Permanent Exclusion from School Advice and Advocacy Volunteer.

When a Hampshire child is permanently excluded from school the family is offered support from a volunteer to enable them to understand the process and their rights and have the opportunity to express their views.

 The role requires an initial meeting in the family’s home or via a telephone conversation to complete a questionnaire. Further support may be required depending on the needs of the family. This could include guiding the family through and understanding school packs (information which will be considered as part of the process), supporting them at the governors’ discipline committee meeting and potentially attending an independent review panel meeting with the family.

 Volunteers will receive a full training programme and have access to volunteer coordinators, who will provide guidance, advice, and supervision whilst they deliver their volunteering activities.

Typically, the volunteer role is as follows:

• Attend 2 days of induction training and an additional half-day with the Inclusion team.
• Receive details from their Volunteer Co-ordinator regarding the exclusion and the required timescales for the meeting with the family.
• Contact the family to arrange a meeting.
• Meet with the child / family to help them understand the exclusion process.
• Go through a questionnaire with the family to enable them to give their views and say if they would like further support. Submit the completed questionnaire to the Innovations team.

The next induction training dates will be Friday 12th July 2024 and Wednesday 17th July 2024 (volunteers would need to attend both days). If these are full or you are unable to attend them, the following dates are planned for Friday 11th October 2024 and Wednesday 16th October 2024.

Skills

Training and support will be provided therefore previous experience is not essential.

We are seeking volunteers who feel able to:

Communicate and ensure people, with varied levels of ability, understand information.
Listen and remain calm and impartial when dealing with families.
Record information.
Respect differing views of individuals and work in a non judgmental way.
Respect confidentiality and the agreed information sharing process.
Have the confidence to report concerns to their Volunteer Coordinator.
Be able to describe their role and maintain professional boundaries.

Volunteers ideally have access to their own transport and must be aged 18+.

Training dates for volunteers are released throughout the year and occur roughly quarterly.