Supporting Voluntary and Community Action
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What is bespoke training and facilitation? Standard courses can meet your organisation’s training needs most of the time, but sometimes you want something that's not on offer. When you need a training or development session that's a perfect fit for one of your organisation's specialist areas of work, or a whole team of people, bespoke training/facilitation is the answer. |
Special rates from £100 for small organisations for a limited time - click for more details |
Why is it different from standard training? Why is it effective?
For example, if you couldn’t find a special item of clothing you wanted in high street shops, you might decide to have it made (if it wasn't too expensive) to your particular requirements. It's the same with bespoke training: we help you decide what it should achieve, how to tailor it for your team's level of knowledge and learning styles, and how much time it will take. Then we design the course and deliver it at your venue. The result is a group that has increased knowledge, skills and the confidence to turn their new skills into organisational change together.
Bespoke courses are also great value for money: they usually cost less than sending several people on a standard course; they develop peer support and positive team dynamics, as well as new individual skills; and they're designed to meet 100% of your development needs rather than just choosing the best of what's available.
What types of support are available?
Anything, within reason - that's why it's bespoke! But we're not experts in everything, and some topics are more suitable to training as a group than others. So in each of the categories below, we've identified some of the most common areas that we feel are well suited to bespoke training:
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Strategy |
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Governance |
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Strategic planning Business planning |
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Trustee development Team dynamics/building Policy development |
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People |
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Equalities |
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Negotiation skills Effective meetings Service user involvement Time management Presenting/public speaking |
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Monitoring and evaluation Recruitment Performance management and appraisal Equality and Diversity
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Management |
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Commissioning and collaboration |
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Leadership Volunteer management Impact and effectiveness |
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Understanding equalities communities and organisations Partnership development / Working in collaboration Social value Compact principles |
How has Voscur's bespoke training helped other organisations?
Below are some short summaries describing how and why bespoke training was especially effective for a range of organisations:
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Strategy |
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Organisation: |
Bristol Area Stroke Foundation |
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Type of training: |
Strategic planning |
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How tailored: |
Planned session with Chair and Chief Executive to ensure this key relationship was supported by the process. Used key organisational issues identified, and individual trustee profiles, to design activities that drew on the team's assets and challenge their approaches to difficult questions. |
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Impact/feedback: |
"Thank you for using your skills to tame and focus us." "I think we got as clear a picture as we were likely to of the next two years." |
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Governance |
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Organisation: |
Avon & Somerset Constabulary Benevolent Fund |
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Type of training: |
Trustee development |
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How tailored: |
Course designed with Assistant Chief Constable to be inclusive and support trustees with a very wide range of professional and personal expertise and experience. Focused development work on a limited number of issues identified by the trustees. |
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Impact/feedback: |
"Very good day - objective achieved." "Very useful session and geared to my specific requirements." "Very informative and pitched appropriately for audience." |
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People |
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Organisation: |
1625 Independent People |
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Type of training: |
Time management |
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How tailored: |
Approached by Line Manager to discuss priorities of a range of staff in a half-day course. Used real examples from the staff's day-to-day roles as the basis for activities so they were immediately relevant, and new skills were easily transferable to the workplace. |
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Impact/feedback: |
"Easy to plan, good value, focused on our work/our issue. Very interactive." "Learnt a lot, thought things out well, enjoyed the session and trainer." "Training delivered in very professional way." |
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Equalities |
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Organisation: |
Healthwatch |
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Type of training: |
Equality and Diversity |
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How tailored: |
Designed the training with the Healthwatch Volunteer Coordinator based on their experience of previous challenges faced by Healthwatch representatives. Tailored case study activities using scenarios identified for the range of Healthwatch roles. |
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Impact/feedback: |
"Interesting to hear other views and learn about appropriate courses of action in case studies." "Very useful and worthwhile. Lively and informative." "I have attended at least three previous equalities training courses during my employment years. This was the best one." |
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Management |
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Organisation: |
Redland Green School |
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Type of training: |
Leadership |
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How tailored: |
Participants were asked to identify the leaders they admired, and these were then used to identify and discuss specific qualities in ways relevant to the group and their leadership role in school. Staff had identified key disciplinary issues they wanted the prefects help in dealing with, so role play activities were designed around these issues. |
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Impact/feedback: |
"I have noticed an increased resilience and confidence among the prefects and I attribute these qualities, certainly in part, to the training that they received from you." |
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Commissioning and collaboration |
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Organisation: |
NAVCA (National Association of Voluntary & Community Action) |
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Type of training: |
Working in collaboration |
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How tailored: |
Designed to meet a range of levels of expertise and experience within the group using different techniques and activities. Tailored towards facilitating peer support and relationship-building as much as learning new skills, as the ability to build positive relationships is at least as important as a technical understanding of partnership structures. |
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Impact/feedback: |
"Very relevant and timely training for those seeking to work effectively with other organisations." "Useful, relevant and to the point. Not too much information and well- paced." "Informative session, good handouts, friendly atmosphere." |
How much does it cost?
The standard costs (which exclude VAT) in the table below include:
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Voscur Full Member |
Associate/ Individual Member |
Non-member / Supporter |
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Income < £10k |
Income £10-100k |
Income £100 - 500k |
Income > £500k |
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1 day from |
£249 |
£421 |
£496 |
£603 |
£746 |
£952 |
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½ day from |
£199 |
£274 |
£352 |
£454 |
£504 |
£597 |
Special rates for small organisations for a limited time
Contact us
To discuss your organisation's requirements, or to find out more about Voscur's bespoke training, contact Ruth or David on 0117 909 9949 or via email:
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Ruth Pitter: |
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David Whittaker: |