College Mentor

Summer Boarding Courses; Oxford; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A summer education program provider in Oxford is seeking College Mentors to support students during their academic and social activities. Responsibilities include planning activities, ensuring student welfare, and fostering a welcoming environment. Ideal candidates are empathetic, flexible, and enthusiastic about working with young people. The role offers a salary of £675 per week and accommodation on-site. This position requires prior experience working with children and completion of a DBS check.

Benefits

Accommodation included

Paid on-site training

Access to Employee Assist Programme (EAP)

Qualifications

• Experience in leading or coaching groups of children in a professional capacity.
• Residential experience with young people or children.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Support and supervise students during the college program.
• Plan and facilitate activities for students.
• Ensure the safety of students during events and excursions.

Skills

Leadership skills

Strong communication skills

Emotional awareness

Flexibility

Empathy

Tools

First Aid qualification

Lifeguard qualification

Job description

SBC College Mentors play a pivotal role in delivering an exceptional student experience as part of the summer college programme. They are actively involved in the pastoral care and supervision of students, as well as in the planning and delivery of engaging activities and evening events. Serving as trusted points of contact, College Mentors support students throughout their course, guiding them through their summer experience while promoting and modelling the behaviours we expect from our students. College Mentors must be highly attentive, proactive, and well‑organised in their approach to student supervision, addressing behavioural or welfare concerns effectively and with sensitivity. With students from a wide variety of countries and cultures, it is essential that College Mentors create a welcoming and inclusive environment. By establishing a strong presence, they can connect with students, fostering a fun, supportive, and vibrant community that helps every student feel valued and involved, both academically and socially, during their time at the college.

The site is appealing to ambitious students wishing to prepare for future success and to gain an authentic taste of studying at the prestigious University of Oxford. SBC Oxford College students undertake academic courses, exploring their chosen subject through a series of engaging lectures, tutorials and industry workshops. Their academic programme sits next to their social programme allowing them to explore Oxford, take part in college events, well‑being activities and the greatly enjoyed excursion to London. SBC at Oxford College is based over several Oxford Colleges. Students on the college programme are 15‑17 and the capacity is 120 students over both sites each week.

Ways we support our College Mentors

• We will cover the full cost of a new DBS (if required) for your first contract working with SBC. We encourage all staff to sign up for the Update Service.
• Extensive, paid, on‑site training prior to student arrival.
• Accommodation included.
• CPD and appraisals.
• Staff wellbeing initiative.
• Access to Employee Assist Programme (EAP).
• Continual support for all staff from the Head Office Team, both on the ground and via phone/email.
• Online safeguarding and prevent training.
• Professional, fun and supportive environment.

Remuneration: The salary for the College Mentor role is £675 per week (subject to tax and national insurance), paid weekly in arrears (for the avoidance of doubt this sum includes a holiday allowance at 12.07% of basic pay in the sum of £72.70), plus accommodation at the summer site.

Programme Duties

• Acquaint yourself with the SBC Social Programme session plans, risk assessments, resources and equipment during the induction period.
• Plan, prepare and facilitate a wide range of activity sessions to groups of students.
• Support in the preparation, planning, delivery and pack‑down of whole school events.
• Bring energy and enthusiasm to all aspects of the Summer School programme.
• Alongside the wider staff team, promote the social programme amongst the student body, supporting sign‑up and encouraging all students to participate.
• Lead a group of students on off‑site excursions, following pre‑planned itineraries and ensuring thorough supervision throughout.
• Ensure that the students are safe at all times during activities, events and excursions.
• Work alongside College Tutors to support and supervise elements of the academic programme including industry experience, guest speakers and workshops.
• Handle administrative tasks to include activity sign‑up, registers, risk assessments and accident and incident logs.
• Plan for session observations, reflect upon them, and attend feedback sessions with the Social Programme Manager(s) to discuss potential areas of improvement.

Pastoral Duties

• Create a welcoming and inclusive residential environment, in which all students can feel comfortable and cared for.
• Supervise students’ movement through the day, ensuring the timely delivery of the daily routine including meals, breaks and all aspects of the academic and social programme.
• Facilitate conversations between students when needed, ensuring that students are building friendships with others and instilling strong values of equality, celebration of diversity, and respect within the school.
• Proactively support, supervise and interact with students during meal and break times.
• Work as part of the wider team to support the residential daily routine to include wake‑up, assemblies, on‑site free‑time and lights‑out.
• Supervise students in accommodation blocks and other college areas, ensuring appropriate standards of student behaviour and ensuring a proactive approach regarding student wellbeing.
• Assist with supervision and care of sick students under the guidance of the Management Team.
• Be on call/overnight duty as per contract for student medical, welfare issues, and emergencies.
• If required, complete a First Aid Course and serve as school first‑aider.

Safeguarding Duties

• Be committed to the safeguarding and welfare of students in your care.
• Complete online safeguarding training and attend on‑site safeguarding training during induction week.
• Read and understand SBC's Safeguarding Policy, Staff Handbook, Operations Policy Handbook and Part 1 of Keeping Children Safe in Education (including annexes A & B).
• Be alert to the signs of abuse and neglect, and report any concerns to the DSO immediately (including low‑level concerns).
• Know what to do if a student tells a member of staff they are being abused, exploited or neglected.
• Help students understand how to keep themselves safe and manage risk; earn their trust while maintaining professional boundaries.

Please see the attached Job Description for a more complete list of the duties associated with the College Mentor role.

Job Requirements

• You will provide the details of two recent and relevant referees who we will contact and specifically ask about your suitability to work with children and any concerns.
• You will be required to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS), and equivalent if you live, or have lived, outside of the UK.
• You will be asked to state that you have no known reason why you cannot work with children.
• Official identification and certificates will be required for our records.
• Please be aware that SBC may conduct online searches for shortlisted candidates as part of our legal duty to meet out safeguarding duties.

All members of staff employed by SBC will be expected to bring certain key qualities to the operation. There must be a professional interest in working with young people and particularly international children. Safety and welfare of the students is of paramount importance at SBC and a practical enforcing of this belief should be a quality exhibited by all staff. We look for staff who are:

• Approachable & empathic to the needs of students.
• Enthusiastic & engaging.
• Diplomatic, responsible & motivated.
• Flexible within the summer school environment.

SBC staff must demonstrate patience, empathy and an emotional awareness towards students both individually and within a group setting. We expect all staff to take control of students and to manage discipline and behavioural issues in a firm, positive and constructive manner.

Essential Qualifications and Experience

• Experience in leading or coaching groups of children in a professional capacity.
• Residential experience with young people or children.
• Experience of, and genuine enjoyment of, working with children.
• Strong communication skills, ability to work under pressure, flexibility.
• Ability to take control of and lead a group of children on activities and during excursions, with qualifications and experience in leading young people in either tennis, dance, performing arts, music or arts & crafts.
• First Aid / Lifeguard qualification.
• Experience and qualifications in coaching other sport.
• Experience of residential international boarding.

Founded in 2008, Summer Boarding Courses have united students from around the world through education. Delivering award‑winning, future‑focused courses that strike the perfect balance between academic and social enrichment. Our courses unlock potential and ignite a spark for long‑term success. Our residential summer courses take place at some of the UK's top boarding schools and university college campuses, including Eton College, Oxford University Colleges and Headington School. We carefully select our campuses to ensure that they provide the perfect environment for our students to live and study. Over 15,800 students from 152 nationalities have been welcomed to study with us to date. Whether it's preparing for future studies, developing 21st‑century skills or building confidence, the knowledge gained on an SBC course allows students to go forward and apply what they have learned to other areas of their education and beyond; giving them the necessary skills to achieve their future goals. The EL Gazette publishes a league table based on British Council inspections, and SBC have been ranked Number 1 from 2018 to 2023. We are very proud of this achievement and will continue to grow and develop our courses to offer students extraordinary experiences. SBC is the only multi‑campus summer school provider in the UK to have achieved a perfect 15/15 areas of strength by the British Council. A true hallmark of educational quality.