Jackie Nunns gives advice on recruitment and deployment of these helpers
A staggering 48 per cent of the adult population of the UK are volunteers.
The most common fields of volunteering include education and social welfare, and over two-thirds of volunteering takes place in local, independent groups. This is excellent news for the out-of-school sector, but successful volunteering in a child-centred environment takes creative thinking, good planning and plain speaking.
The benefits to the children and staff are easy to understand, but what motivates people to volunteer? The answer is a mix of altruism and self-interest, including meeting one's own needs and those of family and friends. Some common reasons to volunteer with children are to:
* improve skills * combine with a special interest, for example art or sport * improve social contact opportunities for yourself and the children * contribute to the local community * gain language practice (other language speakers) * prepare for a return to work (parents of children starting full-time schooling).
Who can volunteer?
Volunteers in child-centred settings can be anyone aged 14 upwards, although strict restrictions apply to under-18s and those with criminal records. Volunteers working face-to-face with children must have a reasonable command of the language spoken, in order to give and receive instructions, and must have a sensible approach to working with children.
Tim, a sports science student, responded to an advertisement for volunteers which led to him running sports activities twice a week at an after-school scheme. The opportunity helped with his course and provided him with practical experience for his future, while the children benefited from his expertise.
What volunteers do
Expectations of volunteers should be as high as for paid workers and these should be clear at the outset. A Task Description says what skills are needed and what training and support are available, while an interview gives the volunteer and manager an opportunity to check that expectations are aligned.
Activity leader Task Description:
Function J To lead in the planning and delivery of activities
* To supervise children
* To maintain a safe, pleasant and suitable environment for children Responsible to
* Centre manager Length of commitment * Minimum 14 weeks, one day per week Estimated hours for task
* Three hours including travel, planning and shopping if any to deliver one hour activity session Work address
* The Nursery, Nursery Road Essential skills
* Reliability and punctuality * Confident manner * Ability to plan * Good communication skills * Evidence of expertise in activity Age 18+ Benefits to volunteer
* Interesting and rewarding work * Build on existing skills and interests and gain new ones * Meet new people * Free access to the service for your own children * Expenses paid Asking for 'volunteering chunks' of three months is more likely to lead to a long-term involvement than an open-ended situation. A short commitment is appealing and is easily renewed.
Recruiting volunteers
Free or cheap advertisements for volunteers can be placed in local and national press such as The Guardian and Nursery World, and websites such as Childworks, Time Bank and Do It. Schools and companies might allow you to advertise in their in-house newsletters. See what works for you.
The Trojans Scheme used different ways of advertising and found that their most successful conversion rate (number of interested people who subsequently became volunteers) was through holding recruitment days and advertising these at schools through leaflets and newsletters.
Volunteer Bureau staff will help to construct Task Descriptions or you can find examples on The Trojans Scheme's website.
When enquiries start coming in, respond with a Volunteer Recruitment Pack.
This conserves your time and satisfies both casual and earnest enquirers.
It should include:
* One page about the organisation, with pictures * One page about key benefits for volunteers including success stories * All Task Descriptions * Frequently Asked Questions in question and answer style * Dates for information days and induction days * Application form or other instructions * What to do next and contact details.
Philippa became a volunteer because the free places offered to volunteers meant that her granddaughter could come to the activities. Philippa was unqualified and took up training opportunities, eventually becoming a manager, then a trainer/ assessor, and she now runs courses at Lambeth College.
Timing it right Be aware of the best times to reach potential volunteers and when they are likely to leave. When planning your recruitment think about: Prime recruitment times * Parents and others connected with schools - September, January, April * Students - September for schools, October for colleges and universities.
Prime 'shedding' times * Parents - end of any term * Students - end of course * When it is cold and dark * When there is conflict in the team.
On-site success
Conducting Criminal Records Bureau checks and obtaining references are essential, but there needs also to be an induction process that outlines the basic workplace standards. Volunteers must know how to behave appropriately and recognise inappropriate behaviour on the part of others.
They also need to know what to do if things go wrong. Chances of success are high when there are: * Task descriptions and a staff manual * Proper introductions to all staff, children and environment * Prompt expenses payments Volunteers doing interesting tasks with slowly increasing levels of responsibility are likely to contribute more and for longer than volunteers whose first experiences are confusing, scary or boring.
Ensure that volunteers are invited to staff events and meetings. Whether they can come or not, it still feels good to be invited. Provide a half-hour supervision about every six weeks and a formal appraisal at least once a year. This not only supports your volunteer but provides you with ideas for the future.
Continually support your existing personnel's professional development.
People will stay where they are valued and if they progress out of your setting, they will speak highly of your project, which will encourage others to work with you.
Costs
It should not cost a volunteer anything to give their time, and expenses ought to be immediately reimbursed on production of receipts. Travel expenses and meal costs should be met, where appropriate, and refreshments should be available on site.
As a childcare provider you will have time and material costs of producing your recruitment pack, conducting interviews and induction - it soon adds up. A new volunteer could easily cost your service 200 or more, so making sure that they are nurtured is a good investment.
Finally, don't forget that staff often put in extra hours and other people go out of their way to help. Make sure you thank them all at least once a year -National Volunteer Week is in June every year and Volunteering England provides cheap resources.
Further information
* Volunteering England: National resource for volunteering www.volunteering.org.uk , tel: 0845 305 6979 * Post volunteering opportunities free of charge at www.timebank.co.uk and www.do-it.org.uk
* Nursery World/Out of School, free ads for volunteers, tel: 020 7782 3130 * The Guardian newspaper, 60 ads for volunteers, tel: 0207 713 4069 * Evening Standard (London), free ads for volunteers, tel: 0207 361 5318 * The Trojans Scheme's website provides an overview of volunteering in an after-school service including ready-made Task Descriptions for child-centred environments, www.trojansscheme.org.uk
* Childworks, specialist recruitment service for child-centred environments, offers free advertising for volunteer recruitment www.childworks.co.uk.
Jackie Nunns is a a founding member and director of the Trojans Scheme, a charity running out-of-school services in South London
TOP TIPS
* Advertisements should speak to everyone, not only those who have already chosen to work with children.
* Provide information to encourage those who may be fearful of losing income support, incapacity, housing and other state benefits.
* Hold a recruitment day. Questions are much more easily put in an informal situation and it gives the chance to advertise all of your volunteering opportunities in a way that other methods do not offer.
* See what relevant free training is currently available in your area and provide information to potential volunteers.
* Send out material to local secondary schools and colleges and make it clear what your age restrictions are.
* Act swiftly where there are problems and don't be afraid of tackling poor behaviour. Good volunteers and staff will leave if they see others behaving badly or they feel let down. Volunteers behaving badly will continue to do so if you compromise on quality for fear of losing them.
* Offer an incentive to existing staff and volunteers for personally introducing others, perhaps with a 10 'bounty' or cinema tickets.
There is no better advertisement than that given by a satisfied member of the team.
