Home-Start Volunteers

Home-visiting Volunteers

• Home-Start East Fife volunteers need to be parents themselves or have relevant parenting experience.
• We need people of all ages, backgrounds and gender.
• All volunteers attend a 40 hour Preparation Course delivered one day per week for 8 weeks. The course allows volunteers to gain more information about Home-Start East Fife and the role of a home visiting volunteer.
• No qualifications are necessary - just listening skills, understanding, discretion and commitment to the families you visit and to our charity.
• We often work with very vulnerable families and it is essential that all volunteers are thoroughly vetted: we obtain PVG membership for every volunteer as well as two references.
• We ask our home-visiting volunteers to commit three to four hours per week to visit a family. These visits are arranged for a mutually convenient time.
• Our volunteers are re-imbursed for all expenses incurred whilst visiting a family.
• Home-Start East Fife volunteers work with and alongside a family, parent-to-parent: 'being with' a family and not 'doing to'.

Family Support Group Volunteers

The aim of Family Support Group is to help parents form positive relationships within their own family. Children have the opportunity to play with their peers and form friendships and are also encouraged to play with parents. Activities at Home-Start East Fife's Family Support Groups are designed to allow families to play and grow together and to build confidence in a relaxed atmosphere. It is hoped that through attending one of our Family Support Groups parents discover and develop their own skills, giving them the confidence to access other groups and to achieve their full potential. Family Support Group is not a toddler group or a creche: parents are expected to remain and engage with their children. We also recognise that part of what we offer is to allow parents time to form relationships, to share experiences and to support each other in the sometimes difficult task of being a parent and, as a result, parent-only time can be accommodated.

Family Support Group is run by Home-Start East Fife Family Support Group Co-ordinator, Aileen Pruden, with the help of experienced and trustworthy volunteers. Families are encouraged to input ideas and help with running the group. Aileen makes sure that Family Support Group runs smoothly so that children and parents get the most out of it. Aileen and the volunteers are there to support parents, give advice when necessary or just lend an extra pair of hands or a listening ear. The Family Support Group Co-ordinator and volunteers are there to help, but ultimately parents are responsible for their own children whilst at Family Support Group.

Office Volunteers

Some volunteers help out in the Home-Start East Fife office in St Andrews. Tasks include answering the telephone, welcoming visitors, photo-copying, filing and typing letters.

All of our volunteering opportunities offer their own rewards and require energy, commitment, reliability, creativity - and a sense of humour!

Contact us if you would like to know more.