YSIS Semester 2 2026/27 Transition Support Mentor

York Students in Schools (YSIS) connects students from the University of York with local schools, to help make a difference to the lives of young people in York. Students support teaching and learning through a wide range of placements and projects, from nursery to college levels. The scheme is open to all students and helps to build skills and provide valuable work experience for any future careers. It is an award winning scheme which was first set up by students in 1994. For more information on what we do please watch our video. 

We are recruiting for volunteers to complete Transition Support Mentor placements in local schools across York in Semester 2. In this role YSIS volunteers will provide 1:1 mentoring to a pupil in either Year 6 (aged 10-11) who will soon be progressing to secondary school, Year 7 (aged 11 - 12) who will have recently started at secondary school or Year 10 (aged 14-15) who will be progressing through their GCSE studies. The weekly mentoring scheme will make use of a ready made Transition Support booklet.

Responsibilities: 

• Inspire the pupil to stay motivated, overcome challenges, and maintain a positive attitude toward their studies and transition
• Create a supportive and empathetic mentoring environment, actively listening to the pupil's concerns and offering encouragement to boost their confidence
• Work through a provided Transition Pack with the pupil, helping them to set academic and personal goals to allow them to succeed in their transition
• Provide advice and insights into the practical aspects of transitioning to or through secondary school, such as managing a new timetable, learning your way around a new school, and forming new relationships with peers and teachers

Time Commitment: 

• Attend a training session on Wednesday afternoon Week 1 of Semester 2 delivered by the YSIS Team and a staff member from your placement school
• Complete a mentoring session each week on Wednesday afternoons between Weeks 3-8 of Semester 2, delivering 6 mentoring sessions in total
• Attend a Post Placement Debrief in Week 11 of Semester 2 

Travel expenses are provided for schools that are not within walking distance of campus. 

Qualifications and Skills:

• Problem-Solving: be able to identify some of the challenges that the pupil might face and work together to find solutions to overcome them
• Be a positive role model for the pupil that you are working with
• Show empathy and patience: be able to understand the pupil's feelings, concerns, and needs, while remaining patient and supportive throughout the mentoring
• You will need to have good interpersonal skills and be able to work with pupils from a wide range of backgrounds

Benefits of completing a YSIS placement:

• It is an excellent opportunity to gain experience of a wide range of skills, including: listening, problem solving, professionalism, time management, communication and adaptability 
• All travel expenses will be covered for schools which are not within walking distance of campus
• At the end of the placement you will be able to talk to members of the University of York’s teacher training team

Application Process: 

• Application deadline: 5pm, Sunday 15th November. For support writing your application, use our Applications webpage.
• Interviews: Week 8, Semester 1
• Placement offer: Week 9, Semester 1
• Safeguarding checks:
  • Enhanced DBS Checks
  • 2 References. For information about who can provide a reference for you please refer to our Reference Requests Guidance document. 
  • For students who have lived abroad for 3+ months in the last 5 years: Certificate of Good Conduct from the relevant country(ies). More information on the process can be found here. 
• Placement start date: Week 3, Semester 2

Contact Details: If you have any questions before submitting an application please email us at ysis@york.ac.uk and we will be happy to help. 

Privacy Notice

The University of York is committed to keeping your data safe. We ask you to read the University of York Careers and Placements Privacy Statement. It sets out the ways in which the University of York’s Careers and Placement Service gathers, uses, stores and shares your data. It also sets out how long we keep your data and what rights you have in relation to your data under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The information you provide in this form will also be shared with the volunteer organisation you wish to volunteer with. We ask all organisations we work with to only use your data for the purposes of volunteer recruitment and to store your data in line with regulation.

The University of York is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.