Wheatley Group pledges its support to schools-based mentoring programme
Wheatley is doing more than ever to increase opportunities for young people.

Scotland’s leading housing, care and property management group has pledged its support to MCR Pathways, which runs a schools-based mentoring programme matching care-experienced young people with volunteer mentors.
Care-experienced young people often have fewer life chances, and research shows having a mentor can help boost young people’s confidence and academic performance.
Wheatley will help MCR Pathways – which operates in 126 schools across Scotland – bridge that achievement gap through mentoring as well as helping young people with work experience and training.
The Group has been collaborating with MCR Pathways for over a decade, with around 40 Wheatley staff acting as volunteer mentors in that time.
Wheatley will now build on that relationship by:
- recruiting 50 new mentors from its staff and contractors;
- guaranteeing work experience for young people supported by a Wheatley mentor; and
- providing taster sessions for young people in housing, care, legal and digital.
Holly Dillon, a fifth-year pupil at St Margaret Mary’s in Castlemilk, says mentoring has improved her confidence – and even made her excited about going to school.
Holly, 16, said: “Having a mentor has been great for me. It has really helped my confidence. It’s even made me excited about going to school.
“It’s good to speak freely to someone. We talk about what I’ve been up to, how my week has been, about family, anything at all. We both grew up in Castlemilk too, so that helps.
“It’s made things clearer for me about what I can do. I want to be a dance teacher when I leave school.
“My friends are always asking me about mentoring and I tell them it’s been a really positive experience for me.”
Brian Haddow, Repairs, Investment and Compliance Officer with Wheatley, is currently mentoring a fifth-year student in Eastbank Academy in Shettleston, Glasgow.
He said: “Mentoring is really rewarding. It’s great to feel like you are making a difference. It’s only one hour a week and helps young people by listening and encouraging them to work things out for themselves.
“I would recommend mentoring to anyone. It’s very worthwhile and there is training available before you start as a mentor.”
Wheatley has now signed a formal agreement with MCR Pathways which will see the two organisations work even more closely together.
Sharon McIntyre, MCR Pathways Chief Executive said: “We know care-experienced young people don’t have the same outcomes as their peers.
“MCR Pathways focuses on closing that gap and helping young people fulfil their potential through personalised relationship mentoring support.
“We are very grateful for Wheatley’s commitment to helping young people reach their full potential.”
Laura Pluck, Wheatley’s Group Director of Communities, added: “Supporting young people in our communities is really important to us.
“Having a trusted adult to listen, encourage their talents and help build their confidence can have a massive impact on a young person’s life. I know mentors find volunteering really satisfying and uplifting too.
“I’m looking forward to further developing Wheatley’s longstanding relationship with MCR Pathways.”
For more on MCR Pathways, email info@mcrpathways.org or call 0141 221 0200.
Holly: Why mentoring has made me excited about school
Teenage Holly Dillon says having a mentor has made her more excited about going to school.
Holly, 16, is part of MCR Pathways’ school mentoring programme and has been mentored at St Margaret Mary’s school in Glasgow for the past 18 months.
She meets her mentor for 45 minutes every week, and they chat about anything and everything.
And the fifth-year pupil the teenager says the experience has made a world of difference.
Holly said: “Mentoring has been great for me. It’s great to have someone to talk to.
“My mentor Louise always asks me how my day or my week has been, and we’ll talk about family, dancing, anything at all.
“We both like colouring in, for example, and we play the card game Uno as well. We both grew up in Castlemilk too, so that helps. It’s good to have shared interests.
“I was a bit worried about saying the wrong thing, but a mentor is just someone to talk to. If you have something on your mind you can speak freely, and it doesn’t go anywhere else. It’s really good that way.
“Mentoring has helped my attendance. It’s even made me excited about going to school.”
Wheatley has been collaborating with MCR Pathways – which runs a schools-based mentoring programme matching care-experienced young people with volunteer mentors – for over a decade, with around 40 Wheatley staff acting as volunteer mentors in that time. Research shows having a mentor can help boost young people’s confidence and academic performance.
Holly says mentoring has helped her see her future more clearly.
She added: “Mentoring has made things clearer for me about what I can do. I go to college to study hairdressing twice a week, and I volunteer at Castlemilk Youth Complex as well.
“I’ve had to be quite responsible. My mum is in a wheelchair. I have four siblings all under the age of 11 and I help around the house, cooking and baking.
“But having a mentor has really helped my confidence and inspired me to be creative. I want to be a dance teacher when I leave school.
“I’m always talking about mentoring to my friends and they ask me about it and I tell them it’s been a really positive experience.”
Image caption: From left, Wheatley mentor Brian Haddow; Sharon McIntyre, Chief Exec of MCR Pathways; Laura Crumlish and Lynne Mitchell of Wheatley Foundation; Holly Dillon; City Building mentor Louise Allan; Mhairi Taggart of MCR Pathways; and Wheatley mentor Kevin Smith.
Thursday, January 16, 2025