GUIDANCE FOR MENTORING SCHEMES
Mentoring at Keele
Guidance for mentoring schemes
1.0 Background 2.0 Mentoring at Keele
Mentoring offers access to confidential,
one-to-one development and support that
lies outside the normal line management
relationship. Mentoring is not a substitute
for individual support and guidance from
a line manager, but rather offers additional
and alternative opportunities for supporting
and developing individuals. Mentoring is help that is provided outside of
the normal line manager arrangements by one
person to another. Its purpose is to help the
mentee make significant transitions in their
knowledge, work or thinking. In the context
of the workplace mentoring is defined as the
passing on of support, guidance and advice
over an extended period usually by a more
experienced colleague who uses their greater
knowledge of the work or workplace to support
the development of a less experienced member
of staff.
The purpose of this guidance is to:
• Promote best practice across all mentoring
schemes at Keele
• Develop a shared understanding of the roles
and responsibilities of those engaged in
mentoring schemes
• Ensure that all schemes are assured,
monitored and reviewed regularly so that
they deliver benefits to individuals and
to the University
• Allow for variation in mentoring schemes
to meet local requirements and context.
At Keele, mentoring is understood as a reported
arrangement and a confidential partnership
between two people, based on understanding
and trust, that is driven primarily by the mentee,
and through which the mentee can take
responsibility for their development. Its main
aim is to build capability and self-reliance in
the mentee, using the practical experience
of the mentor. Arranged within the context of
a reported scheme mentoring is intended to
support both individual and organisational goals
and development.
A mentoring relationship may vary in its
duration. Within mentoring schemes however
the timeframe for a mentoring relationship
may be defined or agreed in the initial
contracting phase.
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