At Foundry Lane, we are very lucky to welcome family, community, and reading volunteers into our classes. They are a highly valued part of our school community, and children really look forward to their visits, whether they're reading together, helping in the classroom, or simply spending time with a friendly, familiar face. 

A volunteer's time can be enough to transform a child's reading ability, helping them get the most out of their education and opening up new worlds of knowledge, inspiration, creativity, and fun. 

Join us and make a difference to a child's life! 

What's Required to Become a School Volunteer? 

If you have some time to spare and enjoy spending time with children, you could join our volunteering team at Foundry Lane. 

Our volunteers get enormous pleasure from seeing the difference that just a few hours a week can make to a child's reading ability, confidence, and enjoyment of learning. 

Getting Started 

To start with, you'll need to complete a volunteer application form, which can be found in the vacancies section of our website. This is an online application through a website called My New Term. We will then contact you to arrange an interview and induction, as well as applying for your references. 

At the interview, we'll ask some friendly questions to help us get to know you. We'll also find out more about which age range you're interested in supporting and where you'd like to focus your volunteering, for example, 1:1 reading or classroom support. We'll then complete an induction and give you a tour around the school. 

Once we confirm we'd like you to start volunteering with us, we'll begin the process of your DBS check, and arrange for you to meet staff and children. 

Will I Receive Training? 

You'll receive our school policies and also be invited to a training session, held at least once a year, where you'll be updated on safeguarding, reading strategies, and classroom support. 

The training session doubles up as a get-together, a nice way to meet fellow volunteers over a cup of tea and a biscuit! 

In What Ways Can I Volunteer? 

• - Helping with English (typically listening to children read) 

• - Helping in the classroom 

• - Sharing your professional skills (for example, if you're a doctor, you might visit a class whose topic is healthy living) 

• - Helping with classroom activities such as cookery 

• - Helping to lead an after-school club, such as netball or gardening 

• - Helping on school trips 

• - Helping with sporting events, music, or drama productions 

Turning Volunteering into a Career 

Many volunteers help out in schools as a way of getting their foot in the door for future vacancies, and this can indeed be a good route into working in schools. Some of our excellent staff started their journey at Foundry Lane as volunteers. 

If you have any questions, do contact us info@foundrylaneprimary.co.uk