Mentoring & befriending, thoughtfully explained
Make room
for better
support.
Independent UK guides to mentoring, befriending and the work that holds a good scheme together.
Find your starting point First, what’s the difference?
Kept Company is an independent reference.
We are not the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation.
A good place to start
What brings
you here?
There’s more than one way to be part of a good relationship. Find the guidance that fits your side of it.
Give a good idea the support it needs.
From the first design decision to the end of a match, understand what a well-run scheme asks of everyone involved.
Your time matters. So does your support.
Understand the role before you say yes, and the training, supervision and boundaries a scheme should provide.
A clearer way to find the right service.
Explore the different kinds of support, who provides them and what to ask before a relationship begins.
The essentials
Two ways
to be there.
Often mentioned together. Different in what they ask of the relationship.
Understand the differenceMentoring
A structured relationship with a purpose: helping someone move towards a goal they have chosen.
Explore mentoring 02 / A regular connectionBefriending
A supported relationship where regular, reliable contact and companionship are the purpose.
Explore befriendingBehind every good match
The care around
the conversation.
A scheme is more than two people meeting. Explore the twelve parts of building and looking after one.
Read the complete scheme guideWorth a little of your time
Good questions.
Grounded guidance.
The setting changes the work
Same care.
Different contexts.
A school, a workplace, someone’s home. The setting shapes the relationship and the support around it.