Volunteer Telford

Opportunity Description

Purpose of the role:

To provide consistent, trusted support to young adults leaving care. Helping them build confidence, develop life skills, and navigate their transition to independence. The focus of this role is to be a stable, positive presence in a young person’s life at a time when they need it most.

Volunteer Responsibilities:

Be a safe adult who is independent of a care leavers family and the “care system”

Develop a stable friendship with a care leaver, helping to build their confidence and self-esteem.

Bring stability, security and consistency to a care leaver’s life through regular contact for a sustained period.

Support a young adult to develop practical life skills.

Be able to introduce a care leaver to a range of new opportunities and activities.

Know when to provide advice and guidance, and when it’s better to just listen.

Support a care leaver to make and take forward plans for their future training, education or employment. This may involve driving them to appointments.

Support a care leaver’s emotional well-being as a trusted adult for them to talk to about the challenges they face.

Help a young carer develop a sense of identity and efficacy in their own life, enabling them to take greater control of their life.

Optional – Provide transportation for mentees to and from sessions.

Time Commitment:

Flexible, based on your availability and the needs of the care leaver. May include evenings and weekends if desired. Regular visits and calls are arranged during the matching process.

Location:

Community-based across Telford & Wrekin, with occasional meetings at Darby House.

Benefits:

For some it offers the chance to give something back or make a difference to the people around them.

For others it provides an opportunity to develop new skills or build on existing experience and knowledge.

Regardless of the motivation, what unites them all is that it gives them a purpose and it is rewarding.

Open up career opportunities as you gain new skills.

Provide you with valuable experience which enhances your CV.

Help adjustment from work to retirement.

Bring a great sense of personal achievement and self-worth by contributing to the community.

As a volunteer with Telford & Wrekin Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support Service, you will be supporting children and families across the borough to achieve better outcomes.

Our volunteers bring many benefits, including different skills, diverse life experiences and an understanding of their local communities

Training:

All volunteers receive safeguarding and role-specific training. Additional shadowing and ongoing development opportunities are provided. Volunteers are matched with care leavers based on shared interests and needs, ensuring a meaningful and impactful relationship.

All of our volunteers undertake safeguarding training which allows us to safeguard the children, young people, adults and families we support as well as protecting the volunteers themselves.

We will also provide role specific training and supervision to all of our volunteers.

Where possible, we match volunteers to service users based on needs and interests. Underpinning our approach is a commitment to positive and professional relationships between staff, volunteers and service users to achieve lasting impact.

Requirements

Skills Required: Volunteers will need to be caring, enthusiastic and have a flexible approach with young people who at times can be challenging. Good listening and communication skills and a commitment to supporting young people No specific experience is necessary as training will be provided on all aspects of the role and additional shadowing sessions can be arranged. Enthusiasm and a willingness to get stuck in alongside the young people is vital. A willingness to travel to agreed locations in the area. Capability to operate a phone Driving ability is preferred but not required. If you will be transporting mentees, business insurance on the car is mandatory.

Does this role require a DBS?

Yes – Enhanced DBS required.

Supervision:

You’ll be supported by the Participation Lead and Volunteer Coordinator at Children’s Safeguarding & Family Support (CSFS), with regular catch-ups and group supervision.

Evaluation:

Your experience will be monitored and supported through regular catch-ups and group supervision sessions.