Report: Mentoring and befriending for children in care

A think-tank report examined mentoring and befriending schemes for children in care. It said that such schemes were able to provide the supportive relationship that young people in care sought but, while these schemes played an important, positive role in young people’s lives, the independent visitor scheme introduced by the government was under resourced and had limited capacity for expansion.

Noting the limited evaluative evidence or data on outcomes, the report called for more robust, longitudinal evidence to inform the case for further investment in mentoring and befriending schemes.