Volunteering In Schools

1. Volunteering In Schools Training Session: 2013-14

2. Structure of Session • Aims & Introductions • What is School Volunteering? • Key Skills for School Volunteers • Child Protection and Safeguarding

3. Aims • To prepare you for school placements. • To highlight volunteering opportunities within schools. • To review key school volunteering skills. • To inform you of essential safeguarding information.

4. Introduction: V&E • Volunteering and Employability – The Hub, First Floor, Room 1.25. • Support: 1-2-1 appointments with School Volunteering Coordinator, Student Volunteer Team School Advisor, Contact Teachers and Project Start-Up Sessions. • www.cusu.org/volunteering/resources

5. Introduction: YOU! • Now you know about V&E, it is time for you to get to know each other! • Name • One  and one  from the last week • Why do you want to volunteer?

6. Why Choose School Volunteering? • Ideal way to get school based work experience and develop teaching skills for a future teaching career. • Offer your skills and subject knowledge to support pupils and teachers. • Give something back to the community, and receive a certificate for your efforts.

7. Our Opportunities

8. School Volunteer Role What do you think a school volunteer might be asked to do? What key skills do you think a school volunteer must have? Discuss in small groups for 5 minutes

9. School Volunteer Role • Offer advice on exam techniques or assist pupils undertaking coursework (ST & LT). Acting as positive role models for pupils and representing Coventry University. Raising the confidence of pupils struggling in class or inspire those excelling in their studies. • In some cases teaching or writing a lesson plan and putting it into action (ST & LT). • Assisting classroom activities, supporting group work and helping individual pupils (ST & LT).

10. School Volunteer – Key Skills • Good Communication Skills • “The interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing or signs.” • Crucial to be clear, professional, and understandable when talking to students and teachers. • Communication is made up of… • 55% = Non-verbal communication • Our body language, for e.g. eye contact, hand movements. • 38% = Vocal Variety • How we speak and our voice tone. • 7% = Words • What we are actually saying.

11. Group Exercise – Body Language • Get into pairs… • Decide who is A and who is B… • Person A think of a subject to discuss, maybe an activity or event which took place recently. • Person B, listen and engage with them. • Reverse the roles, only this time the listener must try to ignore their partner and demonstrate this through negativebody language e.g avoiding eye contact, looking out the window etc.

12. Group Exercise 2 – Clear Communication • It takes clear communication, concentration, and keen listening to understand what someone is saying. • Repeat the same steps as Exercise 1. • BUT whilst A speaks, person Bshould silently act out what they are saying.

13. Key Skills: Good Practice • Good practice refers to how you as a volunteer conduct yourself on placement. • Influences how you can: • Respond favourably to bad behaviour. • Avoid dangerous situations materialising. • Reduce and stop over friendly behaviour. • React positively to unfriendly staff.

14. Good Practice Examples

15. Classroom Scenarios

16. Safeguarding Awareness that all professionals working with children and families are likely to be faced with safeguarding/child protection issues at some point Recognising when a child may be at risk from significant harm and what to do about it. Children have a right to be safe from abuse, and adults have a responsibility to safeguard and protect children. Safeguarding Why is it necessary? What is it? Acknowledgment that protecting children and promoting their welfare is everybody’s business. Part of the Human Rights Acts. To prevent death, serious injury, and ensure children grow up to be well adjusted adults.

17. Emotional Conveying to a child that they are worthless, inadequate or unloved and/or prevention of a child participating in normal social interaction for their age. Child Abuse Physical Any action resulting in the cause of physical harm Neglect The persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and psychological needs, likely to result in serious impairment of health or development. Sexual Forcing or enticing a child/young person (under 16) to take part in sexual activity.

18. Safeguarding: Dos and Don’ts • Tell the child your are taking them seriously. • Reassure the child that he/she is not to • blame. • Try to be calm. • Make notes • in the child’s words. • Only ask open questions. • Find out just enough to know it needs referring to a teacher. • Try not to ask any leading questions. • Do not use your words to describe the events being discussed. • Do not take the matter into your own handsand investigate further. • Do not make promises of confidentiality or that everything is OK.

19. Safeguarding: Quiz In pairs, come up with a short 5 question quiz testing knowledge of safeguarding, child abuse, and dos and don’ts. Question Example: What are the four categories of child abuse? Then, test the pair sitting next to you to see if you have absorbed the key points!

20. Summary • Three Key schemes - RTR, Student Tutoring, and Language Register. • School Volunteer Role – raising pupil confidence, assisting in classroom activities, offering students academic advice, and teaching assistance. • Key Volunteer Skills – good communication, awareness of good practice, and awareness of safeguarding and child protection.