This course is based on the article A Relational Approach to Mentoring Child and Youth Care Practitioners by van der Westhuizen and Garfat as published in CYC-Online issue 303. Van der Westhuizen and Garfat elaborates on Garfat’s groundbreaking research and work on Daily Life Events in child and youth care practice, to create a mentoring approach for child and youth care practitioners that is aligned with the principles of Relational CYC Practice. The approach is therefore the application of CYC theory to mentoring, rather than the use of a generic mentoring model to support CYC practitioners, and this makes it a unique and specific mentoring model for Child & Youth Care practitioners.

CYC practitioners are mentors to the children and young people with whom they work, and depending on their role in the organisation may also have a mentoring role towards other practitioners. The course will be useful to all CYC practitioners, as it strongly reinforces a Relational CYC Approach in practice with children as well as with other practitioners.

The course is provided fully online via a series of 10 Zoom sessions of 90 minutes. These sessions are presented weekly for 10 weeks, so that participants have time to integrated their learning into practice between sessions. Participants also engage in preparation work (reading and reflection) before and after each session. The course follows a modern adult learning design, making use of the flipped classroom technique whereby content is consume in preparation for each session, so that sessions can focus on application and integration of learning. The approach is that each participant is an autonomous learner who takes full responsibility for their own learning experiences, and utilise the course activities to enhance their knowledge, skills and competence.

This course was recently launched very successfully through the training of CYC mentors and facilitators in Nigeria. The online platform makes it possible to bring together participants from anywhere in the world and reduces the usual costs associated with travelling, accommodation and venue expenses.

The course can be attended by individual participants, or can be arranged for the staff of a particular organisation.

This course involves considerable self-study combined with facilitated workshop sessions and takes place over the course of about two months. It is facilitated online via Zoom and is approved by SACSSP for 24 CPD points for child and youth care practitioners.

If you are interested in learning more about this course and receiving promotional material about Relational CYC Mentoring, you can sign up now for more information without any obligation. You will not be spammed with a lot of e-mails, but can receive more information and remain up to date with the planning of the next workshop.