Meet Ross Williams: The Power of Relationships, Belonging and Mentoring

We’re excited to introduce Ross Williams and share a new development at Future Action.

Ross and I connected through an introduction from our mentor, Siobhan Garrett, on the Trauma Informed Schools Practitioner Course we both completed.

That connection has grown into a collaboration rooted in our shared belief in the power of relationships, movement and talking to help young people feel safe, find belonging and grow.

Together, we are developing Future Leaders, a new student mentoring and leadership programme within our wider RISE Up offer. A particular focus is supporting boys and young men to explore identity, challenge harmful ideas around masculinity and build healthy relationships through trusted mentoring, shared movement and honest conversations.

Drawing on Ross’s work at St David’s College, we want to add value to our partner schools and create meaningful opportunities for young people to support one another and lead with care.

In this blog, Ross shares the experiences and beliefs that have shaped his approach, alongside some well-deserved recognition for his work.

In Ross’s Words: Where My Mentoring Journey Began

When people ask me how I became interested in mentoring, they often expect me to talk about a specific programme or strategy.

The truth is that my journey started much earlier, through sport.

As a PE teacher, I quickly learned that before young people can find confidence, take risks or express themselves meaningfully, they need to feel safe. They need to feel that they belong.

Some of the most powerful moments I witnessed in sport were not about performance or results. They were moments when a young person felt accepted by their peers, trusted by an adult or brave enough to try something new because they felt supported.

Those experiences stayed with me and shaped the way I approached teaching.

Over time, my role expanded beyond the sports field. As Deputy Head of Sixth Form and a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead at St David's College, I became increasingly aware of the challenges many young people were carrying.

Through the relationships I was privileged to build, I was able to walk alongside students as they navigated difficult experiences, family challenges, friendship issues and questions around identity.

What I gradually realised, however, was that while trusted adults are incredibly important, many of the struggles young people faced seemed to be connected to something deeper.

Often, the biggest challenge was not that a student lacked support from staff.

It was that they did not feel seen, understood or accepted by the people around them.

Discovering a Different Way of Working

In 2024, I completed the Trauma Informed Schools UK Level 5 Practitioner Diploma. The training fundamentally changed how I understood behaviour, relationships and human development.

One of the most transformative parts of that experience was not a lecture or a theory. It was being placed within a small home group.

Throughout the course, this group of peers supported one another, shared experiences and learned together. As someone who has personally found vulnerability difficult at times, I found that experience genuinely life-changing.

I experienced the power of being part of a group where people could be honest, imperfect and vulnerable without fear of judgement.

At the same time, I attended professional development exploring the growing challenges facing boys and young men, particularly around social media influence, identity, masculinity and the rise of misogynistic online content.

The message resonated deeply. As a safeguarding practitioner, I could see these challenges emerging in schools. More importantly, I instinctively felt that the answer would not be found through another presentation, assembly or lesson.

The answer would be found through relationships.

I began asking a simple question:

What if we created spaces where boys could experience the same sense of belonging, trust and connection that I had experienced in my own home group?

That question ultimately became the Male Mentoring Programme at St David's College. The work has since provided the foundations for the development of Future Leaders, in partnership with Future Action and as part of the wider RISE Up programme.

A Relationship-Centred Approach

People often ask what makes my approach different. The simplest answer is that I see behaviour as communication.

That does not mean I excuse harmful behaviour. In fact, I believe a lack of boundaries can be just as damaging as an overly punitive response.

Instead, I try to understand what behaviour might be communicating.

Every young person exists within a wider context: family systems, friendship groups, school culture, community and life experiences.

Rather than simply locating problems within a child, I try to understand the environment surrounding them.

Relationships sit at the heart of that process.

I often describe myself as a relationship-centred practitioner. I am not a child-centred practitioner. I am not an adult-led practitioner.

I am a relationship-centred practitioner.

That means when young people make mistakes, as all young people inevitably do, I strive to challenge the behaviour while remaining compassionate towards the person.

I believe we can hold young people accountable without shaming them. We can maintain high expectations while creating safety. We can be curious without becoming permissive.

Most importantly, I believe meaningful change happens through relationships.

Safety Before Challenge

Another principle that runs through my work is that regulation must come before reflection. When young people are overwhelmed, dysregulated or defensive, learning and reflection become difficult.

Rather than rushing immediately to consequences or solutions, I try to create the conditions where reflection becomes possible.

Safety before challenge. Regulation before reflection. Connection before correction.

This creates opportunities for genuine accountability because young people are more able to remain open when challenged rather than becoming immediately defensive.

I believe that is one of the most important skills we can help young people develop.

The ability to sit with discomfort.

To reflect. To take responsibility. To repair.

From St David's to Future Leaders

The work at St David's has shown me what can happen when young people are given safe spaces, trusted relationships and meaningful opportunities to support one another.

Through my partnership with Future Action, we now have an exciting opportunity to take what we have learned and develop it further through Future Leaders.

Future Leaders sits within the wider RISE Up programme and is rooted in many of the same principles: outstanding relationships, psychological safety, belonging, regulation and creating environments in which young people can thrive.

The ambition is not to take what works at St David's and simply replicate it somewhere else. Every school is different.

Instead, we want to help schools explore what a relationship-centred mentoring and student leadership approach could look like within their own context, responding to the needs of their pupils, staff and community.

Recognition for the Journey

Last week, I was proud to receive a Teacher Recognition Award from the Welsh Independent Schools Council for service to Independent Mainstream Education.

The award recognised the mentoring programme I have developed at St David’s College over the past two years as an outstanding contribution to pastoral care within the school.

Receiving it gave me a moment to reflect on the journey so far and the privilege of seeing young men support one another and grow into confident future leaders.

It also reminded me of the support I have received from close colleagues, who have held space for me so that I can do the same for others.

I feel motivated to build on the positive impact we have seen, expand the programme’s reach and explore how this approach could become part of a whole-school culture.

Looking Forward

My hope is not simply to develop successful mentoring programmes. My hope is to help create a different culture.

A culture where young people remain open when challenged. Where curiosity is more common than judgement. Where empathy is valued alongside strength.

Where young people learn to take responsibility for themselves while creating safety for others.

I want to see young people who can hold space for somebody else's difficult experience.

Young people who are trusted.

Young people who understand that leadership is not about status or power, but about responsibility.

Looking ten years ahead, I would love to see these ideas embedded in schools across the country.

I would love to see mentoring communities where young men and young women learn alongside one another, share their experiences and build stronger relationships together.

Because ultimately, I believe the answers are found in connection and belonging.

Not in division. Not in shame. Not in fear.

Young people need purpose. They need trust. They need opportunities to contribute.

And when we create the right conditions, they often exceed our expectations. That belief continues to guide my work every day.

Could Future Leaders Work in Your School?

If you're curious about what a similar approach could look like in your school, adapted to your pupils, your challenges and your context, we'd love to have a conversation.

There is no expectation or obligation. It is simply an opportunity to talk through what you're experiencing in your setting, learn more about the Future Leaders approach and explore whether it could add value to your school.

Get in touch with Ross Williams HERE to arrange a free, no-obligation conversation.

Wishing You a Restful Half Term

From all of us at Future Action, thank you for the care, energy and commitment you bring to your school communities every day.

As half term approaches, we hope you have the opportunity to switch off, enjoy time with the people who matter to you and make some space for yourself too.

Have a wonderful break.

Neil Moggan and the Future Action Team

💛🤝🧠💪