This guide will be useful for anyone running groups for children from early years through to teenagers, in a wide range of statutory and voluntary settings.
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Volunteer - get involved
Pyramid welcomes volunteers from all sorts of backgrounds. In any one year, we are likely to have over 1,000 volunteers of all ages, levels of education, ability, ethnicity, language, culture and gender.
‘I noticed that not only did the children become more confident, but I did too. I have never worked with children before but I have now realised that this is something I would like to do when I finish my degree.’ Pyramid club leader, Hackney
Whatever your skills and experiences of working with young children, our complete training programme will fully prepare you for understanding and working with children in Pyramid clubs. So, if you have enthusiasm, a sense of fun and are able to play, listen, laugh and above all, respect children for their individuality, Pyramid could be just the volunteering opportunity for you.
What do volunteers do?
As a volunteer club leader, you will work in a small team to plan and run activity groups for children and young people who are between five and fourteen years old. The children have been identified by their schools as needing a boost to their confidence and self-esteem.
Pyramid clubs run after school for an hour and half and involve fun games, cooking, circle time discussion and art and craft activities. They take place once a week for ten weeks during the school term. Full training is provided and out-of-pocket expenses paid.
What you can get out of it
Volunteer club leaders are central to the work of Pyramid. We could not deliver our services to young children without your support. In return, you will get:
- free training which is an excellent introduction to play work and therapeutic activities with children
- a real sense of achievement, watching children grow in confidence and feel better about themselves
- hands-on experience in childcare
- experience of working as part of a team
- support from the school and the local Pyramid co-ordinator
- all out-of-pocket expenses paid
- references (on request)
- information about further opportunities to work with children and young people (on request)
- the option to undertake some accredited training.
What is expected of me?
- a minimum of ten weeks commitment
- attendance at pre-club training sessions (usually three days)
- working as part of a team to deliver nine sessions plus one club outing
- additional time for planning activities and keeping accounts of the club expenses
- providing feedback on each child at the end of each club
- attendance at a post club meeting to discuss the children’s progress
- building relationships with parents and carers
- commitment to equal opportunities and diversity
- abide by Pyramid’s child protection and confidentiality guidelines
- agreement to an Enhanced Disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau
- reliability, honesty, punctuality, flexibility and a sense of humour!
Student placements
Pyramid has arrangements with secondary schools in many areas to offer work placements for students on relevant courses. In some cases, acting as a Pyramid volunteer will enable you to gain points towards your course total – please speak to your university or college placements supervisor to find out more. If your college or university is not already aware of Pyramid, please let your local Pyramid co-ordinator know and he or she can speak to the placements supervisor about formalising arrangements for volunteering.
Even if your course does not require you to complete a formal placement, volunteering for Pyramid will provide a useful reference when you later apply for jobs. Students from all sorts of disciplines have become successful Pyramid volunteers.
Employee volunteering
Many organisations encourage their employees to volunteer as part of the organisation’s commitment to give something back to their local communities. Pyramid is a wonderful opportunity to work with children in local schools, often in the more deprived areas of the country.
In order to take part, volunteers would need to be at their designated school by 3.00pm one day a week, for up to twelve weeks, during term-time only. This may involve leaving work a little early or rearranging shifts. Your local Pyramid project will try to match you up with a school near your workplace or your home, whichever is most convenient for you and your employer. Preparation and planning for your club can take place outside of work times, at a time and place suitable to you and the other members of your club team.
The benefits to employees are the same as for all volunteer club leaders, ie
- free training which is an excellent introduction to play work and therapeutic activities with children
- a real sense of achievement, watching children grow in confidence and feel better about themselves
- hands-on experience in childcare
- experience of working as part of a team
- support from the local Pyramid co-ordinator
- all out-of-pocket expenses paid
- references (on request)
- information about further opportunities to work with children and young people (on request)
The benefits to employers include:
- raising the profile of the organisation in the local community, particularly with schools and local parents
- opening up additional opportunities to work with schools or other children’s or community projects
- free training for staff on issues that could impact on their existing work like health and safety, first aid and child protection
- an opportunity for staff to further develop workplace skills like team working, negotiation, planning etc
- challenging employees by exposing them to new situations and a very diverse range of people and situations
- improving employee morale and loyalty through allowing staff to take part in outside ventures that they feel strongly committed to
- providing a focus for local fundraising or sponsorship.
Details of existing local Pyramid projects can be found in the section Pyramid in the UK. However, it may be possible to set up a new Pyramid project to provide volunteering opportunities with support from a local employer. Please contact us for further information on employee volunteering.
Get involved
If Pyramid sounds appealing and you would like to know more about volunteering locally, please contact us. A member of the development team will be able to give you the details for your local co-ordinator, who will tell you about training dates and which schools are involved in your area, as well as send you an application pack.
In order to work with children in Pyramid clubs you will need to complete an application form, provide the names of some referees, attend a short interview and undertake an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau disclosure (you can read more about CRBs on the Criminal Records Bureau website). Having a criminal conviction will not automatically prevent you from becoming a Pyramid club leader - your local co-ordinator will be able to advise you on this.
Working with children
Flyer
For more information about volunteering with Pyramid, including the benefits and what is expected of a volunteer, please download the volunteering flyer:
Local contacts
