Therapeutic Mentor

Specialist Therapeutic Provision Mentor

Immediate Start

Beyond Limits Learning & Wellbeing Ltd | Freelance / Self-Employed

We are looking for Specialist Therapeutic Provision Mentors to deliver 1:1 and small-group sessions with children and young people who cannot currently access mainstream education.

This is relationship-led, therapeutic work. It is not mainstream tutoring.

About Beyond Limits

Beyond Limits is a therapeutic Alternative Provision commissioned by Nottinghamshire County Council, Derby City Council (via RESPECT) and Derbyshire County Council. We work from venues in Pleasley, Long Eaton, Wollaton and Ruddington, alongside home-based, community-based and outdoor provision across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the East Midlands.

Our learners are children and young people with SEND, SEMH needs, school anxiety, trauma, neurodivergence and complex presentations. Many have been out of education for months or years before reaching us.

We do not see children as problems to be fixed. We look for what is underneath the presentation, what matters to them, and what will help them take the next step.

What the Role Involves

Sessions will mainly include Emotional Support, plus light academic support, Functional Skills English and Maths, GCSE pathways, PSHE, AQA Unit Award Scheme work, preparation for adulthood and life skills. They may also involve cooking, fishing, sport, boxing, gym work, art, music, outdoor learning, community access, travel training, budgeting or creative projects.

Sessions take place in learners' homes, at our venues, in cafes, parks, libraries, gyms, allotments, fishing venues, outdoor spaces and community settings. The location is chosen around the learner, not for adult convenience.

Practitioners will be required to provide mentor-led transport so learners can safely access venues, community activities and gradual transitions.

This is a freelance, self-employed position. Sessions are typically 3 hours. This is an immediate start for the right candidates.

What We Are Looking For

You will need to be emotionally intelligent, practical, reliable and able to connect with young people who may not make that easy at first. You should be able to stay calm under pressure, de-escalate without entering power struggles, hold boundaries without becoming punitive, adapt sessions on the day, read behaviour as communication and work independently while staying connected to the management team.

Strong candidates may come from backgrounds including mentoring, coaching, youth work, sports coaching, Alternative Provision, SEND, SEMH, mainstream teaching, tutoring, residential care, social care, behaviour support, boxing, outdoor education, art, music, creative practice, cooking, mechanics, construction or other practical skills work with young people.

Some of the best people for this work are youth workers, sports coaches, mentors, creative practitioners, experienced TAs, care workers, outdoor educators or people with strong professional experience of working safely with children and young people. Attitude, emotional maturity, creativity and the ability to build relationships matter just as much as qualifications.

Essential Requirements

• Enhanced DBS registered on the Update Service (must be in place before starting)
• Full UK driving licence with access to your own vehicle
• Business-use motor insurance (you will be transporting children)
• Experience in at least one of: mentoring, coaching, role modelling or direct work with children and young people
• Up-to-date safeguarding training
• Strong professional boundaries and a learner-centred, non-judgemental approach

This Role Is Not For Everyone

This is not worksheet delivery. It is not suited to anyone who needs every learner to be compliant before they can engage, or who relies on control, fear or punishment to manage a session. If you are looking for easy hours with easy learners, this is not the right role.

If you want to use your skills, experience and personality to help young people rebuild confidence, reconnect with learning and begin to see a future for themselves, we would like to hear from you.