Masterclasses
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. We are pleased to offer these masterclasses in London, and would like to provide them elsewhere, so if you’re interested in attending one in Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Dublin or Belfast please contact us
Prices for each course start at £129 (+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 »
Safeguarding for helplines
Safeguarding 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 course 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
How 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
The 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 could harm not only the helpline worker but also has serious implications for your service users. Based on recent research, this insightful and practical course 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
Measuring outcomes presents real challenges for the helpline sector. Funders and commissioners often demand 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
Repeat 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 course 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
This masterclass will explore best practice in recruitment, training and retention of volunteers from advertising to exit interviews. It will focus on 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
Data 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 Commissioner’s Office if they require clarification on any issues raised during the training as Helplines Partnership is not a legal advisor.
