This article reports on a multi–methods longitudinal evaluation of the PROMISE mentoring scheme which was developed in Somerset UK to offer a continuing relationship for vulnerable young people with a volunteer mentor. The overall findings indicate that mentoring was experienced very positively and contributed to both fostering a sense of trust and to reducing the insecure attachments of the young people. The findings are considered within a relational and attachment framework to offer a model of how mentoring achieves positive change. Implications for development of the service and encouragement for others to develop similar services are discussed.

The article describes a piece of research exploring young people’s experience of a mentoring service (PROMISE). The scheme has been developed to offer vulnerable young people a supportive relationship to assist their lives. This article explores the nature of the mentoring relationship, including how mentors and mentees view its development. Conjoint interviews were conducted which also permitted an analysis of the nature of the conversational processes between the pairs, including how they constructed shared meanings of the development of their relationship. This provided a window into the emotional dynamics of their mentoring relationships. Implications for similar mentoring programmes are discussed alongside wider implications for assisting this group of young people.