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Many barriers to health and emotional well‐being for children are prevalent within inner‐city communities, and often result in negative consequences for education. Health promotion strategies have previously cited mentoring schemes as interventions through which targeted pastoral support can be effectively provided to children. This paper draws on detailed focus group interviews in order to evaluate SHINE ‐ Make Every Child Count, a student‐led charity operating five mentoring programmes across the London boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth. Following content analysis, this paper identifies six themes associated with mentor support: rapport; emotional well‐being and development; social behaviour; enabling; emerging ambition; and attitudinal development. Results show participant children have gained considerable enjoyment from mentor support. Successful friendships are built and emotional well‐being supported, with children actively including mentors as part of their support network. Children recognise the impact of a mentor on relationships with peers, behaviour within the classroom and social responsibility, in addition to direct educational support. Children also show an increased interest in learning, and evidence of considering ‐ often for the first time ‐ their own future aspirations. Findings demonstrate the impact of the mentoring programmes, as perceived by participant children. Evaluation can be used to inform future development of the programmes, as well as expansion to further schools, with the organisation working towards achieving long‐term sustainability.