Overview:  

The Student Mentor plays a critical role in ensuring the physical and emotional well-being of our students throughout their program. This role involves providing support, guidance, and assistance to students, coordinating welfare-related activities, and working closely with other staff members to create a positive and nurturing environment. Student Mentors often have the best relationships with the students as they built trust through daily meetings and support in sensitive issues. Additionally, SMs will participate in activities on a rota basis, attend to pastoral duties, as well as accompany students on excursions. They are required to adhere to BSC Rules and follow all BSC safeguarding policies. Student Mentors are also required to adopt activity leader duties when required. The main duties and responsibilities are listed below

Duties

House Duties & Pastoral Care  

• Be responsible for student welfare. 
• Ensure high standards of student behaviour. 
• Ensure each student’s dietary/religious needs are met. 
• Perform all residential duties in a professional manner. 
• Monitor students’ regular medication requirements. 
• Attend the hospital or Doctors with a student, if/when required. 
• Be responsible for unwell students and maintain medical records. 
• Maintain high level of tidiness and liaise with Housekeeping as necessary. 
• Support the Welfare Manager to manage the laundry system. 
• Report any disciplinary issues to the Centre Manager and Welfare Manager.  
• Gave daily meetings with assigned group of individuals. 
• Act as a welfare point of contact for individual students. 
• Communicate any welfare concerns to the Welfare Manager.  
• Help students settle into life in the centre and the UK, ensuring that they have the correct. information regarding personal safety, centre rules and UK Law.   
• Support the Welfare Manager during student induction, orientation and creating Welcome Packs (ensuring that each student has a fully completed ID card and a wristband).   
• Safeguarding duties.
• Support the Welfare Manager to record accidents, issues or incidents and note action taken relating to student welfare. 
• Support Welfare manager with laundry requirements. 
• Carry out meal time, free time and night time supervision duties as required.  
• Check for student absences from classes by doing classroom checks and following up on absences.   
• To monitor and supervise the centre sickbay when it is occupied. 
• Assist the Welfare Manager to ensure that residences are cleaned and maintained to a high standard at all times.  
• Be a role model for International students.  

Social Programme

• Participate in activities enthusiastically as per timetable. 
• Encourage all students to participate fully in the activity programme. 
• Promote and update the activity programme using posters, noticeboards, sign-up sheets and in communicating with the students. 
• Manage time appropriately by arriving early to set up activity and gather resources.  
• Attend and participate in activity team meetings. 
• Accompany and fully supervise students on excursions. 
• Be familiar with excursion destination and itinerary. 
• Ensure safety of students at all times. 
• Attend and participate in pre-excursion briefings.  
• Communicate the weather forecast to the group before leaving so they are prepared. 
• Ensure students are wearing their lanyards containing their school ID, emergency contact information and wristbands. 
• Ensure students are wearing appropriate clothing for the weather. For example, a jacket for rain, etc. 
• Complete a student register before leaving on the bus. 
• Carry a first aid kit on the excursion. 
• Complete regular head counts and dynamic risk assessments.  
• Consult the Risk Assessment before every excursion.   
• Cover assigned social programme duties of ‘off-duty’ Activity Leaders.
• Promote language learning opportunity on all activities and excursions
• Any other reasonable task to include but not limited to:
• Actively supervise mealtimes on a rota basis 
• Undertake wake up duty on a rota basis 
• Undertake night duty on a rota basis
  

Child Protection & Safeguarding 

• To promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young persons you are responsible for and come into contact with. 
• Familiarise yourself with the BSC Young Learners safeguarding policy. 
• To adhere to the BSC Young Leaners Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy. 
• Ensure student ratios are maintained in accordance with site rules BSC Young Leaners Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy. 
• Complete online Safeguarding for Young Learners (Level 1) before arrival and complete an in-person refresher during on-site induction. 

Other 

In addition to the above, all Activity Leaders are required to:       

• Attend onsite induction to be hosted by Activities Manager.   
• Work positively as part of a team. 
• Demonstrate a positive attitude. 
• Attend and participate in all centre team meetings. 
• On rare occasions, you may be asked to serve food. 
• Act according to accepted professional standards at all times. 
• Act in the welfare of the students at all times. 
• Make sure you are clean, neat and presentable during working hours. 
• Comply with the BSC uniform policy. 
• Comply with centre and BSC YL rules and regulations. 
• To carry out any duties as may be reasonably assigned by the Centre or Activities Manager.  

Required Experience & Skills

Essential 

• Native or near native English-speaking skills  
• Experience of working with children/teenagers 
• Ability to work well in a team 
• Able to thrive in a residential setting (if applying for a residential location) 
• Strong communication skills 
• Flexibility and willing to work hard 
• Right to work in the UK, and/or Malta (depending on the respective centre) 
• Enthusiasm for summer school life  
• Enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) clearance.
  

Desirable 

• Experience of working in a summer school
• Experience of working with young learners
• Experience of working with multi-nationality students 
• Experience of working with young learners in an educational context
• Current valid First Aid certificate 
• Child Protection and Safeguarding training 
• Experience of British Council/Equals/ELT Council inspections
  

Conditions  

• Competitive weekly salary depending on qualifications, experience, and centre size.
• All accommodation and board is provided.  
• This post is offered on a residential basis. Working hours may be unsociable due to working some evening activities, and the times of student arrivals and departures.  
• All references will be followed up and any gaps in CVs will need to be explained.
• Reference requests will ask specifically whether there is any reason that they should not be employed in situations where they have responsibility for, or substantial access to, persons under 18. 
• Criminal background checks in the form of a DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) for UK residents, Garda Vetting for Irish residents, PVG for Scotland, ‘Certificate of Good conduct’ for France, ‘Conduct Certificate’ Malta as well as a police check from your country of residence (if not a UK or Irish resident) will be requested.
• Proof of identity and qualifications will be required. Only those with the right to work in the UK/EU are eligible for any BSC YL position.