Key information: Glasgow City Council has advised that Pathways Coordinator roles will cease in August due to budget cuts. MCR is lobbying against this and advocating for this decision to be reversed. We encourage all mentors to write to the elected representatives in their school’s area. Mentoring continues as normal this academic year. Herald Coverage | Third Force News Coverage
Since our inception in Glasgow in St. Andrew’s Secondary in 2007 we have seen tremendous growth increasing the reach of the programme to all 30 secondary schools in Glasgow and currently supporting around 2000 young people across the city. Your dedication as a mentor has been central to the positive impact we have made on these young lives.
We need to inform you about a critical funding challenge we are facing with Glasgow City Council. They have advised that they will no longer be funding the programme after August 2024. This means that all the Pathway Coordinators will be redeployed and will no longer be supporting mentoring.
We strongly believe that our programme delivers exceptional value, profoundly impacting the lives of the most deserving young people in Glasgow by promoting equality in education.
In light of this, your voice is more important than ever. We encourage you to share your positive experiences with MCR Pathways by reaching out to your local councillor, if you live in Glasgow, and the local councillors for the school where you mentor. To help you with this we have attached a list of all the schools with the names of the local councillors and their emails. Your stories and feedback are powerful testimonies of the difference we make together. Rest assured, we are actively engaging with the Council to advocate for the continuation of the programme and its transformative effects.
Please continue your mentoring sessions as usual. We advise against discussing these potential budget cuts with your mentee to maintain the consistency and positivity of their mentoring experience. Be assured that MCR Pathways is here to support you during this uncertain time. If you have any questions or need guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Pathways Coordinator or contact our Mentor Services Team at glasgow@mcrpathways.org.
The ongoing commitment, enthusiasm, and support for the MCR programme from our mentors is invaluable, and we cannot thank you enough. We will keep you updated as new information becomes available.