The Safety Box Mentoring Excellence Accelerator Program (MEAP)

MEAP is a 4 month - 6 month course designed to help mentors and organisations better engage with young people it consists of four components. This course provides an introduction into best practice approaches for planning, implementing and evaluating effective mentoring and coaching programmes and equipping practitioners with the tools to enhance their skills around coaching and mentoring young people as well as capacity building for social enterprises and charities in the youth sector.

All business mentees are provided with the tools and resources they need to succeed in their personal and professional development. Through these training programs you will be provided an opportunity to do the hard work needed to enhance your social impact, and succeed in your charity or social enterprise.

Assessment & Consultation (3hrs) for organisation leaders and managers

This module opens an in-depth one-to-one diagnosis of each organisations current status and future potential, Identification and analysis of any gaps present in their provisions (2hrs). A tailored VCS Action Plan enabling organisations to map ongoing progress. Within this area you will also receive a dedicated business coach - 1 * 2 hour sessions each month for 6 months to support leaders and managers to develop and achieve the targets in their VCS Action plan.

Leaders’ Summit (4 x 3hr sessions) for organisation leaders and managers
Session 1 – Mentoring Excellence 101: Best Practice Models, effective supervision and values, practices and principles (incorporating the draft mentoring quality statement).

Session 2 – Diamonds & Gems: Evidencing your value and social impact; scaling up evaluation & monitoring methods, utilisation of social media to story tell.

Session 3 – Youth Voice: authentic youth co-production, involvement and partnership.

Session 4 – Level UP! Strategic business development and fundraising masterclass.

Continuous Professional Development (6 hrs) for frontline mentors, coaches and staff working directly with young people

12 x Coaching and Mentoring Young People training sessions with our partners Wipers Youth CIC. This course provides an introduction into best practice approaches for planning, implementing and evaluating effective mentoring and coaching programmes and equipping practitioners with the tools to enhance their skills around coaching and mentoring young people. These training courses will take place in-person or online and will run 6 times a year. All participating organisations will have continuous access to select new and existing mentors, coaches and frontline staff to attend throughout the duration of the contract.

Networking & Resources (1hr) for all staff / organisations

An online platform for all participating organisations to network, share resources and tools and best practice developments.
Funders Forum – a monthly space to explore suitable funding opportunities and all project partners to support each other in applying for potential grants and tenders.

Start Up to Scale Up Capacity Building

This is an additional program specifically for mentors and start up charities and social enterprises wanting to scale their organisations. This aspect of our course runs for 8 weeks (1.5 hours / week), they are very intensive programs and require full commitment from all participants. Within the programs you will learn the key factors that can help you to successfully start up, scale up or boost your charity / social enterprise enabling you to create greater impact and earn that extra income into your organisation so you can positively change more young peoples lives for the better.

The programs provide a real step-by-step guide on how to turn your idea into a reality or scale up.

You will complete the program with a better go to market strategy, good sales strategy, knowledge of applying for grants, building a team, effective action planning, pitch perfect pitching skills, excellent industry knowledge, market information, PR and promotional skills and the knowledge of how to obtain proper sourcing of finance to drive your charity or social enterprise and succeed.

The Start Up to Scale Up module, uses a hands on practical approach from a team of experts and is designed for people that have an mentoring business idea or a charity but do not know how to scale it or move it forward to achieve the types of profits needed to be fully invested in youth and self-employed.

The program is run either distant learning or in the classroom, all mentees have the opportunity to "field test" networking, marketing and pitching their ideas to other social entrepreneurs and industry leaders. This aspect of the program carries an AQA Accreditation in Social Business.