Both Elmlea Infant and Junior Schools encourage voluntary helpers as an important part of school life within Elmlea Schools’ Trust and are valued by the whole school community. Voluntary helper skills, interests and knowledge are an additional resource and used in a variety of ways in school to raise standards in the learning and development of the children. Using volunteer helpers also is a way of encouraging the wider community to engage with children’s learning to raise standards of achievement and deepen the sense of school community.

Volunteer helpers are:
• Parents or other adults working alongside the teachers
• Students on work experience

Volunteer helpers support the schools in a number of ways:
• Supporting individual pupils within classrooms
• Hearing pupils read
• Helping with classroom organisation
• Helping with supervision of children on school visits
• Helping with group work
• Helping with art or other practical subjects
• Attending on school trips to support school adults.

If you would like to find out more about volunteering, please contact the Infant or Junior school office for more information.

In line with the trust’s Disclosure and Safeguarding Policies and DfE guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education, depending on the activities to be undertaken whilst volunteering, parents/carers/volunteers helping in school may need to complete a Disclosure and Barring.

We recognise that for staff and parents of other children to be confident about helpers in school, all volunteers will need to agree to a protocol about confidentiality and conduct. Volunteer helpers are asked to sign a ‘Volunteer Helpers Protocol’, a copy of which will be kept in school office.

For further information about volunteering in our schools please read our trust policy