Volunteering at Charles Kingsley’s CE Primary School

On behalf of the staff and pupils thank you for making these first step in becoming a volunteer at Charles Kingsley’s CE Primary School. The whole staff values your time, enthusiasm and contribution to the children’s learning. We hope you find your time with us enjoyable and rewarding.

It is however important that each volunteer pauses to consider this Good Practice Guide.

• It is critically important for pupils to see all adults in school as role models
• The school has an Equality Scheme. This means you must speak and act at all times in a way which represents pupils, staff, governors and parents whatever their race, nationally, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
• You are not expected to make judgements about pupils abilities or behaviour. Any personal views you may have about a pupil’s ability should not be discussed to anybody except a member of the schools teaching staff.
• Your help will bring you into close contact with staff and pupils. Much of what you see in school is confidential, so please do not talk about things outside of school.
• Although it can be tempting, please do  not seek to use your time in school as an opportunity to discuss personal issues such as your child’s educational progress.
• All personal belongings MUST be kept with you at all times or locked away securely (a staff member can help with this).
• Please can we remind you that mobile phones MUST BE SWITCHED OFF and not used around children. If you need to make a call, please come to the school office and we can provide a  private space for you.

A serious breach of any of the above might lead to a volunteer being considered an unsuitable candidate for further involvement.  Obviously, we hope and expect that such a situation remains extremely rare.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a volunteer, please call the school office on 0118 9732187 to enquire about when our next Parent Safeguarding Briefing will be held.

If you would like to become a volunteer, the information below outlines the process.

What to do next?

Stage One

• Please complete and return the Volunteer Application Form (below)

Stage Two

• The Designated Safeguarding Lead will decide if the application can move forward. If yes:
  • Please complete and return the Criminal Record Checking – Rehabilitation of Offenders Form
  • Please compete and return the Childcare Disqualification Staff Declaration Form. This is required for all staff and volunteers.
• The school will apply for your DBS check. This will involve completing a DBS online form. To start this process we need your full name and email address that we will take from your application form.

Stage Three

• Once all checks have been completed, you will receive a DBS certificate. You will need to bring this to the office for us to check off. You will then be invited to attend a Volunteer Briefing (if not already attended) and asked to sign the Child Protection Declaration.

Stage Four

• Liaise with the class teacher/school to arrange suitable times to help out.
   

Finally, we hope that you will find this guidance helpful and that you will keep it in mind throughout your time in school.  We are confident that you will enjoy the experience of working as a volunteer at Charles Kingsley’s C.E. Primary School, satisfied in the knowledge that you are making a positive contribution.

Thank you,

Hannah Popplewell

Headteacher