Every potential volunteer must complete a 30 hour preparation course before being matched to a family, (6 sessions) We ask you to commit to the organisation for up to a year.  Once matched you will then need to be available to support your family for 2-3 hours per week at a day and time that suits you, as well as receiving regular professional supervision Volunteers are then asked to attend at least two extra training sessions a year, run by Home-Start based on relevant topics such as Domestic Abuse, School Readiness, GDPR. 

We offer a full preparation training course which will cover areas such as active listening, safeguarding children, boundaries when working with families and child development and play.  You will receive regular supervision with your support worker as well as the office always being available for extra support and advice.  We offer ongoing training opportunities which are not only relevant for your work with families, but a great addition to your CV.  We organize fun social events for our volunteers at least once a year as well as the opportunity to get involved with our fundraising events.   We feel that it is important for volunteers not to be out of pocket whilst doing voluntary work, so we will cover all travel expenses, however unfortunately we are unable to reimburse any child-care costs

There is no typical Home-Start family.  Families are referred to us for a variety of reasons, but common themes include loneliness, anxiety, learning to play with children, helping with boundaries or routines, or helping someone settle in a new home after fleeing domestic abuse.   We always visit our families in their homes before matching to a volunteer and carry out a risk assessment to ensure your safety.  All the families we work with have chosen to have our support and therefore have a desire to make positive changes in their lives.

If you would like to work with families but can’t commit to a year or don’t want to go into families’ homes, you could get involved in one of our new group support projects, where we offer support and friendship to groups of families in one setting.  Call the office to find out more or use our contact us page.

Once you have completed the training and we have your DBS check you will be matched as soon a suitable family becomes available.  This is typically within 1-3 weeks.

A volunteer typically support one family for 3-6 months.  A support worker will then review the support and visit the family to see how things are going and discuss ongoing need.

This will very much depend on the needs of the family, but often just being a friend and providing adult company,  going for a walk, accompanying the family to a group or activity, or giving an extra pair of hands if the family have multiple children under 5.  Our volunteers can give help and advice on budgeting or planning meals, signposting or may be a trusted advocate for the family in a Team meeting.  We will carefully match your skills to the needs of the family.

Yes of course!  As long as you give us and the family advance warning.  Because we are working with vulnerable families it is vital you are able to commit to supporting them.  We recommend phoning the family or rearranging a visit if you are unable to see them due to your own circumstances.  Some volunteers are not able to support families during the school holidays.  This should be discussed in advance with your Support Worker.

We ask you to fill out an application form and send it back to the office.  We will then visit you for an interview, before accepting you on the preparation course.