This training for supervisors of telephone befrienders, has been developed by Voscur and Age UK Bristol. It will enable supervisors to train and support volunteers.

To sign up for this session you must have taken part in the introductory Telephone Befriending session. This session was for volunteers working on telephone befriending services during COVID-19 and provided all the basic information and skills required. It ran in two parts, each 3 hours long. To sign up this supervisors course you need to have attend both the introductory days. 

What is this course about?

This course will provide you with the skills to train and support telephone befrienders.

What will you learn?

• To train your volunteers to undertake supportive telephone befriending conversations with your clients including using systems effectively and being an effective listener
• To train your volunteers to understand their role and responsibilities and be able to manage boundaries
• To support your volunteers and train them in; safeguarding, signposting, and record keeping

Who is the course for?

For those who are supervising volunteers who are helping deliver a telephone befriending service.

Level: Intermediate

Theme: Leading your organisation

What else do you need to know?

To take part in the online training you will need a laptop with a camera, microphone, and Wi-Fi. You will not require any additional software. You will be emailed an invitation with a link to join the online training prior to the course.

This is a new course and is free of charge as Voscur are currently offering free courses to support the VCSE sector during this challenging time. If the course becomes full please join the waiting list as we may be able to run the course again in early May if we can see there is a need.

Voscur has had to cancel face to face training events due to the ongoing public health situation with coronavirus (or COVID-19). This decision was taken in line with local and national health advice, and to safeguard the health of our attendees and staff. We are aware that many VCSE organisations in the city are focusing their efforts on providing and changing their services to respond to communities. For more information about coronavirus, https://www.voscur.org/content/covid19-service-users

This course is currently free – the usual rates would be: Full Member: £55, Associate Member: £77, Non Member: £94.

Voscur training courses continue to be free throughout May 2020. This is part of our offer to the VCSE sector, providing extra support during the pandemic when we know your time, energy and resources are all pushed to the limit. However if you book a course and then cannot make the training, please do let us know by 3pm the day before the course as someone else can then benefit from taking part – our courses often have large waiting lists at present. Voscur reserves the right to charge an admin fee for anyone who does not attend the course and has not informed us.