Series: Secondary Support Staff, Episode : Learning Mentors, 2008,

Learning mentors at the Learning Support Unit, Plashet School in East London, support girls who have social, behavioural or medical issues. They also run an effective student leadership scheme. Bushra Nasir is head of Plashet School for Girls in East Ham, London. She is a CBE and the only female Muslim secondary head in the UK. Plashet School has developed an effective Learning Support Unit with three learning mentors led by senior teacher Stephanie George. At the LSU they provide support for girls with a range of difficulties from family problems to medical and behavioural ones.

We hear from some girls now in Years 10 and 11 who have benefited from the support of "Miss George" and learning mentors Patricia, Lily and Anke. Self-confessed naughty girls like Shama and Mira are now self confident pro-active student leaders but at one time were seriously underachieving and prone to truant. We meet Aqsa who has missed a lot of school because of her medical condition, and Regeena, a 'young carer' who has been bullied. The student leader programme at Plashet gives girls the chance to build self-esteem and exercise their peer mediation skills on behalf of the school community.