Volunteering

Volunteering at Smarden

We welcome volunteers at Smarden to take part in a range of activities.  The first and most important is to become a reading volunteer.  Our pledge at Smarden is that every child will leave our school at age related expectations in reading.  This means starting early and providing 1:1 support for pupils who are experiencing difficulties or do not read at home.  Volunteering to read 1:1 with a child will make a significant difference to their progress.  You can volunteer for as few or as many hours as you can manage.  Speak to the office on 01233 770316 if you are able to help.  

We also welcome volunteers to help with clubs, for example netball and cross country.

We also are always keen to hear from experts who can inspire children on a range of subjects for their curriculum projects.  See newsletters for specific experts needed at any time.

Every year, we ask one parent from each class to volunteer to be a class representative.  The class reps meet with the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher once a term to share concerns, suggestions or ideas for how to improve the school.  This is designed to provide an additional means of improving communication between school and home.

We are also looking for parents to volunteer on the Nurture Programme working party and the Mental Health award working party.  

All volunteers who work with pupils or in the classroom MUST have a full DBS, organised by the school, before being able to volunteer to work with children at Smarden (see safeguarding section for more details).  The school will handle this process, and you will be asked to provide original documents, for example, your passport and proof of address, to proceed.  The process usually takes up to 4 weeks and the school will meet all costs involved.

Volunteers are all given full safeguarding training and expected to read key documents such as the school’s safeguarding policy and part one of ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’.  We also train our volunteers in reading skills and dyslexia.