intandem: Building Trusted Relationships
Part of: Stories of Change
Having a mentor has made me a lot happier… I was really struggling, mentally, physically…but when I got my mentor, she brightens stuff up… it feels like she genuinely takes some of the stress off my shoulders.
—Cara, a young person supported by intandem
Cara is one of around 200 children and young people supported by intandem , a national mentoring programme for children and young people who are in the care of their local authority – or at risk of becoming so – and living either at home or in kinship care.
Established in 2016, intandem is managed by Inspiring Scotland and delivered by partner charities across 19 local authorities.
Scotland made a promise to its children that they will grow up loved, safe and respected so they can realise their full potential. Providing trusted relationships and building confidence are an essential part of keeping this promise.
Weekly community-based mentoring has powerful results, changing the trajectory of children and young people’s lives:
It’s impacted my life choices a lot.
—Young person
He told me he’d learnt to trust again, which was nice to hear.
—Mentor
She’s made me realise that not every person is there to hurt me.
—Young person
Keeping the Promise has meant a change in approach
Much has changed since intandem started matching volunteer mentors with children and young people in 2017, and the programme has changed and evolved in response.
Working towards keeping the promise, intandem has reviewed the eligibility criteria for children and young people mentored, in order to remove barriers to support.
Initially, only children and young people on a Compulsory Supervision Order and living at home were eligible for intandem. This created a barrier to support for:
- young people awaiting a hearing, or
- those whose home circumstances changed while they were waiting for support— for example, if they entered kinship care.
Gathering examples from families supported by partners across the country, and with funders' support, intandem are now supporting young people in kinship care and those on the edges of care, either at home in kinship arrangements.
Key Insight: Scaffolding
Initially, only children and young people on a Compulsory Supervision Order and living at home were eligible for mentorship from intandem.
This created a barrier to support for:
- young people awaiting a hearing, or
- those whose home circumstances changed while they were waiting for support— for example, if they entered kinship care.
So intandem reviewed the eligibility criteria for children and young people mentored, in order to remove barriers to support.
Building a supportive relationship involves creating trust, so young people feel safe and have somewhere to turn for support. Mentoring is all about trusted relationships, and coordinators build relationships not only with children and young people, but their families and carers too.
This allows families to access wider support, whether that’s emotional support, conflict resolution, or help to find specific support services. The mentoring relationship becomes part of the scaffolding of support around a young person and their family to enable them to overcome difficulties.
Listening, influencing, and participating
The promise also made it clear that Scotland needs to listen to children and young people, and intandem’s youth forum, InVoice, was created two years ago to do just that. We continue to learn from this journey which has sometimes presented challenges, taken us in new and unexpected directions, but has been very rewarding.
Young people told us they wanted to influence change on a bigger scale, so they have worked on Scottish Government consultations and are sharing their voice with key decision makers. The group also decided it was important to meet other young people mentored by intandem to benefit from peer support and coming together as a group. They are now working on a project to organise a series of events. InVoice sets the agenda for what is important to them.
Participation is a crucial part of keeping the promise, and it has become essential at intandem. Learning it needs to be consistent, and it takes time and dedicated resources to see results— but it is transformational. With a dedicated participation manager, the voice of young people is always heard and kept at the heart of decision-making.