Student Mentor

onlyFE; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

SYPA contributions

30 days annual leave

Hybrid work

Health support

EAP

Job summary

The Sheffield College is seeking a dedicated Student Mentor for a Term Time, fixed‑term post until October 2027. You will help ensure exemplary behaviour and attendance, support enrolment and induction, and provide wrap‑around welfare and safeguarding for allocated academy students.

Working within a diverse college environment, you will liaise with parents/carers, contribute to enrichment activity, and support targeted interventions to improve outcomes. Closing date: 2026‑10‑20.

Qualifications

• No formal software/tools required specified.

Responsibilities

• Increasing SHAPE enrichment participation.
• Support enrolment processes and induction activities.
• Contact high/medium risk students for Early Insights interventions.
• Provide wrap‑around support for attendance, mental health, safeguarding.
• Plan targeted enrichment to meet student needs.
• Conduct 1:1 or small group interventions to improve performance.
• Lead behavioural support with Positive Engagement Plans and contracts.
• Advocate for students in disciplinary actions.
• Arrange reintegration meetings and Restorative Justice where needed.
• Conduct behaviour walks and escort students to class.
• Make daily welfare calls to absent students and record in systems.
• Provide ongoing mental health and wellbeing support and referrals.
• Support students in mental health crises and involve management as needed.
• Liaise with safeguarding team and communicate requirements to staff.
• Promote a student‑first culture and feed back to academy leaders.
• Coordinate parent/carer liaison and engagement activities.

Job description

This is a Term Time role and fixed term until October 2027.

About Us

The Sheffield College is a thriving further and higher education community, empowering around 13,000 learners each year to achieve their goals. Driven by our mission to transform lives through learning, we foster an inclusive environment — recognised through our 2026 Investors in Diversity Gold award and 3rd ‑ place ranking in the National Centre for Diversity’s 2025 Top 100 Most Inclusive UK Employers.

About The Role

The Sheffield College is a large, vibrant and diverse further education college and we are proud of how the college contributes to transforming lives through learning by meeting local skills needs.

As a Student Mentor you will be responsible for supporting our ambitions to provide all students with the best possible experience at the College through significant contribution to the delivery of the academies. This role is to ensure exemplary behaviour and attendance of allocated academy students, improve outcomes for academy students and improve appropriate liaison and communication with parents / carers.

Main Responsibilities

• Increasing the breadth of SHAPE (Staying Safe, Health & Well-being, Active Citizenship, Progression & Careers and Equality Matters) enrichment activities and student participation in them.
• Supporting the delivery of the academy’s enrolment processes and key aspects of the induction programme, as directed by the Head of Student Experience.
• Ensuring that all high and medium risk allocated academy students are contacted for an ‘Early Insights’ intervention following enrolment and prior to induction, with all interventions recorded on agreed college electronic systems.
• Providing additional bespoke wrap-around support, specifically pertaining to attendance, punctuality, engagement, mental health, wellbeing and safeguarding, for allocated students identified as high or medium risk following enrolment or later via the allocated Personal Tutor.
• Planning targeted enrichment activities to meet student need, utilising cross-college resources.
• Completing 1:1 or 1: small group interventions with allocated high and medium risk academy students to improve student performance.
• Leading on Behavioural support for all allocated academy students by conducting and agreeing Positive Engagement Plans and Stage One contracts, monitoring them and de-escalating where appropriate.
• Acting as student advocate in any disciplinary action (stage two contract meetings and Disciplinary Hearings and Appeals).
• Organising re-integration meetings for students on return from Time Out and arranging Restorative Justice meetings where appropriate.
• Undertaking behaviour walks, engaging with students and escorting them to class as appropriate
• Undertaking daily welfare calls to absent students or their next of kin as appropriate, recording interventions on agreed college electronic systems.
• Provision of ongoing mental health and wellbeing support for allocated academy students, referring appropriately externally and/or to the Listening Service.
• Providing support to any student in mental health crisis as required, seeking a member of the college management team to involve the emergency services where appropriate.
• Liaising with the College’s safeguarding team, ensuring that any student safeguarding requirements are in place and communicated appropriately to relevant staff.
• Facilitating a ‘student first culture’ by listening and responding effectively to students, feeding back to academy leaders as appropriate.
• Ensuring robust and appropriate parent / carer liaison and communication for all allocated academy students, including supporting open events and parent / carer consultation meetings and evenings.

From time-to-time these responsibilities may be reviewed so that they evolve as part of the college’s strategic growth and success. You may also be required to take on other tasks related to the job to support the College in the delivery of its strategic aims, without changing the role's main purpose.

Cross-college Responsibilities

You may be required to participate in cross-college teams and working groups on key projects.

You may need to attend relevant internal committees and groups. This could include preparing and presenting papers as required.

You will act as a role model to colleagues, ensuring that the responsibilities of the post are carried out in line with the College’s FREDIE+ values and behaviours.

Student Related Responsibilities

• Anyone who has regular contact with children and young people in their day-to-day responsibilities must ensure they are safe. You will work with the Safeguarding Team, ensuring concerns regarding students/apprentices are shared in a timely, accurate manner
• You will be involved in supporting college open days, supporting during the exam season, student enrolment and any other required events

Other Responsibilities

• Understanding and undertaking the specific responsibilities for their role as documented within the Health and Safety Policy and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with Data Protection Regulations.
• Ensure that environmental sustainability is a key consideration in the actions we take, working towards the college’s environmental strategy and net zero ambition.

If you want to find out more about the role please contact Felix Nye, Head of Student Experience - [e-mail]

What we can offer you

As the successful candidate, you will be offered a salary of between £33,824 - £38,024 per annum (pro rata'd for hours and weeks worked due to the role being term time) based upon a combination of the skills, knowledge and experience that you can bring to the role.

Alongside your salary, your pension is one of the most valuable benefits of joining the College. The Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) , administered locally by SYPA , provides financial security in retirement and support for your loved ones.

Our Full Benefits Package

• SYPA – with a generous employer contribution
• Annual leave -30 Days (222 hours)+ 8 Bank Holidays(59.2 hours)-this includesa discretionary Christmas closure period
• Health and wellbeing support , including:
• Employee assistance programme through Bupa
• Occupational Health through PAM
• Free eye tests for VDU users
• Free parking is available at the majority of our campuses
• Hybrid and flexible working opportunities
• Continuous professional development opportunities
• A people ‑ focused working culture where you can grow and thrive

Further informationcan be foundon our Benefits and Career Development pages.

Disability Confident

We are a Disability Confident employer and are committed to removing barriers for applicants with a disability during our recruitment process, upon appointment and as an employee. Please review ourRecruitment Guidelines for Disabled Candidates which provides further information on reasonable adjustments and how the Disability Confident scheme works in practice. If you require any reasonable adjustments or any support at any point throughout the process, please contact [e-mail]

Armed Forces Covenant

As part of our commitment through the Armed Forces Covenant , we’re pledged to support the Armed Forces Community. Recognising the value Personnel, Veterans and military families contribute to our community and country.

Safeguarding

We are an employer who is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students. Successful applicants will be required to have an enhanced DBS check and will be subject to safer recruiting procedures. Further details on our safer recruiting procedures, including the employment of ex-offenders can be found here Safeguarding

Use of AI

Applicants may use AI tools to support the preparation of applications. However, applications must be an honest and accurate reflection of the applicant's own skills, knowledge and experience. Applications found to contain misleading information or content presented as the applicant's own work may be withdrawn from the recruitment process.

CVs are currently not accepted.

As a Leader in Diversity employer, we encourage applications from everyone and value diversity in our workforce.

Closing date: 20 October 2026