Julie and Dwight are learning mentors at the Ellen Wilkinson School in east London. They deal with a whole variety of behavioural, medical and emotional issues which might present barriers to learning for pupils at the school. We see Julie working with Toni (Year 6) and her mother Terri, who has had real difficulty persuading Toni to come to school and stay in lessons. One of Dwight's jobs is to run an anger management clinic with young boys at the school. At New City Primary School also in the London Borough of Newham, learning mentors Mandy and Teasie work to build links between the school and the community. Mandy runs a breakfast club every morning, which helps her to spot problems before they occur. Teasie outlines how she has helped Salsibill overcome some of the difficulties she had coming to the UK from France and then having a major operation on her leg. Headteacher Jackie knows that she could not now run the school without her learning mentors.

Video Series: Primary Support Staff
Release Date 2008