Mental Health Peer Support Workers: Competence Framework and Curriculum
Welcome to The Competence Framework for Mental Health Peer Support Workers.
This site gives open access to the competence framework and curriculum, including a supporting document that explains how the documents were developed, their content and their application. The competence framework details the values and principles associated with peer support, and the knowledge and skills that need to be brought together to deliver this approach. The curriculum is closely mapped to the framework, and sets out the content of training for peer support workers.
The primary audience for this work will be peer support workers, and trainers, clinical managers and commissioners of services. People who use services, carers and people working in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector may also find the documents useful.
Before using the competence framework, we recommend that you read the background supporting document, which outlines the peer support worker role and includes a guide to the framework’s content.
Click to access the supporting document
Accessing and downloading the compence framework and curriculum
There are three ways of accessing the competences:
1) You can download them from the map of competences (which you can access by clicking the image of the map below). Placing the cursor over any of the boxes in the map takes you to the competences, so to see the competences associated with a specific activity, just click on the relevant box.
Click to access the framework and competences
The map sets out the structure of the framework in 9 domains, and shows how the competences relate to each other. Placing the cursor over any of the boxes in the map takes you to the relevant competences.
You can download a PDF of the map here
2) If you want to see and download all the competences in one document, you can get access here:
Click here to access Part 2: Full listing of the competences (PDF)
3) Each of the 9 domains of competences can also be downloaded (as separate documents) here:
- Understanding the values of peer support and the principles that underpin them
- Knowledge of peer support workers
- Core relational skills
- Supporting people as a peer support worker
- Working with teams and supporting people's rights
- Self-care and support
- Meta-competences
- Optional Skills - using psychological approaches to support recovery
- Competences for organisations supporting the peer support worker
The curriculum can be accessed here:
Click here to access the curriculum
Development Document
Results of the public consultation
Parts 1 and 2 of the competence framework were subject to a month-long public consultation in Spring 2020, so that stakeholders and people with an interest in the competence framework could comment on its content and feed back into the decision-making process.
The table of comments and feedback that were received, and responses to these, can be accessed here: