CyberMentors
CyberMentors provides vulnerable young people with access to networks of peer and professional support both on and offline.
About You
About You
First Name
Francesca
Last Name
Cross
Twitter URL
Facebook URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Beatbullying
Organization Website
Organization Country
United Kingdom, BRY, London
Country where this project is creating social impact
United Kingdom, XX, UK Wide
Is your organization a
Please select
Your role in Education
Other.
The type of school(s) your solution is affiliated with
Public (tuition-free)
How long has your organization been operating?
1‐5 years
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Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
How long has your solution been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Bullying and peer violence poses a significant problem to young people. 1 in 3 young people in the UK experience bullying and child-on-child violence (DSCF, 2010; Beatbullying, 2011). This can cause young people significant emotional and social problems, causing low self esteem and confidence, social exclusion and effecting physical and mental health. 44% of suicides completed by under 18s are related to bullying. In addition, bullying is associated with reduced attainment at school,truancy, doubles the likelihood of being not in education, employment or training at 16 and increased risk of entry in to the criminal justice system. There is a clear need for effective intervention and support to address the incidence and impact of bullying and peer violence on children and young people.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
The CyberMentors’ programme addresses this issue through training young people aged 11-18 to become CyberMentors: developing their skills and knowledge and enabling them to mentor their peers facing issues surrounding bullying and wellbeing. These young people then become active mentors both offline in their schools and communities, and uniquely online at www.cybermentors.org.uk. Here they form a core part of a tiered support service which includes Senior CyberMentors, aged 19-25, and professional counsellors who are available online every day between 8am-2am. The critical online aspect of the programme means that support is highly accessible and widely available in a format that young people are motivated to use.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
The CyberMentors programme has a proven positive impact on several levels:
Trained CyberMentors - The CyberMentors peer mentoring training programme directly benefits young people, helping them to develop critical skills including empathy, communication both off and online and team work. It builds their self confidence and knowledge, empowering them to becoming positive role models and active mentors for their peers. When recruiting young people to take part we seek out those who will benefit most from the programme. We particularly focus on those who have experienced bullying, are from vulnerable groups or are identified as bullies themselves, working with them to overcome barriers and address behaviour.
Mentees - Bullying can be a hugely isolating experience and many young people are reluctant to approach adults with their problems. CyberMentors provides young people facing issues around bullying, violence and well being with a community of peer support both face-to-face within their schools and online. Bullying is not confined to schools and reaches people where they should feel safest, through the abuse of social media, mobile and online technologies. The critical online element of the programme means that young people can access support when and where they need it most.
Schools – The CyberMentors programme impacts on the whole school environment reducing bullying, truancy and exclusions. It improves reporting as young people have a safe way to address the issues they are facing and improves the ability of teachers and a staff to tackle problem behaviour.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
We are the only organisation which delivers offline peer-mentoring training within schools and youth settings coupled with access to online peer-mentoring and professional, accredited counsellors. There are some organisations which provide elements of our service, for example Place2Be and Childline. There is no other organisation, however, that provides a service which is any way similar to the one that we provide. New competitors would face significant barriers in developing a similar online service. We own all the technological property, which was developed in house, supported by critical pro-bono partners. We know that our model can save lives; our only barrier is scaling the model up to a size which can manage the ever growing demand of young people who need the service.
Now that you have thought out your entry, help us pitch it.
Define your company, program, service, or product in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
CyberMentors provides vulnerable young people with access to networks of peer and professional support both on and offline.
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
CyberMentors uses the power of safe social media to enable young people to support each other through bullying and wellbeing issues.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
• We have worked with over 150 schools across the UK and trained over 4000 young people as CyberMentors
• Schools and communities running the programme report a 41% reduction in bullying, a 31% reduction in exclusions, a 27% reduction in truanting and a 73% reduction in Incidents of Concern.
• When asked about the impact of the CyberMentors’ programme, 86% of teachers report observing an increase in confidence and self esteem of participants, 73% a change in behaviour and 88% a positive improvement in school life as a result of the programme.
• The young people who have been trained as CyberMentors report significant improvements in their overall wellbeing, improved attitudes to school, and increased levels of self esteem.
• Following engaging with a CyberMentor online, 71% of mentees report an improvement in their wellbeing and 97% stated that CyberMentors helped them.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
We aim to expand the reach of the CyberMentors programme, both in terms of scale and target audience. By 2014 we aim:
• To be working with 400 schools a year, working directly with at least 10,000 young people and reaching many more through their mentoring actions.
• To develop specialist CyberMentors programmes for at risk groups of young people, namely young people who are looked after, LGBT and have disabilities or SEN. These groups have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to bullying and we aim to provide them with specialised support and intervention through the CyberMentors programme.
• Through working with key partners we aim to expand the CyberMentors programme in to new countries - initially focusing on expansion within the EU.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
At least one Specialist CyberMentors programme - CyberMentors for Looked After developed and piloted
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Development of the CyberMentors looked after training programme
Task 2
Partnership building with key organisations with whom we will deliver and promote the service
Task 3
Pilot carried out with at least 100 young people
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
400 groups of CyberMentors trained over 12 months (including specialist programmes)
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
Focused partnership building with schools, local authorities and youth organisations
Task 2
Expand pool of session training staff in order in sustainably increase capacity to deliver training
Task 3
New marketing materials and strategy for the CyberMentors programme developed and delivered
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world [125 words]
Beatbullying was established 10 years ago by founder and CEO Emma-Jane Cross. at that point there were no other UK charities with the sole purpose of addressing the issue of bullying and peer violence, despite the critical need of young people for targeted support and intervention. Over the years since it launched Beatbullying has developed a model of peer mentoring, proven independently to reduce the incidence and impact of bullying, empower young people to take responsibility for the wellbeing of their peers and improve school environments. Three years ago when CyberMentors was launched, taking this proven peer mentoring model online, it became rapidly clear that this model of intervention has huge potential to reach and significantly improve the lives of young people in need. Through using online technology support is instantly available and widely accessible and in this short time over 1.3 million unique users have accessed www.cybermentors.org.uk.
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
Beatbullying works in close partnership with a wide range of organisations in the delivery of our programmes, including schools, colleges, pupil referal units and young provision across the UK. We also have developed partnerships with key corporate supporters including Google, Mediacom and M&C Saatchi who provide pro bono media and marketing, Facebook and Youtube.
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section? [75 words]
In order to reach our ambitious targets over the next year we will need to grow our staff team in order to increase capacity. We aim to do this through expanding our pool of sessional staff who are able to work flexible across the country to deliver the CyberMentors programme. Critical to it success however are the young people who as volunteers, give their time to take part in the training, become CyberMentors and support and mentor their peers.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
 | 59 weeks ago Francesca Cross updated this Competition Entry. |
| 59 weeks ago Francesca Cross updated this Competition Entry. |
| 59 weeks ago Francesca Cross updated this Competition Entry. |
| 60 weeks ago Francesca Cross updated this Competition Entry. |
| 60 weeks ago Francesca Cross submitted this idea. |
