What we are about
FriendBee is a SEND Befriending Service that matches young people with a paid Befriender to help them access social and leisure activities. We currently support young people up to the age of 25 that have a Special Education Need or Disability (SEND) that impacts their social life, who also live in the London Borough of Richmond or Royal Borough of Kingston.
Our Befrienders are recruited, trained, vetted and employed by Ruils to make finding the right support easier for families. Our service is designed to make long-term and sustainable matches between families and Befrienders. While we help coordinate matches and manage the employment of Befrienders, parents work directly with Befrienders to establish a schedule for sessions. Befrienders are paid by families at the London Living Wage.
We also run some activities. When these are happening, we publish them on the Ruils news page.
For more detailed information about our service and available positions, click the links below.
Families
Are you looking for a Befriender to support your young person? Click the link below for more information and to register for our service.
start hereBefrienders
Applications are currently closed
Applications for the FriendBee service are closed for the summer period.
We'll reopen for new applications on 24 August 2026 — please check back then.
Tora joined the Ruils team in June 2019 to provide administrative support to the Children’s Services team. She helps with the recruitment and onboarding of Befrienders and supports the day to day running of our services for families across Richmond, Hounslow and Kingston.
Tora Sykes Children's Team Administrator
Rachelle joined as the FriendBee Coordinator in 2023. She is responsible for the running of the service. Rachelle is here to support families and befrienders from recruitment, matching and onward support.
Rachelle Taylor FriendBee Coordinator