Full-time & part-time posts Termtime only
South Gloucestershire and Bath & North EastSomerset
Closing date: Sunday 1 November 2026,11.59pm
Whether your background is in sport, the arts, youth work or something else entirely, what matters most is a real interest in young people. If young people trust you, and you have the patience to earn that trust slowly, we’d like to hear fromyou.
About Switch Mentoring
Switch Mentoring is the mentoring arm of Switch Rugby Ltd, a small Bristol company of about eight people. Schools refer young people to us for one-to-one mentoring, and sometimes for work in pairs or small groups. Sessions take place on the school site or off site at sports, outdoor and cultural venues. Some of the young people we work with are not currently attendingschool.
Our mentors come from all walks of life. Sport and physical activity are a big part of how we connect with young people, alongside music, art, the outdoors, conversation and turning up consistently. We are building a team with a wide mix of skills, so we can match each young person with what works for them. What unites the team is the belief that every young person deserves an adult who seesthem.
We are recruiting one full-time and several part-time Youth Mentors to work with young people aged roughly 8 to 18 in schools across South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES).
Many of the young people we support have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), are neurodivergent, or have social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. Some have had difficult experiences that make it hard for them to trust adults. Your job is to be a consistent, safe and positive adult in their week, and to help them build confidence, resilience and direction.
Posts 1 × full-time: 30 hours a week, Monday to Friday
Part‑time: 18 hours a week, spread across the week to suit you and ourschools
Working pattern Term time only (39 weeks a year), during the school day, Monday to Friday. We are flexible about which days youwork.
Pay £14.00 – £15.00 per hour, depending on experience (the top of the range is for SEND, SEMH or specialistexperience)
Full-time (30 hours a week, term time only): £18,360 – £19,670 a year, including holidaypay
Part‑time (18 hours a week, term time only): £11,010 – £11,800 a year, including holidaypay
Plus employer contributions to the Nestworkplacepension
Contract Permanent, directly employed (PAYE), with a six-month probationperiod
Where Schools and venues across South Gloucestershire and B&NES. You will need to live within easy reach of the area, for example Kingswood, Yate, Keynsham, Bath or MidsomerNorton.
Travel Full UK driving licence and your own car, insured for business use. You will drive young people to and from off-sitesessions.
We pay mileage at 50p a mile for work journeys, and we cover the extra cost of adding business use to your carinsurance.
Reports to Matt Sheppard, Director and Designated SafeguardingLead
Start date From Monday 30 November 2026 if you are available, with induction and shadowing before Christmas; otherwise January 2027. Every start is subject to completed pre‑employmentchecks.
What You’llDo
- Plan and deliver one‑to‑one and small‑group mentoring sessions in school and off site, using activities that suit each young person: sport, creative work, music, the outdoors or simplytalking.
- Build trusting relationships with clear professional boundaries with young people, their families and schoolstaff.
- Collect and return young people safely for off‑site sessions, following our check‑in and transportprocedures.
- Adapt your approach for young people with SEND, neurodivergence, or social, emotional and mental health needs, working with the school’s SENCo and pastoralstaff.
- Write a short Session Log after every session and share it securely with theschool.
- Follow our safeguarding procedures and report any concern the sameday.
- Take part in team meetings, supervision and ongoingtraining.
Who We’re LookingFor
You don’t need a degree or any particular qualification. We welcome people from sport and coaching, youth work, teaching support, social care, the arts, music, outdoor learning and the community, and people who are new to the work but clearly good with young people. If you meet the essential criteria, please apply even if you don’t tick every desirable box.
How we assess each point: A = application form, I = interview, R = references.
Assessedby
Experience of working with or supporting children or young people, paid orvoluntary A, I, R
Able to build trust with young people who find adults hard to trust, while keeping clear professionalboundaries A, I, R
Calm, patient and consistent, including when young people are distressed or their behaviour ischallenging A, I, R
Understands safeguarding and knows how to respond to a concern or adisclosure I
Good enough written English to keep clear, accurate sessionrecords A, I (short writtentask)
Full UK driving licence and own vehicle that you can insure for businessuse A
Able to work during school hours across South Gloucestershire andB&NES A, I
Committed to safeguarding, and suitable to work with children (see “How we recruitsafely”) A, I, R
Assessedby
Experience supporting young people with SEND or neurodivergence, for example autism, ADHD or anEHCP A,I
Experience with SEMH, trauma-informed practice, or young people who are out of school or at risk ofexclusion A,I
A skill or interest you can share in sessions, for example sport and physical activity, creative arts, music or theoutdoors A,I
Experience running holiday camps, activity programmes or holiday clubs A,I
Relevant training, for example Youth Mental Health First Aid, trauma-informed practice, or a youth work, teaching assistant or learning mentorqualification A
A current first aid certificate (or willing to gain one) A
GCSE English and maths at grade 4/C or above, or equivalent A
Lived experience that helps you relate to the young people we work with A,I
Holiday Work and Developing Your Own Ideas
These are term‑time‑only posts, so there is no expectation that you work in the school holidays. But Switch already runs holiday camps and programmes, and we want to grow what we offer young people outside termtime.
If you have experience or ideas, for example holiday clubs, arts or music workshops, outdoor and activity days or sports camps, tell us in your application. We will work with you to turn good ideas into optional, paid holiday work. Thatmeans:
- time with
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