Volunteer with Leicestershire County Council

We’re looking for volunteers over the age of 18 who have an awareness of, or personal interest in social care services, to join our Engagement Advisory Panel.

The panel offers support, advice, and guidance by reviewing and commenting on Adult Social Care Engagement Plans. By working together we can have meaningful discussions, share ideas and suggestions and ensure our engagement activities reach the right people in the best way for them.

If you can contribute to discussions, share your ideas and make suggestions, we’d love you to join the panel. To find out more and register your interest please visit the Leicestershire Communities website or email ASCengage@leics.gov.uk.

Event volunteer (1620s House and Garden, and Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre)

Join two fascinating heritage sites with a varied events program including talks, craft fairs, living history camps, family activities and much more! 

Event volunteer    PDF,  48 kbOpens new window

Location: 1620s House and Garden, and Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre (BBHC), CV13 0AD

Description: The Children and Family Wellbeing Service is a multi-agency service that works with young people 0 to 19 years of age.

Volunteer with the Children and Family Wellbeing Service 

Description: Join like-minded people in the parks around Leicestershire who get together on a regular basis to carry out conservation tasks.

Conservation volunteering  

Location: The conservation days take place at many of our Country Parks

Description: Work & Skills Leicestershire operate free Employment Hubs across the county where residents can get practical support to meet their employment and training goals. As a Client Support Volunteer you could be involved in:

• assisting clients to use computers and navigate searching sites
• supporting clients with CVs
• job searches and emails
• Referring clients to Employment Support Officers for advice/input as appropriate

Employment Hub Client Support Volunteer - volunteer role description    PDF,  61 kbOpens new window

Contact: Sue Bray on 01163 305 5001 or email: susan.bray@leics.gov.uk

We’re looking for volunteers over the age of 18 who are passionate about the environment, recycling and climate change to help raise awareness of waste and sustainability issues.

The role of an Environment Action Volunteer is a diverse yet rewarding one, that will give you the opportunity to encourage positive behavioural change by offering practical support to community projects as well as providing advice to friends, family, neighbours and the wider public in order to motivate them to take action to reduce their environmental impact.

If you are interested in becoming an Environment Action Volunteer, please visit Less Waste to find out how you can apply, and for further information, please contact the Waste and Environment team by emailing wasteprevention@leics.gov.uk or call 0116 305 7005.

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.

For more information, contact the Fostering Recruitment team on 0116 305 0505 or by using the simple enquiry form

Description: Leicestershire Libraries are looking for volunteers to befriend parents and families identified as being isolated, as part of the Reading Friends scheme. Befrienders will provide companionship and conversation using reading materials such as books, magazines, newspapers and other Reading Friends resources to get to know the participating family.

If you're friendly and confident speaking on the phone and have personal or professional experience with families, please get in touch with Victoria Barton:

Email: victoria.barton@leics.gov.uk
Telephone: 0116 305 4574

Description: Governors are one of the largest group of volunteers in the country and have an important part to play in raising school standards. The role of the governing board is key to the effectiveness of a school. Ofsted (the national inspection body for schools) has noted that the most effective schools demonstrate effective leadership and management – and this includes the governing board.

School governors provide strategic leadership and accountability in schools. Governors appoint the headteacher and deputy headteacher. It is governors who hold the main responsibility for finance in schools, and they work with the headteacher to make the tough decisions about balancing the budget.

The role of the governing board is a strategic one, its key functions are to:

• Ensure clarity of vision, ethos and strategic direction;
• Hold executive leaders to account for the educational performance of the organisation and its pupils, and the performance management of staff; and
• Oversee the financial performance of the organisation and make sure its money is well spent.

Almost anyone over 18 years of age can become a governor. There are no particular qualifications or requirements, other than a willingness to give time to the role and a capacity for working with other people. Some schools may however be looking for people with particular skills, such as finance or HR. The type of governor you can become depends on your situation, however all governors have the same roles and responsibilities once part of the governing board.

Once you are appointed as a governor there is a comprehensive training programme available.

Governor Development Service training brochure    PDF,  2 mbOpens new window

There are vacancies for governors at schools throughout Leicestershire. If you are interested please contact the Governor Development Service – email governors@leics.gov.uk or telephone 0116 305 6430.

Description: Help bring great literature to life through the practice of Shared Reading! Volunteer to lead a weekly shared reading group for adults and get involved in: selecting and preparing literature, reading aloud with the group and taking lead in discussions.

If you are interested in becoming a Reader Leader, please visit our website to read the role description and find out more.

Alternatively, you can email leicssharedreading@gmail.com or give Nicky (07415 125409) or Ruth (07940 817214) a call. 

Shared Reader Leader Volunteer role description    PDF,  64 kbOpens new window

Locations: Libraries across Leicestershire.

Description: Activities may range from helping to explain paragraph use, or where a learner might put an apostrophe, to making the tea or lending a sympathetic ear to a personal problem. The volunteer will be required to sit on a one to one basis with a specific learner and for this reason, will need to have a British Sign Language qualification at level 1.

Locations:

Groby

Supporting Adult Learners in an English Class, Groby    PDF, 466kb

Melton

Supporting Adult Learners in an English Class, Melton    PDF, 470kbOpens new window

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Description: Tree Wardens are appointed as guardians of your local trees and are also a source of advice and can help you organise a tree planting scheme.

Tree Warden    PDF, 1.12mbOpens new window