Mentoring and Boundaries Policy

This Mentoring and Boundaries Policy sets out how Street Lights Collective CIC delivers safe, ethical, trauma informed and purposeful mentoring. The policy protects children, young people, families, mentors, volunteers, practitioners, staff, partners and the organisation itself.

Street Lights Collective CIC works with young people and communities affected by trauma, serious youth violence, exclusion, online harm, postcode conflict, low aspiration, family breakdown and social disconnection. Because the work is relational, consistent boundaries are essential. Boundaries do not weaken relationship based practice. They protect it.

The aim of this policy is to ensure that mentoring relationships are warm but safe, relational but professional, empowering but accountable, and always aligned with the Street Lights ethos of Presence. Power. Purpose.

This policy applies to all mentoring activity delivered by or on behalf of Street Lights Collective CIC, including:

• one to one mentoring
• group mentoring
• school based mentoring
• community mentoring
• online mentoring
• youth leadership and ambassador support
• NEET Futures guidance and progression support
• informal guidance sessions linked to Street Lights programmes
• mentoring delivered by practitioners, volunteers, partners or commissioned workers
• any contact with young people or families that happens because of Street Lights work.

This policy should be read alongside the following Street Lights Collective CIC policies:

• Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
• Online Safety and Social Media Policy
• Code of Conduct Policy
• Volunteer Policy
• Safer Recruitment Policy
• Incident Reporting Policy
• Data Protection Policy
• Risk Assessment Policy
• Complaints and Whistleblowing Policy
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

Street Lights mentoring is not casual friendship, rescue work, informal therapy or unsupervised support. It is a structured, purposeful and safe relationship that helps young people develop self awareness, identity, emotional literacy, resilience, responsibility and direction.

The mentoring approach is rooted in:

• Presence, which means consistent, visible and relational support
• Power, which means helping young people recognise agency, choice and personal responsibility
• Purpose, which means supporting young people to move from survival responses into identity, aspiration and future direction.

Mentoring through Street Lights must always be trauma informed, culturally aware, safeguarding led and clear about its boundaries. The mentor walks alongside the young person, but does not replace the parent, carer, teacher, social worker, therapist, youth justice worker, safeguarding professional or statutory service.

For the purpose of this policy, mentoring means a structured supportive relationship where a trained and approved adult supports a young person to reflect, learn, build confidence, develop emotional literacy, make positive choices and work towards agreed goals.

Mentoring may include:

• listening and guided conversation
• personal development work
• identity and self worth work
• emotional literacy and regulation support
• goal setting and accountability
• positive decision making
• education and school engagement support
• support around relationships and peer influence
• future planning, placements and progression
• signposting to specialist support where needed.

Mentoring must not be presented as clinical therapy unless delivered by a suitably qualified professional within a properly governed therapeutic arrangement.

Before mentoring begins, the organisation should complete a proportionate referral and assessment process. This should include:

• reason for referral
• age of the young person
• parent or carer consent where required
• school or partner referral information where applicable
• known safeguarding concerns
• contextual safeguarding risks
• mental health or wellbeing considerations
• any current statutory involvement
• risk of exploitation, gang involvement, peer harm or online harm
• suitability for mentoring
• clear goals and expected outcomes.

Mentors should be matched carefully. Matching should consider gender where relevant, cultural context, communication style, risk level, mentor experience, availability, conflicts of interest, and whether the mentor has the skills required for the needs presented.

Street Lights Collective CIC must ensure that mentoring begins with clear consent and information sharing arrangements.

• Young people should understand what mentoring is and what it is not.
• Parents or carers should give consent where the young person is under 18 unless another legal or safeguarding arrangement applies.
• Referral partners should understand what information will be shared and why.
• Mentors must explain that confidentiality has limits where there is risk of harm.
• Information should only be shared with those who need to know in order to protect the young person, support delivery or meet legal duties.

Mentoring works best when young people feel safe enough to speak honestly. However, mentors must never promise secrecy. The correct message is that information will be treated respectfully, but must be shared where there is a safeguarding concern, risk of harm, risk to others, criminal exploitation, serious violence risk or legal duty.

Mentors must report concerns to the DSL where a young person:

• discloses abuse, neglect, exploitation or harm
• is at risk of serious youth violence, knife crime, gang involvement or retaliation
• is at risk of criminal or sexual exploitation
• is experiencing online grooming, threats, blackmail or coercion
• is planning to harm themselves or someone else
• is carrying weapons or being pressured to carry weapons
• is missing, unsafe, homeless or at immediate risk
• discloses harmful behaviour by an adult, professional, volunteer or peer.

Boundaries protect young people, mentors and the organisation. All mentors must maintain clear professional boundaries.

Communication between mentors and young people must be safe, transparent and proportionate.

Mentors must follow the Online Safety and Social Media Policy. Mentors must not:

• follow young people from personal accounts
• accept friend requests from young people on personal accounts
• message young people from personal accounts
• post images or stories about young people without consent and approval
• engage in online arguments linked to Street Lights work
• share information that could identify a vulnerable young person
• use social media to discuss safeguarding concerns.

Any online threat, grooming concern, harmful content, postcode conflict, exploitation risk or safeguarding concern must be reported to the DSL and recorded under the Incident Reporting Policy.

Mentoring sessions must take place in safe, appropriate and agreed settings.

Suitable locations may include:

• schools and colleges
• community venues
• youth centres
• partner organisation settings
• approved public spaces where risk assessed
• online platforms approved by the organisation.

Mentors must not meet young people in private homes, isolated locations, cars, bedrooms, hotel rooms or any setting that has not been approved and risk assessed.

Mentoring can create lone working risks. Where one to one work is delivered, the following controls should be considered:

• approved venue
• known start and finish time
• clear record of who is attending
• visibility where possible without breaching privacy
• check in and check out arrangements
• emergency contact details
• risk assessment where required
• no unapproved transport
• escalation plan if the young person is distressed, missing, threatening or unsafe.

Street Lights recognises that some young people may seek reassurance or physical comfort, but physical contact can carry risk and must be carefully managed.

Physical contact must be:

• appropriate to the situation
• never sexualised or coercive
• never secretive
• never used to control or intimidate
• kept to the minimum necessary
• sensitive to trauma, culture, gender, faith and disability
• reported if it could be misunderstood or caused concern.

Mentors should avoid initiating physical contact unless there is a clear and appropriate reason, such as preventing immediate harm or responding proportionately to distress in an open and safe setting.

Mentors must not create dependency, favouritism or blurred boundaries through gifts, money or personal favours.

• Mentors must not lend money to young people or families.
• Mentors must not borrow money from young people or families.
• Mentors must not hold money or valuables for young people unless part of an emergency safeguarding response and recorded immediately.
• Any gift must be modest, transparent, approved where required and recorded if necessary.
• Mentors must not accept significant gifts.
• Mentors must not offer private work, private accommodation, private travel or personal favours outside the approved mentoring plan.

Transport can create safeguarding and boundary risks. Mentors must not transport young people unless all of the following are in place:

• approval from the Programme Lead
• risk assessment
• parent or carer consent where required
• appropriate insurance where using a vehicle
• clear journey details
• record of time, location and reason
• emergency arrangements
• compliance with safeguarding and lone working procedures.

Emergency situations must be reported to the Programme Lead or DSL as soon as possible and recorded afterwards.

Street Lights mentoring must be trauma informed. This means mentors should understand that young people may test boundaries, reject support, become overly attached, withdraw, become angry, disclose harm, or present with survival based responses.

A trauma informed approach requires mentors to:

• remain calm and consistent
• avoid shaming or humiliating young people
• set clear expectations without aggression
• recognise triggers and survival responses
• avoid taking behaviour personally
• hold boundaries with compassion
• use supervision when the relationship becomes intense or complex
• refer to specialist support where mentoring is not enough.

Trauma informed practice does not mean having no boundaries. It means boundaries are explained, consistent, respectful and safe.

Street Lights works with young people whose risks may sit outside the home and inside peer groups, online spaces, schools, estates, parks, transport routes, postcodes and community environments.

Mentors must remain alert to contextual safeguarding risks, including:

• postcode conflict and area based rivalry
• gang association or pressure
• criminal exploitation
• county lines
• knife carrying or weapon related risk
• peer on peer harm
• retaliation risk
• online threats or humiliation
• coercion, grooming or blackmail
• unsafe travel routes
• school exclusion or reduced timetable risk
• domestic abuse and family breakdown
• sexual exploitation
• substance misuse
• missing episodes.

Mentors must record and report contextual safeguarding concerns even where the young person does not see the situation as harmful.

Some young people may require enhanced safety planning before mentoring takes place. This may include young people:

• known to be involved in serious youth violence
• at risk of exploitation
• known to carry weapons
• subject to statutory involvement
• at risk of self harm or suicide
• involved in active postcode conflict
• who have made allegations against adults or peers
• who have high levels of emotional distress
• who require specialist mental health support.

Where risk is high, mentoring must be supported by a written safety plan, supervision, clear escalation routes and partner communication where appropriate.

Mentoring must be purposeful and recorded. Each mentoring arrangement should have:

• referral reason
• initial assessment
• consent record
• mentoring goals
• risk information
• agreed session frequency
• review date
• exit plan
• recording method.

Session notes should be factual, respectful and proportionate. They should record:

• date and time
• location or platform
• people present
• themes discussed
• progress against goals
• any concerns
• actions agreed
• safeguarding escalation where required.

Session notes must be stored securely in line with the Data Protection Policy.

Mentors must not carry complex relational and safeguarding work alone. Supervision protects the mentor, the young person and the organisation.

Mentors should receive:

• induction before mentoring begins
• safeguarding training
• clear reporting routes
• regular supervision
• space to discuss boundaries and concerns
• support after difficult disclosures or incidents
• review of session notes where appropriate
• guidance on ending mentoring safely.

Mentoring relationships should end safely and clearly. Endings can be emotionally significant for young people and should be handled with care.

A planned ending should include:

• review of progress
• recognition of growth
• clear explanation of the ending
• signposting where needed
• transition to another support pathway where appropriate
• final session note
• communication with parent, carer, school or referrer where appropriate.

Mentors must not continue private support after the formal mentoring relationship has ended unless this has been approved as part of a new arrangement.

Boundary breaches must be taken seriously. A breach may be minor, serious or safeguarding related. Examples include:

• unapproved contact with a young person
• secret messaging
• meeting in an unapproved location
• transporting a young person without approval
• giving or receiving inappropriate gifts
• sharing personal information inappropriately
• using personal social media to contact a young person
• promising secrecy
• failing to report safeguarding concerns
• creating emotional dependency
• sexualised, intimidating or coercive behaviour.

Boundary breaches must be reported to the Programme Lead, DSL or Director depending on seriousness. Safeguarding concerns must be escalated immediately to Phillip Chackochen as DSL.

Any allegation that a mentor, volunteer, practitioner, staff member, advisor or partner has harmed or may pose a risk to a child, young person or adult at risk must be handled under the Safeguarding Policy, Incident Reporting Policy and Managing Allegations procedures.

The organisation may need to:

• remove the person from mentoring duties while concerns are considered
• seek advice from the Local Authority Designated Officer where applicable
• refer to children’s social care or police where required
• record the concern securely
• protect the young person and others from further risk
• ensure the matter is handled fairly and confidentially.

Where mentoring takes place in a school, college, local authority, faith or partner setting, Street Lights mentors must follow both Street Lights policies and the safeguarding procedures of the host organisation.

Before delivery, roles should be clear regarding:

• consent
• rooming and supervision
• attendance records
• behaviour expectations
• safeguarding reporting
• emergency procedures
• data sharing
• who updates parents or carers
• who records incidents.

Mentoring linked to NEET Futures must include clear boundaries around employability support, placements and external opportunities.

Mentors supporting NEET Futures must:

• avoid making promises about jobs, placements or funding
• ensure placement opportunities are appropriate and risk assessed
• ensure employer expectations are clear
• support young people with preparation and professional conduct
• record progression planning
• raise concerns where an employer, provider or environment appears unsafe
• ensure young people are not exploited through unpaid or unsuitable work.

Mentors must work in a way that respects culture, faith, race, gender, disability, neurodiversity, language, family structure, class, lived experience and identity.

Mentors must not impose personal beliefs or shame young people for their background, family, faith, culture, sexuality, disability, neurodiversity or lived experience. Where cultural or faith context is relevant, mentors should approach it with humility, care and safeguarding awareness.

If there is immediate danger, mentors must call emergency services on 999.

All safeguarding concerns must be reported to the DSL as soon as possible.

Mentors must receive training appropriate to their role and risk level. This may include:

• safeguarding and child protection
• contextual safeguarding
• professional boundaries
• trauma informed practice
• online safety
• confidentiality and data protection
• record keeping
• incident reporting
• equality, diversity and inclusion
• risk assessment
• working with young people affected by violence or exploitation.

Street Lights Collective CIC will monitor mentoring quality and boundary practice through:

• supervision records
• session note reviews
• young person feedback
• parent, carer or partner feedback where appropriate
• incident and safeguarding analysis
• complaints and concerns
• programme reviews
• Board oversight.

This policy will be reviewed annually or sooner if required by a serious incident, safeguarding concern, complaint, change in law or guidance, or significant change in Street Lights delivery.

All mentors, volunteers, practitioners and staff involved in mentoring may be asked to sign the following declaration:

Street Lights Collective CIC

Presence. Power. Purpose.