Whine from clutch.

Some advice please.

Son's 2005 Fabia VRS (67K miles) now makes a noticeable whine on depressing the clutch peddle (the clutch however does not slip and the car drives fine). I presume this noise is due to a worn clutch release bearing and nothing to do with the DMF itself. right ?

I will probably try and save some money for my son by changing the clutch plate and release bearing myself. Do you think the DMF should be changed too ?

Also the plastic shrouds on the rear shocks have come loose and dropped, leaving the strut in view. They dont appear to be leaking but I guess they wont last long without the shroud protecting them (they are the originals too). Change them ? or can the shroud be re-attached to the rubber upper mounting ?