Are you interested in volunteering in a
Children’s Centre? Here’s some information for
you……
Introduction
Children’s Centres are part of the Children and Families Services directorate of
Brighton and Hove Council. The Delivery Unit brings together services for children
from the Council and Health (Primary Care Trust) and works towards ensuring the
wellbeing of all children in our community.
Children’s Centres offer a range of services for families with children under 5 years
old. These services include family and parental support, advice and information and
nursery provision.
There are different types of children’s centres. There are six main children’s centres
in Brighton & Hove. These have many services and early education nursery
provision. The smaller gateway children’s centres are based in schools, libraries or
community venues. These centres serve a local area and the Children’s Centre
teams provide information, advice and services at the Centre. Each gateway is closely
linked to a main children’s centre. It is the Council’s and Government’s aim to
provide a Children’s Centre in every community that is within easy reach for all
families with pre-school children.
Each main Children’s Centre has an advisory group. The purpose of this group is to
enable parents to become involved in the development of services at their local
children’s centre.
The Sure Start Children’s Centre Teams are based in Children’s Centres or other
community buildings such as Health Clinics or G.P surgeries. The teams are made up
of Health Visitors, Early Years Visitors, Parent Involvement Worker, Community
Nursery Nurses, Community Health Nurses, Speech and Language Therapists and
early education Nursery staff.
Services available at Children’s Centres include
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Midwifery
Health Visitors
Advice on child health and development
Parenting and family support
Early education and childcare
Speech and language therapists
Enhanced support for additional needs
Health advice for parents
Information about returning to work
Groups and activities
Volunteer opportunities
Revised Dec 2012 MG
Revision date Dec 2013
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Links to other services
Smoking cessation
A volunteer is an unpaid worker within the Children’s Centres (CC) who has agreed
to give their time or expertise in order to carry out agreed tasks and work towards
the aims and targets of the CC. They are a valuable resource and provide local
knowledge and views to enhance our services.
Volunteering can offer valuable experience or a chance to work in a new setting
prior to training or seeking paid work
The Children’s Centre commitment to volunteers
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You are offered choices for how you get involved and how much time you
give
Your time, skills and experience will be considered when matching you to a
volunteering role
You clearly understand your role and how it fits in to the CC service
You are given clear information about the role and service
You are assured of a safe working environment
Your personal details are kept confidential
You are offered necessary training opportunities relevant to the volunteering
role
As a regular volunteer, you may claim out of pocket expenses
You have a named contact person within the CC team
You have opportunities for regular supervision and feedback
Your volunteering is valued and acknowledged by the CC
You are free to stop volunteering
Volunteer’s commitments
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Express an interest in the type of volunteering and time commitment possible
Form and maintain good relationships with other volunteers, staff and visitors
to the CC
Take part in recommended training opportunities
Attend volunteering sessions as agreed
Contact named person or CC staff if difficulties arise
Uphold relevant CC and council policies, including health and safety and equal
opportunities
Provide information for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and Child
Protection checks
Respect decisions taken by CC staff
Contribute to discussions concerning service delivery
Maintain confidentiality
Give a period of notice before stopping volunteering
The next step
If you would like to volunteer at a Children’s Centre, the next step is to fill in an
application form. Please ask for this from the Parent Involvement Worker, Service
Support Manager or another CC staff person that you know.
Revised Dec 2012 MG
Revision date Dec 2013