Children First Support Line Volunteer

Children First
VO103812

Are you caring, non-judgmental, empathetic and passionate about supporting others? Would you like to be part of providing valuable support to families across Scotland? If so, please get in touch - we’d love to hear from you.

Volunteering for the Children First support line is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of children and families across Scotland.

“I would say if you’re thinking about volunteering, just go for it. Everyone has something to bring, and it can lead you to places that you might not have thought about or even thought possible.” (Support Line Volunteer)

As a Support Line Volunteer, you will provide emotional and practical support and advice to adults by phone, webchat and email, giving them time to talk through any worries about raising children or around the safety or wellbeing of children in their community. You will listen and support individuals to think through what would work best for their families. Working in partnership with Support Line Co-ordinators, you will ensure that the safety and wellbeing of children is a central focus of all contacts.

You will become part of a friendly, supportive team where trained staff are always on hand to provide support and guidance.

If you are interested in the role we would like to invite you to an information session where you will be able to find out more about the role from staff and current volunteers. The information session will be held on Wednesday 10th September from 6.00pm -7.30pm at our office in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh. Please get in touch for more details.

Experience required

A caring, kind and non-judgemental response can make a real difference to someone who wants to talk. No previous experience or formal qualifications are necessary, however good communication skills are essential to enable you to listen to and support those who contact the Children First Support Line. The nature of the role means that we ask that volunteers are aged 18 or over.

Travel details

Volunteering takes place at the Children First office in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh which is easily accessible on public transport.

Travel expenses

We believe that volunteering shouldn’t cost you anything and you will be able to claim for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses for travel to and from our office in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh.

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Training details

Support Line Volunteers complete our Initial Volunteer Training which consists of around 38 hours of trainer-led group learning and some self-study in between training sessions. The course covers the skills needed to support people effectively and some of the issues and concerns that people contact us with.

‘I feel that I've learned a lot and the training has given me a lot of opportunity to reflect on my day to day communication and how I deal with difficult conversations. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a training as much as I did this one.’ (Support Line Volunteer)

Our next two training courses start will run on the following dates:
Course 1
• Sat 25th Oct – 9.30am-4.30pm
• Sat 1st Nov – 9.30am-4.30pm
• Sat 8th Nov – 9.30am-4.30pm
• Sat 15th Nov – 9.30am-4.30pm
• Sat 22nd Nov – 9.30am-4.30pm
• Weds 14th Jan – 5.45pm-9.00pm (this session takes place after starting to volunteer)

Course 2
• Sat 24th Jan – 9.30am-4.30pm
• Sat 31st Jan – 9.30am-4.30pm
• Sat 7th Feb – 9.30am-4.30pm
• Sat 14th Feb – 9.30am-4.30pm
• Sat 21st Feb – 9.30am-4.30pm
• Weds 25th March - 9.30am-4.30pm (this session takes place after starting to volunteer)

Volunteers are supported by staff when volunteering and in addition to this all volunteers have a named individual supervisor who is responsible for their ongoing support and development.

Restrictions

Minimum age: 18

Availability

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Frequency & commitment

On completion of training, we ask our volunteers to give a weekly commitment of around 4 hours for a minimum of a year. The support line is open Monday-Friday 9am-9pm and 9am-12 noon Saturday and Sunday throughout the year and there are a range of options for days/times based at the Children First Edinburgh office.