Training

Our national training programme was launched in 2007 to help increase the quality and effectiveness of mentoring and befriending. Our training prices are banded to ensure they’re available for everyone and are structured around two levels:

• Level one is our “Getting started“ range of courses which are aimed at those who are new or have limited experience of mentoring and befriending
• Level two is our “Spotlight on“ range of courses which are aimed at those with some experience of mentoring and befriending and looking to develop their skills and knowledge

All of our trainers have extensive mentoring and befriending experience and all courses have been designed to help your project achieve Approved Provider Standard accreditation.

Read about what people have to say about our training

*Only one offer available per booking

Deal of the month – May 2013

Each month we offer a ‘Deal of the month’ discount, this month’s special offer is:

DEAL OF THE MONTH £120: UPDATED Monitoring and evaluation in mentoring and befriending**

Where do you start if you want to monitor and evaluate your programme? In particular, how do you know what to focus on that will enable you to demonstrate the difference your project is making to your service users?

5 June 2013, London      20 November 2013, Birmingham     11 February 2014, London

**When booking insert special offer code DM19. Deal of the month rate includes all pricing bands, and is applicable until 31 May 2013

Other training special offers

In response to our members feedback regarding the current funding environment, we have put together the following discount packages*:

• 20% discount for APS accredited or working towards projects (saving up to £58) Discount code: APS*
• 20% discount when 2 courses booked together (saving up to £116) Discount code: 2courses01*
• 20% discount when 2 people from same organisation book on the same course (saving up to £116) Discount code: 2del1*
• 30% discount when 5 or more courses are booked together (saving up to £435) Discount code: 5courses01*

*Only one offer available per booking. To take advantage of our special offers please enter relevant discount code on the booking form.

You can search for dates and locations below.

In house training service

If one of our open courses isn’t suitable, maybe our in-house training service is? We can deliver one of our open courses at a time and place to suit you or we could develop one to meet your exact requirements.

If you have any training related questions or queries, please contact our training department on 03300 882877.

 

All training

• Setting up and managing a mentoring or befriending programme: Part A*

  5th June, Birmingham Are you planning to set up a mentoring or befriending programme? Do you want to meet the requirements of safe and effective practice?

• DEAL OF THE MONTH £120: UPDATED Monitoring and evaluation in mentoring and befriending**

  5th June, London Where do you start if you want to monitor and evaluate your programme? In particular, how do you know what to focus on that will enable you to demonstrate the difference your project is making to your service users?

• Setting up and managing a mentoring or befriending programme: Part B*

  6th June, Birmingham Are you planning to set up a mentoring or befriending programme? Do you want to meet the requirements of safe and effective practice?

• UPDATED Choosing your outcome measurement tools

  6th June, London You know the outcomes you want to measure and where to look for signs of outcomes being achieved, but how do you know which measurement tools are the right ones for your project?  Will you develop your own or are there ‘off the shelf’ options that would be suitable?

• Safeguarding and risk management: Developing a safety management framework for mentoring and befriending

  3rd July, Manchester What does keeping safe mean within the context of mentoring and befriending? How does it relate to the organisation, staff, volunteers and service users and how can you ensure you are running a safe project?

• Safeguarding and risk management: Developing a safety management framework for mentoring and befriending

  9th July, London What does keeping safe mean within the context of mentoring and befriending? How does it relate to your organisation, staff, volunteers and service users and how can you ensure you are running a safe project?

• NEW Matching service users with volunteers and managing waiting lists

  11th July, London Achieving the right match between a service user and volunteer is critical to ensuring a positive experience for both parties and the achievement of positive outcomes.  So, what is the key to successful matching and how do you manage waiting lists, whilst ensuring that you do not compromise on quality?

• Setting up and managing a mentoring or befriending programme: Part A*

  18th September, Manchester Are you planning to set up a mentoring or befriending programme? Do you want to meet the requirements of safe and effective practice?

• Setting up and managing a mentoring or befriending programme: Part B*

  19th September, Manchester Are you planning to set up a mentoring or befriending programme? Do you want to meet the requirements of safe and effective practice?

• NEW Support, supervision and retention of mentors and befrienders

  26th September, London Support and supervision for mentors and befrienders can vary in the way in which they are implemented in practice, but are vital to ensuring that volunteers are motivated and confident in their roles. It also plays a key part in aiding retention. What is considered good practice and how have projects overcome challenges in implementing appropriate support and supervision?

• UPDATED Putting together a training programme for mentors and befrienders

  9th October, Birmingham Your mentors and befrienders need to be fully prepared for their roles.  A training programme for volunteers will cover a wide range of topics to ensure they are fully aware of what the role is and what is required of them. So what should you include and how do you ensure your training is comprehensive but not a deterrent in terms of commitment? What are different ways to provide this?

• NEW Skills for mentors and befrienders

  10th October, Birmingham What are the key interpersonal and communication skills required to be an effective mentor or befriender and how do you help to develop these in your volunteers?  What are the different phases in short or long term mentoring and befriending relationships and what strategies can your volunteers use that are appropriate to the nature of their specific  role?

• NEW Recruitment and selection of mentors and befrienders

  16th October, London Do you have a clear and effective strategy for recruiting volunteer mentors and befrienders?  Are you getting the right people to volunteer?

• NEW Conversational techniques in befriending

  17th October, London The success of a befriending relationship often relies on the quality of the conversation and interactions that befrienders have with those they befriend.  Conversations offer a rich and valuable opportunity for befrienders to make a positive contribution to the quality of the lives of the service user over the course of the relationship.  Do you know some key development approaches that can help your befrienders increase the impact of the conversations they have, and help build a greater sense of resilience and resourcefulness as a result?

• Setting up and managing a mentoring or befriending programme: Part A*

  6th November, London Are you planning to set up a mentoring or befriending programme? Do you want to meet the requirements of safe and effective practice?

• Setting up and managing a mentoring or befriending programme: Part B*

  7th November, London Are you planning to set up a mentoring or befriending programme? Do you want to meet the requirements of safe and effective practice?

• NEW Why mentoring and befriending?

  13th November, Birmingham Why should you choose mentoring or befriending as opposed to any other type of intervention? What are the benefits? What model will best fit your service’s needs and how should you justify its use in bids to funders?

• NEW Matching service users with volunteers and managing waiting lists

  14th November, Manchester Achieving the right match between a service user and volunteer is critical to ensuring a positive experience for both parties and the achievement of positive outcomes.  So, what is the key to successful matching and how do you manage waiting lists, whilst ensuring that you do not compromise on quality?

• DEAL OF THE MONTH £120: UPDATED Monitoring and evaluation in mentoring and befriending

  20th November, Birmingham Where do you start if you want to monitor and evaluate your programme? In particular, how do you know what to focus on that will enable you to demonstrate the difference your project is making to your service users?

• UPDATED Choosing your outcome measurement tools

  21st November, Birmingham You know the outcomes you want to measure and where to look for signs of outcomes being achieved, but how do you know which measurement tools are the right ones for your project?  Will you develop your own or are there ‘off the shelf’ options that would be suitable?

• UPDATED Putting together a training programme for mentors and befrienders

  3rd December, Manchester Your mentors and befrienders need to be fully prepared for their roles.  A training programme for volunteers will cover a wide range of topics to ensure they are fully aware of what the role is and what is required of them. So what should you include and how do you ensure your training is comprehensive but not a deterrent in terms of commitment? What are different ways to provide  this?

• NEW Presenting your findings: how to write and use your monitoring and evaluation reports

  3rd December, London What happens with the evidence you produce for your outcomes? How do you influence the right people? Who do you send it to? What communication tools are available? A report is always the final stage in the monitoring and evaluation story, and perhaps the most crucial thing to get right. It can also be the basis of a wide range of activities to help you influence your stakeholders, service users and new and existing funders.

• Safeguarding and risk management: Developing a safety management framework for mentoring and befriending

  4th December, London What does keeping safe mean within the context of mentoring and befriending? How does it relate to your organisation, staff, volunteers and service users and how can you ensure you are running a safe project?

• NEW Solution focused mentoring

  5th December, Birmingham Mentors who use a solution focused approach can support their mentees to make positive changes and increases in self esteem quickly. So, how does a solution focused approach work in mentoring and what is involved?

• NEW Skills for mentors and befrienders

  15th January, London What are the key interpersonal and communication skills required to be an effective mentor or befriender and how do you help to develop these in your volunteers?  What are the different phases in short or long term mentoring and befriending relationships and what strategies can your volunteers use that are appropriate to the nature of their specific role?

• NEW Support, supervision and retention of mentors and befrienders

  22nd January, Manchester Support and supervision for mentors and befrienders can vary in the way in which they are implemented in practice, but are vital to ensuring that volunteers are motivated and confident in their roles. It also plays a key part in aiding retention. What is considered good practice and how have projects overcome challenges in implementing appropriate support and supervision?

• Setting up and managing a mentoring or befriending programme: Part A*

  5th February, York Are you planning to set up a mentoring or befriending programme? Do you want to meet the requirements of safe and effective practice?

• Setting up and managing a mentoring or befriending programme: Part B*

  6th February, York Are you planning to set up a mentoring or befriending programme? Do you want to meet the requirements of safe and effective practice?

• DEAL OF THE MONTH £120: UPDATED Monitoring and evaluation in mentoring and befriending**

  11th February, London Where do you start if you want to monitor and evaluate your programme? In particular, how do you know what to focus on that will enable you to demonstrate the difference your project is making to your service users?

• UPDATED Choosing your outcome measurement tools

  12th February, York You know the outcomes you want to measure and where to look for signs of outcomes being achieved, but how do you know which measurement tools are the right ones for your project?  Will you develop your own or are there ‘off the shelf’ options that would be suitable?

• UPDATED Putting together a training programme for mentors and befrienders

  5th March, London Your mentors and befrienders need to be fully prepared for their roles.  A training programme for volunteers will cover a wide range of topics to ensure they are fully aware of what the role is and what is required of them. So what should you include and how do you ensure your training is comprehensive but not a deterrent in terms of commitment? What are different ways to provide this?

• NEW Why mentoring and befriending?

  6th March, London Why should you choose mentoring or befriending as opposed to any other type of intervention? What are the benefits? What model will best fit your service’s needs and how should you justify its use in bids to funders?

• NEW Recruitment and selection of mentors and befrienders

  12th March, Manchester Do you have a clear and effective strategy for recruiting volunteer mentors and befrienders?  Are you getting the right people to volunteer?

• NEW Conversational techniques in befriending

  13th March, Manchester The success of a befriending relationship often relies on the quality of the conversation and interactions that befrienders have with those they befriend.  Conversations offer a rich and valuable opportunity for befrienders to make a positive contribution to the quality of the lives of the service user over the course of the relationship.  Do you know some key development approaches that can help your befrienders increase the impact of the conversations they have, and help build a greater sense of resilience and resourcefulness as a result?

• NEW Presenting your findings: how to write and use your monitoring and evaluation reports

  19th March, Birmingham What happens with the evidence you produce for your outcomes? How do you influence the right people? Who do you send it to? What communication tools are available? A report is always the final stage in the monitoring and evaluation story, and perhaps the most crucial thing to get right. It can also be the basis of a wide range of activities to help you influence your stakeholders, service users and new and existing funders.