What is the ‘e-mentoring’ Project?

The ‘e-mentoring’ project is a new scheme. The pilot started in October 2007 with twelve Year 7 pupils and three primary schools, Riverside, Downhall and Glebe.

Its aim is to give extra support to pupils to ease the transition between primary and secondary school. Year 6 pupils send us their questions by e-mail and the Year 7 pupils answer them.

Setting Up the Project

The Year 7 pupils received training on the types of questions they might be asked by the Year 6 pupils and how they would reply to them. They also attended an On-line Safety session where they considered the possible dangers of communicating via e-mail.
Small groups of the ‘e-mentors’ visited the primary schools to give a short presentation to Year 6 pupils, that included role play and PowerPoint presentations. A poster including their photograph and names was left at each school so the younger pupils would know with whom they were communicating.
A new e-mail account was created, with limited access, to ensure the safety of the pupils using the scheme.

The Project So Far
(February 2008)

The pilot scheme has been successful and has now been extended to include three more primary schools, St Nicholas, Rettendon and Rayleigh Primary.

Year 6 pupils have had the chance to have some of their fears and anxieties about secondary school allayed.

Year 7 pupils can empathise with the younger children because they have recently undergone the same transition