Join the team!
Become a volunteer
We believe that volunteers provide a valuable contribution to the school’s work, and that they enrich the school through the breadth of their knowledge and experience. We are committed to using volunteers in a way that supports the school’s strategic aims and vision, as well as its development plan.
Volunteers may:
Hear children read
Accompany school visits
Work with individual children
Work with small groups of children
Support specific curriculum areas, such as ICT or art
Carry out targeted duties, such as librarian
This is not an exhaustive list.
Volunteers may be:
Members of the governing board
Parents
Former pupils
Students on work experience
Local residents
Friends of the school/members of the Friends Association (PTA)
This is not an exhaustive list.
How to apply to volunteer:
Complete the online form (see below)
Approach a member of staff to express your interest
Safeguarding our pupils is of paramount importance, and our volunteers must share our commitment to child protection. To ensure we’re upholding our responsibility to keep our pupils safe, we will:
Conduct enhanced DBS checks with a barred list check on volunteers who:
Work 1-on-1 with pupils unsupervised
Work with groups of pupils unsupervised
Supervise or accompany groups of pupils on overnight residential visits
Consider the results of any DBS checks that return with unspent and spent listed convictions, and assess these on a case-by-case basis, with regard given to the nature of the conviction and the nature of the work the volunteer will be involved in
Provide safeguarding training to all volunteers prior to them beginning work at the school, including ensuring that they have read and understood part 1 of Keeping Children Safe in Education [volunteers not working directly with children can read a condensed version of part 1 (located in annex A) of Keeping Children Safe in Education or the full version of part 1]
Require volunteers to agree and adhere to our code of conduct (see appendix 2) and to adhere to, the school’s policies [www.east-farleigh.kent.sch.uk/key-information/policies] on:
Child Protection
Acceptable use of technology
Mobile and Smart Technology and Social Media
Camera and Image Use (if applicable)
Behaviour
Ensure that volunteers without an enhanced DBS check are always supervised, and are never left alone with pupils
Conduct a risk assessment to determine whether a volunteer who isn’t working in regulated activity needs an enhanced DBS check. The risk assessment will consider:
The nature of the work they will be doing
What we know about them
References from employers or other voluntary roles
Whether the role is eligible for an enhanced DBS check