Evidence and Policy
Mentoring Guidelines and Procedures
Clear procedures, policies and reporting systems are important, especially for an innovative service where voluntary organisations and staff are learning new skills.
Different systems, in the voluntary and statutory sectors, need to be reconciled and co-ordinated, so that there is clarity and transparency for everyone.
Work is continuing on forms, evaluation and monitoring, quality assurance, and on how these ‘mesh’ with the systems of local statutory providers. In Devon, there will be common forms and procedures for the large scale trial which is about to happen.
The original procedures for the Upstream mentoring pilot were produced with the help of the project’s Medical Adviser, Clinical Psychologist, Primary Care Trust, Adult & Community Services’ personnel and Peninsula Medical School.
These policies and procedures include the following:
- guidelines for referrals;
- confidentiality guidelines and record-keeping;
- risk policy for home visits;
- health and safety (including ‘Lone Working’);
- working with volunteers;
- signs of wellbeing (for mentors and others);
- personnel policies (e.g. Complaints, Sickness, Equal Opportunities);
- financial procedures and risk assessment (for trustees); and
- community profile (preliminary assessment for new outreach projects)
The original forms were:
- registration form
- tracking sheet at three months and six months (for mentors and participants);
- research questionnaires. In the Link Age Plus evaluation, the Peninsula Medical School uses two questionnaires at Baseline (Q1) and 12 months (Q2); and
- summary reports (various reports and monthly management information), are produced, such as referral graphs and quarterly referral flowcharts – as well as co-ordinated figures for referrals across the Healthy Living Community.
The original security procedures included:
- all staff and external artists or creative providers to be police checked and wear a photo ID badge, because they are dealing with vulnerable people.
