Masterclasses

Our Masterclasses are designed for helpline managers and service coordinators to enable you to develop policies and provide support and guidance for your helpline team.

As the membership body for helplines in the UK and Ireland, Helplines Partnership is in a unique position to listen to the needs of the sector and to respond accordingly.

Prices for each course start at £175 (+VAT) for members.

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SKIP TO THESE SECTIONS:

» Safeguarding for Helplines »
» Responding to Suicidal Callers »
» Vicarious Trauma - having a healthy workplace »
» Measuring Outcomes in the Helpline Sector»
» Managing Repeat Callers »
» Working with Volunteers »
» Data Protection and your Helpline »

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Safeguarding for Helplines

programmeSafeguarding issues are becoming more prevalent within the helpline sector. No matter what kind of service you deliver, everyone has a duty to safeguard the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk of harm or abuse. This Masterclass will help you understand key safeguarding terms in relation to the helpline sector and what needs to be included within a helpline safeguarding policy. It will help build confidence to implement your policy and offer guidance about when confidentiality may need to be broken with or without consent.

Learning Objectives:

  • understand the terms Child Protection and Safeguarding
  • identify what safeguarding means to helplines
  • explore why a helpline needs to have a robust safeguarding policy
  • identify what needs to be included in a safeguarding policy
  • explore how to implement a safeguarding policy


Responding to Suicidal Callers

programmeHow to respond to service users who present with suicidal thoughts or plans is a common concern for helplines. It is essential that your service is equipped to identify those at risk and that your team know how best to support them. This Masterclass will explore how to identify risk, practice different techniques and set up internal processes, policies and supervision. Service managers and co-ordinators attending this course will leave with greater knowledge, confidence and awareness alongside practical skills and actions to take back to their helpline.

Learning Objectives:

  • understand suicide in context
  • explore what a suicidal caller is to your service
  • assess risk and create a strong policy for suicidal service users
  • identify what support your call handlers may need
  • explore different techniques for call handlers including the opportunity for practice
  • identify actions to take back to your service


Vicarious Trauma - having a healthy workplace

programmeThe accumulative effect of handling emotional and distressing contacts can negatively impact on a person's social behaviours, emotional wellbeing, physical health, behaviour and cognitive reasoning. If unaddressed vicarious trauma (VT) could harm not only the helpline worker but also has serious implications for your service users. Based on recent research, this insightful and practical Masterclass will explore the implications of compassion fatigue research within helplines, helping you to establish and review strategies and procedures to effectively manage and address the personal and professional consequences.

Learning Objectives:

  • explore research and understand the implications to your service
  • understand key risk factors and impact to your service, call handlers and service users
  • explore how the severity and complexity of call content contributes to VT
  • explore how recruitment, training and management can reduce the risk of VT
  • develop a risk matrix for your service
  • learn how to identify and reduce those at risk of burnout
  • explore different approaches to supervision and debriefing


Measuring Outcomes in the Helpline Sector

programmeMeasuring outcomes presents real challenges for the helpline sector. Funders and commissioners often require evidence to demonstrate the impact your helpline will have on potential service users. Whether you are a new service or an established service this Masterclass will provide an opportunity to explore how to evaluate and measure outcomes in different ways within the context of a helpline service. Using case studies, theoretical frameworks and examining current practices you will gain greater understanding and insight of the potential scope and impact effective outcome monitoring has.

Learning Objectives:

  • explore why funders like outcomes
  • identify the differences, scope and measurement of outcomes, outputs, aims and indicators
  • examine how your service measures outcomes against proven research methods
  • how to evaluate whether your service is delivering its objectives
  • explore the available tools and methods to collate data
  • discuss the challenges facing helplines when measuring outcomes


Managing Repeat Callers

programmeRepeat callers to a helpline can present serious challenges for both helpline workers and the service itself, absorbing time and resources. This Masterclass will explore how to identify, respond and manage repeat callers within your helpline. The Masterclass covers strategies for managing effective and consistent responses and monitoring the impact on your service.

Learning Objectives:

  • how to identify repeat callers within your service
  • explore the impact of repeat callers on call handlers, managers and the service
  • identify strategies, skills and techniques for managing repeat callers
  • discuss whole team approach in responding to repeat callers
  • examine responding to repeat callers in practice from negotiation to legal action
  • how to support your team to ensure consistency and minimising emotional impact


Working with Volunteers

programmeThis Masterclass will explore best practice in recruitment, training and retention of volunteers from advertising to exit interviews. It focuses on the management of volunteers and organisational expectations and, the legal aspects of a volunteer agreement and volunteer rights. The Masterclass will include opportunities for discussion and sharing of ideas, as well as some practical resources to take away with you.

Learning Objectives:

  • explore best practice in recruitment, training and retention of volunteers
  • explore the management of volunteers and expectations from both volunteer and organisation
  • understand the legal obligations for your service and the volunteer's rights
  • identify the scope and inclusions of a volunteer agreement and relating policies


Data Protection and your Helpline

programmeData Protection is a critical concern to all helplines. Your service needs to ensure and demonstrate compliance to current legislation. This Masterclass provides an overview of how the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies to helpline work. Through exploring best practice in data sharing, participants will gain a clear understanding of the data protection principles, the lawful basis for data processing and the implications this has on their service thereby helping them comply with the legislation.

Learning Objectives:

  • explore what data means in terms of the law
  • identify Data Protection legislation which applies to your helpline
  • understand GDPR and how this applies to your service
  • understand the six data protection principles and how they relate to your service
  • understand good practice in data sharing
  • identify how to process and manage subject access requests
  • explore examples of data breaches to identify mistakes, mitigations and learning outcomes

Please note: Participants are advised to contact the Information Commissioners Office if they require clarification on any issues raised during the training as Helplines Partnership is not a legal advisor.


Event Cancellation and Non-Attendance Policy
  • Your Measuring Outcomes Masterclass was brilliant. We changed a lot of what we do at the charity because of it. We have brought in new systems to our anonymous helpline and the trustees are really happy with how it further professionalises the charity. The changes we made because of what we learnt on the course has made us better able to support the people we are there to support.
    Mark Brooks, Chair of Trustees
    The ManKind Initiative
  • First class training. I learn so much each time and come back encouraged to take on board and put into practice what I've learned.
    Kevin Lonergan, Manager
    Sightline Vision
  • I found the course very helpful in understanding and identifying the symptoms of Vicarious Trauma and the impact that this could have on the service we offer to parents and families. It was also helpful to look at different ways we can support Helpline line staff and what other things we can put in place to avoid this happening.
    Bereavement Support Services Manager
    Sands - Stillbirth and neonatal death charity
  • Your session added hugely to the event, making it an enormously positive day overall. Your session .. was pitched perfectly. Your delivery was wonderful and very respectful... We very much appreciated how you incorporated our ‘real life’ boundary issue into your presentation and for the advice you have given us on the best way forward with this.Thank you so much again for meeting the brief so wonderfully and for being so flexible on the day. I know that the volunteers very much valued ‘your professionalism’ and experience in this field. They will have taken a huge amount away from your session which I hope they will begin to apply in positive ways to themselves and their approach to calls.
    Helpline Co-ordinator
    The Compassionate Friends
  • The expert training and guidance given to the new members of our Advice Team by Helplines Partnership has been invaluable.
    Head of Telephone and Compliance Centre Services
    Migrant Help
  • They (call handlers) are already reducing their call time and being much more confident in ending calls.
    Programme Manager
    NICE - National Institute for Clinical Excellence
  • The team have all commented on how much they enjoyed it and how valuable it was.
    Customer Services Manager
    British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
  • Your training was great - the volunteers were all really engaged and enthusiastic throughout - and you really demonstrated what we wanted from them excellently.
    Zainab Lantan
    Carers UK
  • The course met my expectations and more. It has opened my eyes to how I communicate with people.
    Helpline Worker
    Magdalene Group
  • I have attended a number of Helplines Partnership’s training courses. The training is always excellent and I really gain so much from meeting the other helplines too. The membership is really varied from small local helplines to the big nationals. We all bring lots of experience and ideas and I always go away from the course thinking “I hadn’t thought of doing it that way” or “I can use that idea on my helpline”.
    Samantha Lavendar
    Autism Concern
  • The trainer was excellent and paced the day really well with a good balance of presentation, group work and time to answer questions. It was great to have such an expert to discuss ideas with!
    Suzannah
    Winston's Wish
  • Very comprehensive and informative data protection training. De-mystified the jargon and helped me to translate an otherwise complex area. I can now clearly identify adaptations necessary for our Helpline and I'm confident that we'll now be future proof for pending changes to legislation.
    Michelle
    GamCare
  • Everybody gets what they need from the day (and then some) and it is always pitched just right. (The Trainer) is clear, supportive and very knowledgeable...the training was of such fantastic quality!!
    Siobhan
    Magdalene Group
  • It was a most beneficial session. I feel that it has allowed us all to look at a different way of thinking in how we should measure outcomes.
    Muriel Bailey
    Parenting NI
  • I just wanted to say how useful I found the training course – I’m very new to the helpline here at NASS, and found a lot of practical tools and processes that will hopefully hold me in good stead. I thought the trainer, Rachael, was very engaging and knowledgeable, and I really enjoyed the mix of people in the group.
    Amardeep Gill
    NASS
  • The room was buzzing with enthusiasm over data protection!!!!! Sonia was brilliant in allowing us to discuss and investigate our own systems and then steer it back around to the planned agenda.
    Steven Stockley
    Fosterline
  • The training was excellent. [The Trainer's] helpline experience really enriches the learning.
    Clodagh Crowe
    Rural Support