‘Mentoring is a really good way to engage excluded pupils’

“I often felt really misunderstood and struggled to handle my emotions – I was very angry,” actress Nkechi Simms tells a group of young people at a north London Pupil Referral Unit (PRU).

She is part of a mentorship scheme aimed at supporting young people in PRUs across the capital.

It has received a boost of £2.3m from the London mayor’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) to expand the number of mentors to cover all 32 boroughs.

PRUs are alternative education providers aimed at children who have been excluded from school or are otherwise unable to attend a mainstream setting.

“I got kicked out of school when I was 12 and so I spent my entire education bouncing around different PRUs,” Ms Simms tells BBC London, adding that despite this, “I made it out alright”.

“That’s why I’m so passionate about coming out and supporting young people.”

She was joined by fellow mentor Christian Foley, a rapper and teacher, at Orchardside School, the PRU for Enfield where the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced the funding boost.

City Hall said the funding will enable one-to-one and group mentoring for 2,200 more young people across the capital, with the programme forming a “critical element” of mayor’s “approach to tackling violence”.

Between September 2022 and July 2024, more than 1,500 young people across 22 boroughs were supported by mentors funded by the VRU.

Over these two academic years, 82% of pupil referral units and alternative provision settings reported improved attendance in young people mentored as well as improved relationships with peers and teaching staff.

Ms Simms added that mainstream education settings sometimes “isn’t built for these kids”.

She starred in a 2022 BBC Three comedy about young people navigating life in a PRU.

“When they come into these environments they often have so many things they have to work through,” Ms Simms said.

“Having a mentor is a really good way of having a personal engagement with these young people and encouraging them to think more about their futures in a positive way.”

Charlie is a Year 10 student at Orchardside who is being mentored.

He said: “Whenever I am having a bad day or annoyed, my mentor helps me by telling good jokes and doing a fun activity with me such as bike riding, football, and table tennis.

“The mentoring sessions have helped me improve my behaviour and created a thinking space for me to reflect and change my ways.”

Celeste Fay, the headteacher at Orchardside School has said the mentorship scheme has been the “most valuable experience” for pupils.

“Our approach to mentoring evolves around continuous positive regard and nurturing attachments.

“Reinforcing the messages that they have a stake in society and in their lives, mentoring at our school is about agency, responsibility, and personal growth.”

Khan added: “I am committed to investing in young people and giving them the opportunity to reach their full potential and to thrive in our great city.

“Key to that is education and being in school where we know young people are safe and supported to develop and grow.”

Additional reporting by Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter.