The Youth Mentoring Network

Resources

Publications

On this page find:

  • CONNECTIONS Newsletters 
  • Guide to Youth Mentoring
  • Self-assessment workbook

Guide to Effective and Safe Practice in Youth Mentoring, Aotearoa New Zealand, 2nd Edition

It is with a deep sense of gratitude and purpose, that the New Zealand Youth Mentoring Network offers this new resource to all who are interested in Youth Mentoring.

The first edition, published in 2008 was a benchmark document that drew together essential knowledge for New Zealand’s emerging youth mentoring sector.

The 2nd edition has been refreshed and updated with the latest research in effective youth mentoring practice, and the new safety checking and child protection policy guidelines introduced as part of the Vulnerable Children’s Act 2014. It offers practical advice and guidance on how best to provide high-quality mentoring in day-to-day operations. 

For practitioners it will help you: 

  • Ensure your programme has the right components in place to build successful high-quality mentoring relationships.
  • Implement effective programme practices, procedures and protocols.
  • Have adequate support in place for both mentors and the young people being mentored.
  • Identify safety-related aspects of your programme that requires further development.

 For funders and government agencies it will help:

  • Ensure a clearer understanding of what constitutes effective and safe practices for mentoring programmes.
  • Establish a level of consistency across agencies.
  • Enable agencies to determine the suitability of mentoring programmes to meet expected outcomes. 

Guide overview

The guide comprises 5 main sections and a number of supporting appendices.

Section 1 (page 9) is a brief introductory section offering a definition of youth mentoring and the relevance of Positive Youth Development theory to mentoring.

Section 2 (page 13) provides a commentary on mentoring Māori and Pasifika youth.

Section 3 (page 20) explores the mentoring relationship and focuses on outlining significant research about relationship quality, as well as highlighting some recent research that has been done in Aotearoa New Zealand with a local mentoring programme.

Section 4 (page 25) covers the four stages of programme development from design and planning to management and evaluation.

Section 5 (page 34) covers the six core elements of effective practice, which follows the lifecycle of the mentor relationship from Recruitment to Closure.

There is additional information and links to other readings at the back of the Guide. 

Download a copy

NZYMN Effective Practice Guide_updated November 2018

Or order a printed copy of the Guide - please send an A4 stamped addressed envelope to: 

New Zealand Youth Mentoring Network
P O Box 99726
Newmarket
Auckland 1149

Standard postage is $3.00

Effective and Safe Practice in Youth Mentoring - Self-Assessment workbook

This Self Assessment Workbook is intended for use alongside the Guide to Effective and Safe Practice in Youth Mentoring (2nd Edition).

It is designed to help your organisation review and evaluate your mentor programme against safe and effective practice; identify the strengths of your programme; and areas for improvement.

It focuses on:

• Section 4 (page 25 of the Guide) - Programme Development, which covers 4 stages from Design and Planning to Management and Evaluation.

• Section 5 (page 34 of the Guide) - Core Elements of Effective Practice, which follows the lifecycle of the mentoring relationship from Recruitment to Closure.

It includes:

• Self-assessment Checklists to guide learning for your organisation.

• Activities that support the information and content within the Guide.

• Space for you to capture questions, re ections, priorities and actions.

How to use this workbook:

• We recommend that you download and print a copy of this workbook (.pdf format).

• As you work through each section and sub-section of the Guide, complete the corresponding Checklists and Activities in this workbook to evaluate your mentoring programme and identify areas for improvement.

Note: You may determine that some items in the Checklists are NOT applicable to your programme. If you have any questions please email NZYMN - info@youthmentoring.org.nz

Download the workbook here:  NZYMN Effective and Safe Practice in Youth Mentoring_Self Assessment Workbook

Guide to Effective Practice in Youth Mentoring, New Zealand, 1st Edition

The first edition of the Guide to Effective Practice in Youth Mentoring Aotearoa New Zealand (Guide), published in 2008, was a benchmark document commissioned by the Ministry of Youth Development.

It drew together essential knowledge for the emerging youth mentoring sector, providing an informative local resource for all who were interested in mentoring young people and in enhancing the role of mentoring in the wider youth development sector. In subsequent years, the New Zealand Youth Mentoring Network (NZYMN) has been able to use the Guide as a basis for comprehensive national training programmes. This has brought the mutual benefit of widening understanding of effective practices, along with growing the national picture of the range of youth programmes in which mentoring is a significant component.

Guide to Effective Practice in Youth Mentoring New Zealand, 1st Edition