Mohamed Abdallah's small office is a calm space in a quiet corridor at Dunraven School in Streatham, south London. When pupils are struggling, academically or otherwise, they can turn to Abdallah, the school's lead learning mentor.
He uses a board game called Talk-It-Out to broach difficult subjects with pupils. Playing the game gives rise to discussions about family, friends, feelings, values, dreams and aspirations.
Training mentors
Mentoring has been so effective at Dunraven that Abdallah has started training his colleagues. The aim is to equip more staff with the skills to boost pupil wellbeing.
Natoya Ivey, pastoral teaching assistant, and a former Dunraven pupil, believes mentoring builds a sense of community in the school. "As a learning mentor I support young people with their social and emotional wellbeing and with academic work as well," she explains. "I'm also part of our peer mentoring with primary schools initiative. Both are really beneficial for students who get involved. They feel like they're part of something and they have the opportunity to give back."
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