Here you will find a range of resources on mentoring and befriending in the form of information sheets, FAQs, publications, funding opportunities, useful links plus an online search for helpful books and reports listed on our Resources directory.

The Resources directory holds details and links to a range of publications about mentoring, befriending, education and peer mentoring, social policy, offenders, youth work and much more. The resources listed can help you improve your knowledge and practices. We do not recommend or endorse the external publications listed on the directory or in the list of recently published items below. 

Find out more about all MBF publications and resources here

Recently published:

• Safe to Learn: embedding anti-bullying work in schools (DCSF, Sept 2007) - guidance documents on tackling cyberbullying, homophobic bullying plus guidance related to race, religion and culture.
• A Guide to Effective Risk Management for Providers of Mentoring and Befriending Services (MBF, October 2007) - a new guide to help providers manage risk more effectively. It covers legal issues, volunteer status, insurance, good practice models, checklists, forms and examples from a wide range of approaches (£6/£10).  Read a 2-page extract here.
• A synthesis of published research on mentoring and befriending (MBF, July 2007) - this review of published research on mentoring and befriending brings together evidence about research and practice in youth mentoring and befriending in the UK. It explores findings from academic literature and includes evidence from reports and summaries of projects (£6/£10). Read the Executive summary.
• Peer Mentoring Toolkit (Refugee Action) - the Liverpool based Peer Mentoring Project aimed to help isolated young asylum seekers settle into life in the city. This toolkit shares the project's learning with other agencies wishing to take on such a project.
• Working with Parents of Young People - Research, Policy and Practice - this book provides guidance for professionals and chapter 11 explores the use of parent to parent mentors. Published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2007.
• Making Mentoring More Effective - aims to highlight mental health needs of young people and to show the factors that contribute to a positive outcome in mentoring schemes for this client group. Published by Young Minds, 2006.
• Befriending Learners - a guide illustrating good practice in befriending projects, published by NIACE in November 2005.
• Dealing with Disaffection - Young people, mentoring and social inclusion - based on a large scale research study, this book examines the lives of a group of 'disaffected' young people, and considers the impact that involvement in a mentoring programme had on them. By Tim Newburn & Michael Shiner, Willan Publishing, May 2005.
• Mentoring and befriending for young homeless people - a good practice guide on how to set up a scheme. Published by Shelter in April 2006. 

Let us know about your resources

We welcome original works from programmes and practitioners operating in any area of mentoring or befriending. If you’d like to donate any resource to us or want to tell us about a helpful resource you've come across and would like to share with other practitioners, please contact the Information and Research Officer on 0161 787 3842 or email jeanette.boyd@mandbf.org.uk