Buddy Scheme - Information for professionals

Do you work with a young person who would benefit from having a buddy? Benefit from having a positive adult role model in their lives who takes them out for fun activities?

What is a buddy? 

An Independent Visitor or buddy, as we call them here in Doncaster, is a volunteer who visits and befriends a young person in care who has little or no contact with their birth family. The aim of the role is to be a positive adult role model and provide 1-2-1 time and space for a young person to talk, feel listened to, valued and have some fun. These volunteers are there to provide a consistent and reliable friendship for their young person, building their relationship together over time.

This is a statutory role under the Children Act 1989 and should be discussed at all Looked After Reviews and taken into consideration. Buddies are real people with real-life experiences who can help young people to experience new things and support them to be involved in activities and hobbies that they enjoy, building confidence, self-esteem, resilience and life skills along the way. The relationship between the buddy and young person is independent of social services – the volunteers are there just for their young people.

What does a buddy do?

• They meet with their young person once a month for 2-3 hours to do a fun activity.
• Offer confidential support and advice to the young person they have been specifically matched with.
• Arrange with their young person and/or carer to make visits once a month at a suitable time. 
• They provide a long-term friendship, we require a minimum commitment of 2 years from all volunteers.

It is always the young person’s choice to have a buddy and at any time they can choose not to have one.

Examples of activities buddies do with their young person:

• Go to the cinema, bowling, ice skating
• Go to the park, dog walking, play football
• Visit a local museum, gallery, theatre
• Go to a restaurant or café

It all depends on what the young person would like to do. We endeavour to match a buddy with them who has similar interests and hobbies. 

A set budget and travel expenses are provided per calendar month.

How does the buddy scheme work?

All buddies are fully trained and hold an enhanced DBS. Their relationship with their young person is independent of the Children, Young People and Families Directorate and is solely managed by the Independent Visitor staff and all correspondence should go through them. 

Once we receive a referral by a professional, we will contact the young person's carer to arrange a meeting where we learn more about the young person's interests and hobbies and what they are expecting and hoping for in a buddy. We will then match the young person to a suitable volunteer. It can sometimes take a while to find the right buddy for a young person. We do this to make sure the young person is matched appropriately to ensure a long-lasting friendship.

The buddy will:

• Meet with their young person once a month for 2-3 hours to do a fun activity.
• Arrange with their young person and/or carer to make visits once a month at a suitable time. 
• Provide a long-term friendship, we require a minimum commitment of 2 years from all volunteers.
• Offer confidential support and advice to the young person they have been specifically matched with. (Confidentiality is essential unless there is a safeguarding issue or concern)

With agreement from both parties, the relationship between the buddy and their young person may continue when the young person reaches the age of 18. 

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