To ensure that we can offer a positive experience to our volunteers while providing the necessary support and development for delivering high quality services, we make the following commitments:
Children First will:
- explore the potential involvement of volunteers thoroughly when making plans
- engage volunteers who embrace and reflect our values
- ensure volunteers possess the appropriate knowledge and skills
- provide volunteers with the necessary support and resources
- treat our volunteers with respect and acknowledge their contribution
- review and develop the involvement of volunteers in the organisation.
Investing in Volunteers
As part of our commitment to providing all of our volunteers with a quality and positive experience and valuing the contribution they make, Children First has held the held the Investing in Volunteers (IiV) award for more than 15 years. IiV is the UK quality standard for volunteering and to achieve the award organisations must demonstrate good practice in the following six quality areas:
- Vision for volunteering: Volunteering is embedded within the overall vision, values, culture and aims of the organisation and its impact is recognised and communicated. Organisations understand why they involve volunteers.
- Planning for volunteers: People, policies and procedures have been put in place to ensure volunteering is well managed.
- Volunteer inclusion: There is a positive approach to inclusion, equity and diversity and a proactive approach to making volunteering accessible.
- Recruiting and welcoming volunteers: It is easy for people to find out about opportunities, explore whether they are right for them, and get involved.
- Supporting volunteers: Volunteers feel supported at all times, that they are a part of the organisation and that their contribution makes a difference.
- Valuing and developing volunteers: Volunteers are valued and there are opportunities for volunteers to develop and grow through their experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
The benefits of volunteering are endless! Research has shown that volunteering can improve health and wellbeing, increase confidence and self esteem, build skills and knowledge, increase employability, reduce isolation and much more.
As a volunteer with Children First you would be part of making a real difference to the lives of children and families across Scotland while also having the opportunity to develop valuable skills, knowledge and experience. We provide all of our volunteers with lots of support and opportunities for ongoing learning and development.
This varies depending on the role. For most of our roles working with children or families it is important to have the time to build relationships and for this reason we ask for a weekly commitment of 3-4 hours after training for at least a year.
For other types of roles, your time commitment can vary and often depends on how much time you have to offer! We are obviously flexible about this and recognise that you will want to take time off for various reasons.
No, not usually. We provide comprehensive training for all our roles and provide all of our volunteers with ongoing support. We occasionally look for volunteers with particular skills or experience, but this will be clearly stated in the role advert.
No, it won’t. We believe that volunteers should never be out of pocket for volunteering. Volunteers can claim back reasonable travel and subsistence expenses, as agreed with their volunteer line manager.
Yes, you can. Volunteering is recognised by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as a great way to gain experience for work, and studies have shown that it can be good for your health too! We always recommend that you inform your contact at the DWP of your intention to volunteer before starting.
You can find out more about volunteering and benefits here Volunteering and claiming benefits - GOV.UK
Most of the time, yes. We recognise the value of having volunteers who have first hand experience of some of the challenges faced by our children and families. We also know that having lived experience can often add to what you can bring to your volunteering.
In some instances we may ask you to take a break before starting your volunteering just to ensure that you are emotionally ready to support other children or families, but we will support you to find other volunteering opportunities if this is the case.
For most of our roles, yes. Don’t worry though! This won’t cost you anything and we will guide you through the process once you have applied. For roles directly supporting children and families volunteers are required to become members of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme and for the majority of other roles we will require you to complete a Basic Disclosure.
