FAQs

Q. What does SMILE stand for?
A. Supporting and Mentoring in Learning and Education. Our aim is to support children and young people to access formal education, and acquire independent living skills, whilst accessing recreational activities.

Q. Where is SMILE based?
A. SMILE is based in London, Yorkshire & Humberside and the West Midlands. There is a volunteer coordinator for each of the three regions (see contacts page)

Q. What does the SMILE Project offer?
A. SMILE offers mentoring to enable a child or young person to identify an education placement, access it and settle into it. It also offers befriending to support a child to learn and access recreational activities. SMILE also offers awareness raising sessions in schools to enhance understanding of the needs of refugee children.

Q. What is the difference between the mentoring and befriending components of the project?
A. Generally speaking mentoring is a much more target orientated, structured and time limited relationship. In the case of SMILE mentoring is very much centred on enabling a child or young person to identify a suitable education placement, access it and settle in. Befriending is a longer relationship in which children and young people are supported in their education and are encouraged to access activities, outings etc. In both cases an action plan is drawn up between the child and the volunteer, a process that is overseen by the volunteer coordinator.

Q. What are the eligibility criteria for the mentoring and befriending components of your project?
A. SMILE supports asylum seeking and refugee children (both separated and in families) between the ages of 5 to 18.

Q. I want to refer a child or young person to SMILE. How do I proceed?
A. You can fill out a referral form from this website or alternatively contact the SMILE volunteer coordinator in your region.

Q. What will happen once I have referred a young person to your project?
A. The SMILE volunteer coordinator in your region will meet the young person, conduct an initial assessment centred on each young person’s specific circumstances and needs. You will therefore be invited to provide as much information as possible and attend the initial meeting should you wish to do so. The volunteer coordinator will then match the young person to the best suited volunteer.

Q. How does SMILE make sure that children are safe whilst supported by the project?
A. SMILE is a project hosted by the Children’s Section of the Refugee Council. We take the safety and the welfare of children we work with extremely seriously. We have robust child protection and health & safety policies and procedures in place. We also follow strict volunteer recruitment processes. More information is available upon request.

Q. I have no formal education experience. Can I still volunteer for SMILE?
A. Yes. We will expect you to have an understanding of the needs of refugee children and some experience in supporting children or young people. However you will not need to have formal education experience.

Q. Are volunteers trained before they start with SMILE?
A. Yes. Prior to becoming a SMILE volunteer volunteers will be asked to attend a 2-day specialist training centred on their role and also child protection training. They will also have access to subsequent Refugee Council training.

Q. How much time will I have to commit to the project if I become a SMILE volunteer?
A. You will be asked to commit for a minimum of 3 months if you become a mentor, 12 months if you become a befriender, or 6 months if you become a school talks volunteer. If you provide one to one support to a child or young person you will be expected to meet them at least 2 hours per week. It is very important that you are sure that you can commit to those time frames prior to becoming a volunteer with us. Consistency is crucial when supporting children and young people whose lives have often already been very unsettled.

Q. What sort of support can I expect from the project if I become a volunteer?
A. You will have access to ongoing support. The volunteer coordinator will meet you on a regular basis for supervision and you will have access to telephone support whenever you are volunteering with us.

Q. Do volunteers need to have a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check before they start volunteering with SMILE?
A. Yes. Volunteers will need to complete a CRB form with us as soon as they have been recruited and will not be able to have unsupervised contact (that means meeting a young person alone) until a suitable check comes back to the volunteer coordinator. In some cases, and when we can accommodate it, mentors and befrienders will be able to have supervised contact (in our office) with a young person they have been matched with.

Q. I work full time. Can I still volunteer for SMILE?
A. The aim of mentoring with SMILE is to help a young person to access school or college. You will therefore need to be available during office hours, at least at the beginning of the relationship. If you cannot commit to this maybe becoming a befriender is a better idea.

Q. Can a volunteer meet the child or young person they mentor or befriend at any time?
A. Mentors and befrienders can meet the child or young person they mentor or befriend from Monday to Saturday between 10.00 and 18.30 (if the child is under 16), or between 10.00 and 20.00 (if the child is 16-18 years old). These arrangements are in place to ensure the health & safety of both children and volunteers. Should volunteers want to meet their client outside those hours (activity, theatre, etc) this will need to be discussed and agreed by the volunteer coordinator and adequate emergency support put in place.

Q. As a volunteer will my travel expenses be refunded?
A. Yes. You will need to liaise with the volunteer coordinator supervising you to get refunds of travel expenses incurred during the course of your activity with us.

Q. I do not speak another language than English. What will happen if I volunteer with a child or young person that does not speak English?
A. Volunteers will have access to interpreters whilst they are involved with us. It is often the case that children and young people initially only speak their mother tongue but quickly learn elementary English through their educational placements or through mentoring.

Q. What sort of school talks do you run and for which audience?
A. We give school talks in primary and secondary schools, and also in colleges and at educational events. Our aim is to raise awareness around the needs of refugee children, change attitudes and challenge the myths around asylum and refugees. The format of the talks very much depends on our audience and can include formal training, talks, interactive work with our audience, testimonies from asylum seekers and refugees, art projects (drama etc). We are aiming to work closely with the organisations we are involved with to ascertain the format best suited to their specific needs.

Q. What does the research element of the project entail?
The research element of the SMILE project focuses on evaluating all the aspects of the project such as school talks, befriending and mentoring. Specifically the research aims to investigate the educational and social contributions that mentors and befrienders make in the lives of refugee and asylum seeking children, and the impact of awareness-raising activities in schools and colleges.

FAQs

About SMILE

Mentoring and befriending

Referring a child to SMILE

Volunteering with SMILE

School talks

Research