Peer Worker Skills Bootcamp for Londoners

Skills Bootcamps for Londoners is a programme part or fully funded (subject to individual circumstances) by the Department of Education and overseen by the Mayor of London.

What is the Peer Worker Bootcamp?

The Peer Support Worker (Mental Health) Skills Bootcamp is for individuals who are either employed or volunteering with mental health lived experience, who are looking to progress into Peer Support Worker job roles. Learners will achieve the accredited Level 3 Peer Support Worker Certificate as well as receive coaching to support and develop them in preparation for a role either volunteering or employed in peer support.

The course content includes:

Creating the learning environment and its parallels in peer support practice.
What is Peer Support
Worldview and perspectives
Peer support and recovery
Peer support practice - holding to the grassroots approach
Peer support practice - technical elements of peer support in practice
Peer support practice - exploring the tensions
Working in Mental Health Systems
Supervision and Co-Reflection in Peer Support
Soft skill support i.e., time management, employability, communication skills.

Course model: x 1 full day workshop a week for 10 weeks online via Zoom) and 1-2-1 coaching support throughout the programme duration

Programme Duration: 10 Weeks

Start dates: Monthly up to April 2024

What is a Peer Support Worker?
Peer support workers are people who have lived experience of mental health challenges themselves. They use these experiences and empathy to support other people and their families receiving mental health services either in a volunteering or employed capacity. Peer support workers offer and receive support, by building mutual and reciprocal relationships and sharing lived experience to create shared learning and understanding, inspire hope and provide mutual empowerment.

Why is the bootcamp in place
The NHS Mental Health Implementation plan identifies opportunities for growth of peer support workers within the NHS with new roles across the NHS designed as part of the NHS Long Term Plan ambitions to meet the mental health needs of patients and service users. The bootcamp is in place to support the growth of demand for Peer workers who will be work ready for the roles. The peer support bootcamp equips individuals to shape the delivery of mental health services and play a role in helping people impacted by mental health conditions to build knowledge, develop skills and improve confidence to take greater control and improve their quality of life.

Who is the programme for:
The programme has three target audiences:

Employed Peer Workers looking to upskill in their role with the progression pathway onto the Peer Worker apprenticeship programme.
Volunteering peer workers currently volunteering who can be supported to develop in their role with the progression option into full time employment in a peer worker role.
Unemployed – with an interest in becoming a peer worker either as a volunteer (during the programme) or employed as progression from the programme.

All the above should meet the requirements of having lived experience of mental health challenges themselves.

Bootcamp funding

The bootcamps have limited funding available for learners in the Greater London Area and fringe areas for:

Unemployed or Volunteering - Fully funded
Employed – part funded vi the GLA, with an employer contribution of £336 plus vat per learners

London Fringe areas

As well as the programme being funded for Greater London Area residents, we are also able to support learners in the fringe area of London that include the below:

Basildon	Bracknell Forest	Brentwood	Broxbourne	Chiltern	Crawley
Dacorum	Dartford	East Hertfordshire	Elmbridge	Epping Forest	Epsom & Ewell
Guildford	Harlow	Hertsmere	Mole Valley	Reigate and Banstead	Runnymede
Sevenoaks	Slough	South Bucks	Spelthorne	St Albans	Surrey Heath
Tandridge	Three Rivers	Thurrock	Watford	Waverley	Welwyn Hatfield
Windsor & Maidenhead	Woking