Volunteer with the Family Help Service

We are looking for volunteers to act as an appropriate adult, providing support to a young person whilst they are being interviewed by the police (interviews are taped). It is not the role of an appropriate adult to give legal advice. When acting as an appropriate adult you could, for example, define your role as being 'to ensure that this interview is run properly and fairly'.

The role of the appropriate adult is to:

• facilitate communication between young people, the police and other agencies
• ensure young person has been given their rights both verbally and in writing and that she/he understands them
• promote the emotional and physical wellbeing of young people whilst they are in police custody
• complete administrative tasks on behalf of the Leicestershire Youth & Justice Team
• attend regular support groups and on-going training
• attend police stations to ensure that the young person’s welfare needs are being met and that they understand questions when being interviewed by police

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 requires any person aged 17 and under to have an appropriate adult with them when being interviewed by the police.

Volunteers are required to attend the initial visit with the Family Wellbeing Worker and then to provide some hand-holding support to enable parents to access the Family Help Service offer. This might involve subsequent calls or visits to young parents and/or the coordination of activities for young parents to attend.

The role of the Baby Box volunteer is to:

• attend an initial visit with a member of staff
• support the young parents to be either by telephone or home visit
• complete relevant contact forms
• support the co-ordination of activities for young parents
• accompany new parents to a pathway group or young parents group in a local Family Hubs
• listen and respond to the voices of the children and their families

The role of the community panel volunteer is to:

• chair and manage panel meetings where children who have offended have received a Referral Order
• agree a contract with the young person to include reparation to the community and what work the young person will complete with their worker to reduce their future risk

We’re looking for Independent Visitors who can spare a few hours a month to make a big difference to a young person in care.

An Independent Visitor is someone a young person can establish a relationship with outside of their foster or residential home, who can be a consistent figure in their lives.

You may go bowling, to the cinema or somewhere completely different, but the benefit to the young person is having an adult who is there for them, to listen, support and encourage them during their time in care and often beyond this time.

For some children in care, all the adults around them are professionals such as Social Workers and Foster Carers.

As an Independent Visitor, you cannot be:

• an elected member or partner/spouse of the local authority (or any committees or sub-committees) responsible for the child in care
• employed by, or a spouse of, someone employed by Childrens Social Care
• an employee, patron or trustee of an associated organisation (such as an independent fostering agency)

You would be a volunteer but agreed expenses are paid. Volunteers must be able to drive and have access to their own vehicle.

Find out more about independent visitors

What do you do as an Independent Visitor?

Would you recommend the Independent Visitor scheme?

Becoming an Independent Visitor

Apply

For more information, please contact the Fostering Recruitment Team on 0116 305 0505 or complete our simple enquiry form.

The role of the mentor is to:

• provide mentoring support to a young person involved with the Family Help Service (aged 8-18 years)
• create a positive mentoring relationship between yourself and the young person. To meet a young person in a one-to-one situation on a weekly basis for up to one year.
• advise, assist, support and motivate the young person in developing skills and appropriate attitudes, which will assist in them achieving and sustaining their personal goals. Work with young people will be individually tailored according to each given situation.

The role of the PSV is to:

• work with the parents/carers of those young people who are involved with the Family Help Service, either in one-to-one sessions or in groups. This could implement boundaries, communication and trust.
• work with parents for a maximum of twelve sessions. The work can be to prepare parents to attend a parent group work programme. PSV will always have a plan to work to which highlights areas of concern.

We run many groups including Pathway Groups (an invitation-only programme for parents and their children to attend from the antenatal stage to 2 years old). Solihull Parenting Groups (Understanding Your Child).

The role of a staff-led group volunteer is to:

• help set up the room
• support the Worker
• play with children, role modelling play, language and interaction with the children and parents
• assist the staff member with whatever is needed in the group, e.g., looking after a child if the staff want to talk to a parent, taking photographs, talking to parents and helping them interact with their children, being an extra pair of hands if a parent has more than one child
• clean toys and help clear room up after session
• listen and respond to the voices of the children and their families

We run universal Stay and Play groups at most centres and volunteers work together to deliver the groups.

The role of the Stay and Play volunteer is to:

• help set up the room
• plan weekly activities and run the group, the activities planned by the volunteers are in line with the EYFS Prime development areas, i.e., Personal Social and emotional development
• help with communication and language, and physical development
• interact with the children and parents
• work as part of a team
• clean toys
• help clear room up after session and evaluate its impact
• listen and respond to the voices of the children and their families