There is a changing culture within the health service to become a learning environment', and mentoring is becoming a more popular and expected activity. However, the approach to mentoring in the past has often been neglected and individuals have become mentors without adequate training and information for the role. This toolkit describes where mentoring has come from and how it works as a positive and developmental experience for all staff. It covers the whole process from the perspectives of health organisation, the mentor and those being mentored. It offers practical tools and approaches to enable health professionals, managers and other staff in any part of the NHS to work towards the competencies expected of a mentor in line with standards in the Agenda for Change Knowledge and Skills Framework. Healthcare organisations will also gain valuable advice on how to set up mentoring schemes, running programmes for mentors and mentees and evaluating progress in the mentoring relationships.