Family Support Volunteers

We are looking for volunteers to support our practitioners in the local community .This could be from the home, parent/toddler groups as well as our play days and weekend breaks.

The above support can be a lifeline for parents reducing isolation, enabling peer support and therefore improving mental health and well-being.

This role might include:

• Helping to set up a room at a group.
• Welcoming parents.
• Helping parents play with the children.
• Serving refreshments.
• Tidying up.
• Modelling play in the home.
• Support with form filling or on the telephone.
• Support to access services in the community.

What skills do I need?

• Communication skills – not only in communicating with the children, but being able to talk with parents and practitioners. This includes both sharing information clearly and listening to the parents attentively.
• Decision-making skills – good judgment when responding to emergencies or difficult situations.
• Interpersonal skills – you need to work well with people and be able to develop good relationships with parents, children, and other leaders.
• Patience – working with children can be frustrating, so you need to be able to respond to overwhelming and difficult situations calmly.
• Being playful – working with children and understanding how play develops their learning, can require physical stamina and sometimes, if you are able, you’ll need to get down to their level.

When do I need to be available?