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Pack 11: Befrienders' Training Pack

This pack will ensure your Befrienders are ready for their role. Covers all befriending roles. Includes a Workpack Befrienders can use if you cannot deliver the training session immediately
Author

Kay Curtis

Resources

Handouts, Activity Sheets & Case Studies

Experience Level Needed

Beginner

Access

Download and Online Access

Duration

3 hours

Price

£
50

What's included?

  • Session Timetable
  • Timed Activities
  • Trainer notes
  • Training material in PPT files 
  • Pre Course questionnaire
  • Training Evaluation form
  • Session extension ideas
  • Activity sheets
  • Case Studies
  • Achievement cards and certificates

Overview

This pack will ensure your Befrienders are ready for their role. Covers all befriending roles. Includes a Workpack Befrienders can use if you cannot deliver the training session immediately.

We have developed this pack, covering a three hour training session, in response to numerous requests. Befriending is the most popular volunteer role and it is vital volunteers are properly trained

This pack also contains a Workpack that potential Befrienders can use for self-study if you cannot organise a training session. It covers the same aims & objectives but obviously befrienders will not have the advantage of working with a group.

Objective

By the end of the session participants will:

- an understanding of who funds and refers to the befriending project
- identified the expected outcomes from befriending
- discussed the skills they will bring to the role
- defined the boundaries of their role
- explored situations that may arise in the befriending relationship
- formulated a checklist for getting support

WHY IT MATTERS

Why befriending volunteer training matters for UK charities tackling loneliness in 2026.

📅 Pack content last reviewed: April 2026
✍️ Authored by Kay Curtis · 30+ years' UK voluntary-sector specialism

Pack 11: Befriending is a complete full-day trainer-led session for UK charity volunteers running befriending and companionship programmes — covering role boundaries, digital befriending formats, safeguarding awareness, mental health considerations, and the practical skills that make befriending relationships sustainable rather than overwhelming.

Befriending is one of the most valuable — and most demanding — volunteer roles in the UK voluntary sector. The 2024/25 Community Life Survey reports that around 6.6% of UK adults feel lonely often or always, with significant numbers experiencing chronic isolation. Age UK research highlights how befriending services materially improve wellbeing — but only when volunteers are properly trained for the emotional and boundary demands of the role.

Befriending in 2026 also carries clear safeguarding expectations. The Charity Commission's safeguarding guidance applies to all befriending programmes, particularly those working with older people, people with mental health needs, or people with disabilities. DBS checks apply to befriending roles involving regulated activity. And the Worker Protection Act 2023 places a proactive duty on coordinators to monitor befriending settings.

This training pack equips your befriending volunteers with the skills to build supportive, safe relationships within clear role boundaries — adaptable for in-person, telephone, and digital befriending formats. Pairs with Workbook 10 (Befriending) for self-study reinforcement.
6.6%
UK adults feel lonely often or always
From the Community Life Survey 2024/25 — millions of people across the UK could benefit from properly trained befriending volunteers.
9 IN 10
Befriending users report reduced loneliness
Service evaluations consistently show befriending materially reduces loneliness when programmes are properly trained and supported.
DBS
Required for regulated activity
Befriending roles involving children or adults at risk fall within DBS regulated-activity scope — checks and safer recruitment apply.
Source: GOV.UK DBS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Quick answers from buyers like you.

QIs this pack suitable for telephone and digital befriending?
Yes. The pack covers in-person, telephone, and digital befriending formats. The skills are largely the same — active listening, boundary-setting, safeguarding awareness — but the pack addresses the specific considerations for each format, including digital befriending which has grown significantly since 2020.
QDoes it cover supporting people with mental health needs?
At awareness level. The pack covers supporting people experiencing loneliness and low mood, with clear guidance on the boundary between befriending and mental health support — and when to escalate concerns to the coordinator or specialist services. For volunteers in dedicated mental health befriending programmes, specialist training is recommended in addition.
QHow do you handle role boundaries with befriendees?
Role boundaries are one of the most important topics in the pack. Befriending volunteers often experience pressure to take on tasks beyond the role (lifts to appointments, shopping, financial support). The pack covers how to set boundaries kindly and consistently, and how to recognise relationship drift before it becomes unsustainable.
QDoes it cover DBS checks for befriending roles?
Yes. The pack covers when DBS checks apply to befriending roles — most befriending involving children or adults at risk falls within regulated activity and requires enhanced DBS checks. The pack also covers safer recruitment principles for befriending volunteers.
QIs it better to buy this pack or the full library?
Befriending volunteers benefit from training across multiple areas — befriending, safeguarding, confidentiality, working safely. If you only need befriending training, the single pack works. For comprehensive training, the £295 licence pays for itself after six packs.
RELATED TRAINING PACKS

Befriending sits inside a broader volunteer training framework.

Befriending coordinators typically pair this pack with:

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