at the heart of our work. “

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