Volunteer for Home-Start
By volunteering just a few hours each week (for as little as four weeks) you can transform the lives of children and parents in local communities across the Staffordshire Moorlands.
Could you become a volunteer?
Without volunteers we wouldn’t be able to do what we do!
We aim to recruit volunteers from all walks of life who have various life experiences and cultural backgrounds and who are aged over 18.
By volunteering within Home-Start, sharing your knowledge and experience, you can help to transform the lives of children and parents in your community and you will be joining a welcoming, friendly team.
You can gain hands on experience by working with and supporting families facing a range of issues such as mental or physical health, parenting, finances, relationships, loneliness and isolation. Further learning and development opportunities are available, and you can gain experience that could help you to develop or change your career, as we can provide references after six months of active volunteering.
Home-Start Staffordshire Moorlands is committed to equality of opportunity and diversity and the safeguarding of children and vulnerable persons.
You will be joining a network of over 13,500 trained volunteers across the UK. We have a range of opportunities available, depending on the time you have to commit and your skills and experience.
Most importantly, you can enjoy a real sense of doing something worthwhile and being part of your community in a positive way.
How to become a Volunteer
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact us. We will arrange for a member of staff to call you or come to see you at home for an informal chat. This will give us chance to explain the range of volunteering roles and it will give you the chance to ask any questions you may have. Alternatively, if you think that volunteering is definitely for you, you can fill in our volunteer application form.
Friendliness and a caring attitude are essential, as well as an understanding of the pressures of parenting. We value people who don’t judge others, people who will treat a parent or carer as an equal.
Our volunteers need to be over 18 years of age, reliable, able to respect confidentiality, and able to commit to the role. We offer high-quality training and, because we invest in you, you need to see this not just as a short-term role but something longer term – this doesn’t mean that you need to be available to give your time every week; we have some volunteer opportunities that enable you to dip in and our of volunteering for blocks of 4 – 6 weeks.
In order to safeguard our volunteers and families we require a DBS check. If you have a criminal record, it won’t necessarily stop you from becoming a volunteer; we’ll consider each case individually.
Do you have what it takes to be a Home-Start volunteer? Are you keen to help parents and children in your community? Please download an application form to start your journey transforming lives in your area.
Safeguarding Policy
At Home-Start we believe that every child has the right to protection from all forms of abuse or harm. The overall purpose of this policy and its associated procedures is to protect the welfare of children and young people using and receiving the services Home-Start provide. Home-Start is committed to reviewing the policy annually.
Scope of the Policy
This document sets out the responsibilities of all those who work for Home-Start, including trustees, employees, volunteers, consultants/associates, self-employed contractors, agency staff, students and those working pro bono for Home-Starts (these will be referred to throughout the policy as ‘staff’).
This policy outlines the shared responsibility we have across Home-Start to protecting children, aged 0-18 years that we encounter and work with. This is the overarching policy regardless of where in the UK your Home-Start is located.
Volunteer stories
Volunteer to Full-Time Employment
Katie joined Home-Start Staffordshire Moorlands as a home-visiting volunteer in January 2021, having previously worked in the service sector. With...
Volunteer
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Ex-supported mum and current volunteer
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Ways of Volunteering
Home-Visiting Volunteers
Home-Visiting Volunteers offer friendship, guidance and both practical and emotional support to a family with young children or who are expecting a baby.
They visit a family for around 2 – 3 hours per week and use their experience and understanding of family pressures to provide support according to the needs of that family.
They help parents to give their children the best start in life that they can, and help the family to become more confident, resilient and independent.
Telephone Befriending Volunteers
Telephone Befriending Volunteers offer friendship, guidance and both practical and emotional support to a family with young children or who are expecting a baby.
They support the family over the telephone, using their experience and understanding of family pressures to provide support according to the needs of that family.
They help parents to give their children the best start in life that they can, and help the family to become more confident, resilient and independent.
Targeted Support Volunteers
Targeted Support Volunteers support in the short-term to help families who are struggling with one of the following, six areas – finance, life skills, housing, child behaviour, the home environment or special educational needs and disabilities.
Volunteers have a particular interest, skills or life experience in one of these areas and they work with a family on a weekly basis for 4 – 6 weeks to offer focussed suport in this area.
This role suits people who are unable to commit to on-going, weekly support, but who have valuable skills to offer others in our community.
Support might be face-to-face or it might be over the telephone.
Rapid Response Volunteers
Rapid Response Volunteers are volunteers who are able to provide one-off support. This might be help picking up and delivering food or medicine, transporting a family to an appointment or helping a family access a service – whatever immediate help a family need.
Volunteers for our Craft & Play Groups
Craft & Play Group Volunteers support our Group Activity Leader to deliver groups for parents, carers, babies and children across the district. Volunteers may choose to support with all aspects of the role, or may help with a specific group or activity, helping set up the venue, helping prepare refreshments or helping parents and children socialise with others.
Other ways of sharing your time and skills
As well as volunteers who provide direct support to families, we also have volunteers who use their skills, experience and time to help us in other ways.
We have volunteers who provide IT support, administrative support, general maintenance in the office, volunteers who organise and run our clothing store for families and people who fundraise for us .
If you have particular skills to offer, an idea of how you could help us, or you are interested in joining our Trustee Board, please get in touch or take a look at our current vacancies section.
Training to be a Home-Start Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer
Our volunteers undertake a course of preparation and complete a DBS check before being matched with a family or starting to support one of our groups. We run courses throughout the year, either face-to-face at our Leek office or remotely, via Zoom. Please contact us to find out when our next course is running.
Our training covers everything our volunteers need to know about supporting families. Topics include listening skills, depression, disabilities, confidentiality, safeguarding, commitment & boundaries, values & attitudes and local services. Outside speakers deliver some of the sessions and we provide case studies. There is also the opportunity to meet existing volunteers, as well as other new volunteers.
Volunteers are supervised and fully supported throughout their time with us by our Family Support Volunteer Coordinators and on-going developmental training is available.
Policies for Volunteers
The following section contains the policies that volunteers are required to read, sign & return to us. Please use the buttons below to download.
Volunteer Policy Download Section
Please use the following buttons to access our:
- Safeguarding Code of Conduct
- Safeguarding and Protecting Children Policy
- Safeguarding and Protecting Adults at Risk Policy
- GDPR, Data Protection and Confidentiality Policy
- Digital and Social Media Policy
- Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy
- Health and Safety Policy (parts relevant to volunteers)
- Information for Volunteers on Transporting Families
Volunteer testimonials
Although ‘retired’, I have a busy life and like to be organised and involved. Home-Start enables me to utilise my experiences and knowledge gained as a parent to help those that are struggling with life and just need someone who is not part of this to help them through. It’s important to me to commit to something and Home-Start gives this to me.
Knowing I am helping a family is a boost to my self-esteem and gives me a feel-good factor. It’s been good to build rapport and trust at our meetings, usually the same day and time each week. Helping a family for no monetary gain, just giving your time is good for my mind set and gives a personal reward all of its own.
I have met families I would never have been in contact with. I have met lots of wonderful children and parents. You do not realise how hard it is for some people.
Become a Home-Start Volunteer Today
Home-Start’s team of trained volunteers make sure a child’s early years count. By volunteering just a few hours each week you can transform the lives of young children and their parents in your community.