In a heartwarming celebration of dedication and care for young minds, Chances Mentoring won the prestigious “Start Up Business of the Year” Award at the Oldham Business Awards, held on September 22, 2023.

CEO Callum Siddall says: “This award is a massive achievement for us as it represents all of the hard work that we have put in with the children.” Chances Mentoring, which only took its first steps in February, has achieved a truly remarkable amount in such a short space of time, playing a pivotal role in re-shaping the lives of many young people; “We’ve helped over 60 children to date.” Callum was eager to tell us.

At the heart of Chance’s Mentoring’s ethos lies an unwavering conviction that every child deserves access to support: “We’re here to help any child that needs it.” and that this support should be tailored to the individual.

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Callum tells us: “We’re an Alternate provision that focuses on re-engaging children, either back into education or into whatever next steps they wish to pursue. We’ve had children progressing on to college and into work. We take on children who either need more support with their education or are struggling with issues at school and need to re-engage in order to develop into their next steps.”

As a standard Chances Mentoring follow the national curriculum and provide years 6-11 access to: Maths, English, Science and PSHE as a basis of education and further offer a wider curriculum of History, Geography, Sports and ICT. ASDAN courses, the level 2 gym instructor course and health and beauty courses are also available. A QTs teacher is to hand for every child to ensure they still have access to a high standard of teaching throughout the provision.

Callum says: “It’s important to us that whilst the child comes to us to re-engage they are still participating in their education while they’re with us, they aren’t being de-schooled while they’re on alternative provision. We really push for the child to actively engage in their education and work towards this by providing support that is tailored to the individual – the student follows the curriculum to their ability, rather than to their age.”

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But its not just educational standards that are high at Chances Mentoring, there is also a large emphasis placed on well rounded individuals. “We run a mentoring program that applies to each child throughout their time with us”, says Callum, “Their educational work is very important but they’re also developed through the mentor program which helps them get their results. We put them on the path to be able to integrate, develop and change the position they’re in when they join us.”

Callum highlights: “We’re an alternate provision that focuses on developing children to get the best out of them, rather than just being a service that’s there to look after them for the day. We want all the students we work with to truly develop, progress and leave in a better situation than they came to us in, one step closer to whatever their next steps are.”

With their child-centred approach and genuine care for each pupil that they work with, Chances Mentoring are truly deserving of the recognition they have gained as “Start Up Business of the Year”, which is a testament to their devotion to often overlooked young people.

Get in touch to find out more via: 

Web: www.chancesmentoring.com  

Tel: 07471 373 329

Email: callum@chancesmentoring.com

The Oldham Times: