Family Support Volunteer

Our purpose is to support families by providing practical and emotional support enabling families to make informed choices and helping them to increase their confidence in their parenting, access local resources and increase levels of wellbeing.

We recognise at Home-Start, that being a parent although very rewarding, can be isolating and busy. A friendly face on a weekly basis can help the family to achieve their goals.

All Volunteers will be provided with the necessary training to support families. The training fits in between school hours 1 day per week for 7 weeks with no sessions running during the school holidays.

We never want our volunteers to be out of pocket for doing something that can be so life-changing to families, we pay out of pocket expenses.

Limited childcare funding available for the 7 weeks preparation training only.

All volunteers are DBS checked paid for by Home-Start Bradford District.

Skills

Skills

You can download a full role description, including the necessary skill set. The main skills required are:

• Parenting Experience
• Empathy
• A commitment of 2-3 hours a week
• A commitment of a year’s volunteering support (most stay longer)
• Be able to offer support, friendship, practical support
• Be able to emphasise the positive aspects of family life
• Be happy to go into the family home
• Encourage the family to meet a wider network of peers and support networks.

Potential volunteers will be invited for an interview before taking part in a Volunteer Preparation Course where they will meet like-minded people and have fun, whilst learning the skills required to support families in their homes.

Once the course is complete, and references and checks (including an enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check) have been taken up, a volunteer will visit a family for 2-3 hours a week.

Volunteers will complete a diary sheet record of each visit and meet up with a Coordinator every 6-8 weeks for supervision meetings. Our training is FREE to attend and travel expenses will be reimbursed for both training and home-visiting.

More information about the volunteering role can be found on the Home-Start Bradford District Website. We also have a selection of blogs from our volunteers who talk about their own volunteering experience.

https://homestartbradford.co.uk/volunteer/#volunteer_stories