Volunteer Telford

The Youth Offending Service are calling on volunteers to join a community panel, supporting young offenders on a court order to help prevent further offending.

Community Panel Members come from all sections of the local community and no specific educational qualifications are required. It is an important part of the Youth Justice system, and features highly on the Government's agenda.

Responsibilities:
• To meet with a young person on a court order, as part of a Community Panel, negotiate and oversee a contract that will reduce their offending and oversee that contract till its completion, amending, adjusting and if necessary returning the young person to court.
• To attend and participate fully in supervision sessions as required.
• To follow relevant policies and procedures as laid down by the Youth Offending Service in the delivery of the role.
• Panel Members will be expected to commit to panels for a minimum of 12 months by negotiation.
• Panel Meetings will take place at different times during the day and evening at various venues around Hereford Worcestershire and Shropshire.

Training will be provided in conjunction with our mentoring scheme.

Expenses will be reimbursed.

Please note that all applicants will be subject to enhanced criminal records checks.

Read Easy Telford and Shropshire East is affiliated to Read Easy UK, a national charity that helps adults learn to read and which has nearly 60 groups across England.

Read Easy Telford & Wrekin was established in 2019 and continues to grow to be a highly impactful local group with an increasing number of Reading Pairs (Reading Coach and Reader).

It is run by a hard-working, dedicated group of team members, all of whom are also volunteers.
The group is now seeking a new Referral Networker (Telford area).

This is a vital and interesting role within our Management Team to create and develop relationships with local agencies, such as Job Centres, social services and many others who may be able to refer potential readers to the group.

This voluntary position will suit people who thrive on networking and making new connections. The longevity of our local groups is down to securing a steady stream of Reader referrals, so you will play an instrumental part in making sure your group thrives.

In this role, you will be providing a puppy with a vital foundation for its future role as a guide dog. This is a full-time volunteering opportunity as a puppy will live with you in your home for around 12-16 months.

What you’ll be doing

We rely on volunteers like you to help us improve the lives of people with sight loss. In this role your support will include:

- Following Guide Dogs Puppy Raising for Excellent Partnerships (PREP) programme, to raise and prepare a puppy to become a guide dog.

- Using our guidelines to care for your puppy e.g., providing sufficient exercise.

- Familiarising a puppy to a wide range of environments.

- Teaching a puppy to be alone by gradually building up from a few minutes to a maximum of 4 hours.

- Attending regular puppy classes.

- Meeting regularly with Guide Dogs representatives to discuss your pup’s development.

- Completing regular on-line questionnaires to help us monitor puppy progress.

You’ll get

Volunteering is a two-way street, so in return for your time you will get a dedicated volunteer manager/key contact who will help you settle in and support you during your time with us. You’ll also get:

- The satisfaction in knowing you are supporting people with sight loss to live actively, independently, and well.

- The challenge and reward of seeing a puppy develop in your home.

- The opportunity to learn and develop your understanding in dog body language, learning theory, the human animal bond and the life of a guide dog.

Training and support

This role has 13 hours of training and then you’ll be ready to go! These modules include:

- Our bespoke Puppy Raising for Excellent Partnerships (PREP) training to support you at every stage of the puppy’s development.

- Ongoing training both virtually and face to face as part of the role.

If you have questions about the training requirements, we can answer these at your interview along with any other support or accessibility needs you may have.

Volunteering for Guide Dogs should never leave you out of pocket. We’ll make sure we pay any expenses related to your volunteering with us in line with our policy.

Can you make a contribution to your community by supporting children who have been in trouble with the police? We need volunteers to support and offer guidance to children aged 10 -17 years to help them reach their full potential and direct them away from criminal activity.

Volunteers may want to do something useful in the community and are interested in the welfare of children; they are not paid and come from a variety of backgrounds and situations.

This is an exciting opportunity to serve the community. Training and support is provided, and volunteers get to expand their interests, develop knowledge and new skills and gain experience of working with children. Being a volunteer is a challenging yet rewarding role. It makes no difference where you come from or what you do, as long as you are over 18 years old and willing to make a difference in your community. A community panel member or mentor can be "someone who helps others to achieve their potential".

The children are between the ages of 10-17, and are currently working with the Youth Justice Service. Sometimes there are high concerns for their safety and wellbeing and the safety and wellbeing of others. A Community Panel member is a trained volunteer who helps to build a relationship between the child and can be a supportive adult that the child can rely on. Mentoring is also an opportunity to explore. This is more than befriending, as it may also involve coaching, encouragement, explaining, listening and guiding the child to support them to achieve positive goals.