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Family Hub volunteer opportunities

Make a difference today

We have many ways for you to help, based on your interests and skills.

By supporting children, young people, and families in Sheffield, you help give every child the best start in life.

The benefits of volunteering

  • Make a difference by helping your community and giving back.
  • Learn new skills and gain valuable experience.
  • Access training to grow your knowledge and develop personally.
  • Connect with others and build new friendships.
  • Explore new careers through volunteering opportunities.
  • Boost confidence by taking on challenges.
  • Improve your well-being and feel happier by helping others.

Find out more

To find out more about any of the below opportunities complete this form

Community Connector

To be the connector between your local community and Family Hubs. Promoting Family Hub services within the community. You can make a vital contribution to the lives of local families in this volunteer role as well as building transferable skills, experience, and knowledge. 

Qualities and Skills Required:

  • Flexible
  • Non-judgmental
  • Mature outlook
  • Commitment to personal development
  • Commitment to completing training
  • Caring and sensitive
  • Approachable
  • Reliable
  • Time available to volunteer weekly

Qualifications needed:

No formal qualifications, but we would expect volunteers to have a passion and interest in Early Years and promoting the best start in life.

Tasks:

  • Meeting and talking to parents/carers of 0-19(25)’s about Family Hub & services that are available in the locality area. This will be in a Family Hub and in community venues
  • Supporting families to register with Sheffield Family Hubs
  • Signposting families to Sheffield Family Hub services utilising the Sheffield Directory
  • Sharing Sheffield Family Hub Network leaflets and QR codes
  • Promoting Sheffield Family Hub volunteering and parent feedback opportunities. 

The Volunteer Community Connector will need to be able to develop a positive working relationship with:

  • Their Family Hub coordinator
  • Other health professionals
  • Infant Feeding Team
  • Family Hub Team
  • Other volunteers
  • Families and service users
  • Community leaders
  • Community groups 

Training:

After some initial training, including Safeguarding training, you will also have an ongoing opportunity to access relevant free sessions available through the Early Help Training Offer.

Support:
Individual supervision will be provided on a regular basis as agreed between the volunteer and the coordinator to meet individual needs
Volunteer travel expenses are reimbursed (to be discussed with the coordinator)


Time commitment:

We ask for a minimum of 2 hours per week. This will be discussed with you at the informal discussion you attend if you sign up to do so.

Why become a Community Connector?

You can make a vital contribution to the lives of local families in this volunteer role as well as building transferable skills, experience, and knowledge

Anybody over the age of 18 and living in Sheffield is welcome to express an interest in volunteering as a Community Connector in a Family Hub locality. We follow our Equal Opportunities Policy when recruiting volunteers and welcome applications from all. References will be taken up and a full DBS check will be completed if you are successful. Training will be provided before you begin volunteering.

If you would like to express your interest in this opportunity, complete this form.

Volunteer Breastfeeding Peer Support

To provide information and support to women around breastfeeding and caring for their babies and recognising the importance of bonding with their babies during pregnancy and once the baby is born.

The breastfeeding volunteers will be placed alongside Infant Feeding Peer Support Workers (IFPSW)

Qualities and Skills Required: 

  • Be over 18 years of age
  • Each volunteer must have breastfed themselves and be positive about breastfeeding
  • Non-judgemental
  • Possess cultural humility and competency
  • Caring and sensitive
  • Approachable
  • Reliable
  • Able to maintain confidentiality
  • Time available to volunteer weekly
  • Flexible
  • Committed to personal development
  • Committed to completing training and relevant course work

Qualifications needed:

No formal qualifications are required but volunteers need to have personal breastfeeding experience and be positive about breastfeeding.

Tasks:

  • Providing antenatal information to mums and their partners at antenatal clinics, Family Hubs and information sessions to allow them to make an informed choice
  • Giving telephone support when required and appropriate
  • Postnatal breastfeeding support in the community, at breastfeeding support groups, and in Family Hubs
  • Listening and offering support tailored to women’s need
  • Helping mum to access appropriate services
  • To work alongside other professionals such as midwives, health visitors and Infant Feeding Peer Support Workers 

The Volunteer Breastfeeding Peer Support Worker will need to be able to develop a positive working relationship with: 

  • the mum, the dad and any other significant person
  • other health professionals
  • Infant Feeding Team
  • Family Hub Team
  • other volunteers
  • other mothers and families

Training:

  • Volunteer training – this consists of a 5-week training programme with any other identified relevant training including some e-learning training
  • Once the training is completed, volunteers will be expected to attend a professional discussion to assess the knowledge learnt and needed prior to being placed for volunteering.

Support:

  • Individual supervision will be provided on a regular basis as agreed between the volunteer and the coordinator to meet individual needs
  • Volunteer travel expenses are reimbursed (to be discussed with the coordinator)

Time commitment:

  • The volunteer will need to commit to doing at least half a day volunteering per week. Flexibility on when to volunteer can be discussed with the volunteer coordinator.
  • Volunteers need to commit to attending ALL the training sessions.
  • Volunteers are expected to attend their supervision regularly

Why become a Volunteer Breastfeeding Peer Supporter?

The Volunteer Breastfeeding Peer Support Programme recognises and supports the rights of all women to have a positive experience of breastfeeding by providing them with information and timely support before and after their babies are born.

It is considered vitally important that all mothers receive information on relationship building and feeding according to their needs; so that they can make a truly informed decision.  If a mother chooses to breastfeed her baby, she should also receive support and encouragement if needed, to extend the breastfeeding period.  Bottle feeders will get support too and will be sign posted appropriately.

***This role falls within the Privacy and Decency sections of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and is only available to women.

The minimum age for volunteering as a volunteer breastfeeding Peer Support Worker is 18 years old and you must have proof of address for the last 5 years (including if you lived outside of the UK) for DBS purposes.

Please contact Susan.broomfield@sheffield.gov.uk   or nawal.elamani@sheffield.gov.uk Or ring Sue on 07792327813

Sheffield Volunteer Doula

To befriend and provide practical and emotional support to an expectant mother through the latter stages of pregnancy, through labour and for the first six weeks of family life.

 

Qualities and Skills Required:

  • Flexible
  • Non-judgmental
  • Mature outlook
  • Commitment to personal development
  • Commitment to completing training and course work to a minimum of Level 2
  • Caring and sensitive
  • Approachable
  • Reliable
  • Be able to work as part of a team

Qualifications needed:

No formal qualifications are required as it important to have the personal attributes as above but all volunteers will be expected to complete the course work involved with the training so we can assess what information and level of knowledge the volunteer has gained. Support with your learning is available and tutorials will be given on a 1-1 basis.

Please note the minimum age for volunteering as a volunteer doula is 18 years old and you must have proof of address for the last 5 years (including if you lived outside of the UK) for DBS purposes.

Tasks:

  • Befriend a mum to be who is referred to the project
  • Meet or visit her as mutually agreed on a weekly basis at home or in public places
  • Accompany to ante-natal class or appointments, if needed or necessary
  • Available to be her birth partner or additional birth partner if appropriate offering practical and emotional support with use of 2nd doula with tag teaming if needed
  • Effectively listening and displaying positive body language and communication skills
  • Advocate for her if necessary or appropriate
  • Giving encouragement and motivation and empowering her to make positive choices
  • Respect her wishes
  • Helping her to access appropriate services within her community
  • Adhering to confidentiality
  • Complete necessary paperwork
  • Keeping touch with the team and seek advice and support whenever needed including attending supervisions

The Doula will need to be able to develop a positive working relationship with:

  • the mum-to-be
  • the community midwife
  • hospital staff
  • other health professionals
  • doula team
  • other volunteers
  • other expectant mothers

 Training:

  • Information session and an informal interview about the project
  • Volunteer training –weekly training for 5/6 weeks covering hospital tours, health & safety, boundaries, confidentiality, working with interpreters, communication skills, etc.
  • Active Birth Course held over two days
  • Breastfeeding support training held over two days
  • Online training for child protection and safeguarding
  • All volunteers will complete the OCN assessment unit, which will consist of a variety of forms of activities, ie keeping a reflective diary, contributing to group work, written work as well as assignments.
  • Further training opportunities will be on-going and in accordance with the necessary skills identified during the programme 
  • Personal development folio will be supported and encouraged to enable the volunteer doulas to perform their tasks to the highest possible standard
  • Mandatory annual updates on infant feeding

Support:

  • Individual supervision will be provided on a regular basis as agreed between the volunteer doula and the Locality Worker to meet individual need
  • Support done through regular catch up sessions with fellow doula volunteers
  • Supervision from health professional if felt needed
  • Volunteer travel expenses  
  • Use of volunteering purposes mobile phone

Time commitment:

You would need to commit to attending ALL the training sessions and then supporting a minimum of 4 mothers over a 12 month period. The more mothers you support the more experience you will get from volunteering! 

You will be expected to visit the mum you are matched with at least one time each week for 1-2 hours from 6 weeks antenatally to 6 weeks postnatally.

If the mum requires labour and birth support, you would be expected to go on 24hr call from 2 weeks before her due date.

We will also team you up with a back up doula for each match who can support at any point during this match and especially during labour and birth, should that be required.

Why become a Volunteer Doula?

Volunteer Doula Project recognises and supports the rights of all women to have a positive experience throughout pregnancy and childbirth.

The aim of this pioneering and exciting service is to provide one to one support to expectant mothers throughout the latter stages of pregnancy, childbirth and the first few weeks of family life.

It is hard to comprehend how difficult it is to be unsupported during pregnancy and childbirth.  These are vitally important months in the future of a family. The experience of these months will influence and stay with the family for a lifetime. This service will aim to help to make this a positive and life enhancing experience for you as a doula and the mother you have supported.

We ask you to be part of this experience.

We would hope that whilst the person you are supporting will gain greatly from this it will also be a personally rewarding experience that will stay with you for life.

This volunteer opportunity will provide you with an insight and training opportunities, which may inform and assist your future work and personal development.   

Please note this role falls within the Privacy and Decency sections of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and is only available to women.

Please Email: Doulaproject@sheffield.gov.uk

Parent Group Leader with Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities (EPEC)

Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities (EPEC) is a successful, popular, unique parenting approach.

EPEC is for local parents, led by local parents.

EPEC has a well-tested and innovative combination of peer-led methods with professional parenting support and supervision:

Zest is looking for Parents city wide with energy and vision to work alongside our EPEC volunteer co-ordinator and Sheffield City Council Parenting Team.

Qualities and Skills Required:

  • Parents/carers or people who have experience of parenting.
  • Wanting to make a difference to families in your own community
  • Good communicators, with a friendly and approachable manner.
  • Able to listen/ share their own experiences, sensitively with others.
  • Team players and able to build relationships with a wide range of people.
  • Are compassionate, supportive and non-judgmental. 
  • Can give encouragement and motivation to families who need it the most.
  • Are enthusiastic, committed, trustworthy and reliable. 
  • Are ready to learn new skills.
  • Understand the importance of confidentiality. 

Qualifications needed:

No Formal qualifications are necessary, but we would expect volunteers to have personal parenting experience and be positive about supporting other parents and their communities in their parenting journey.

The programmes are aimed to help parents of children of a wide range of ages, from 0 to teenage years, including  specialist approaches for autistic children and parenting together (extended and blended families).

Due to the nature of the role an enhanced DBS is required. 2 references will also be necessary to support your application.

Tasks:

Working with the Zest EPEC Team to:

  • Plan and deliver parenting programmes in the community, with our support and guidance
  • Connect with Local Parents, advertise groups in your local community to increase uptake.
  • Build community capacity and resilience, helping families to connect and strengthen support networks.
  • Building trusting relationships so that parents feel encouraged, optimistic and well informed about EPEC
  • Boost parent access, acceptability and support with parenting strategies giving them their own parenting tool kit.
  • Help parents to develop individual plans and goals for themselves, their children and family, signposting them to further support where needed.
  • EPEC groups are highly interactive, involving an engaging and creative blend of small and large discussion, demonstrations, information sharing and reflection. Real life examples, Parents practice and use new skills in everyday life to achieve specific goals.

Training:

  • Initial EPEC Training consists of 60 hours In person training over 12 weeks (9.30am -2.00pm same day and time each week). Alongside this training some e-learning training modules will need to be completed, and a workbook each week, after training to reflect on the content and learning from that day.
  • Further Training opportunities will be on-going and in accordance with necessary skills identified during the volunteer placement.

Support:

All Parent Group Leader volunteers receive free training and access to ongoing supervision and support from Lynn our EPEC Volunteer Co-Ordinator, Wendy our Volunteer Support Officer and Sheffield City Council Parenting Team as well as the National EPEC team.

Time commitment:

  • Full participation in the training programme, including completing weekly journals.
  • Time to the project in delivering groups and attending planning/ supervision. (minimum of 3 hours each week, term time only).

Why become a Volunteer Parent Group Leader?

  • Opportunities to access further training and employment support
  • Learn to lead practical, caring groups for local parents.
  • Share tried and tested methods that give children the best start in life.
  • Join a group of like-minded parents to make a difference to your local community.
  • Opportunities to develop your skills and confidence with a Personal Development portfolio
  • Gain experience that will help you to fulfil your ambitions
  • Opportunities to connect into Zest and a network of Early Years/ Parenting organisations.

Benefits

  • Payment of travel expenses (on production of receipts) and child care expenses whilst training or delivering groups.
  • Reduced rate gym and pool membership equivalent to staff discounted rate at ZEST Upperthorpe (after initial 6-week trial period and for the period you are volunteering).
  • Continuing development sessions to exchange skills, reflect on practice, revisit and review course structures and organisation, and co-design new developments

  To apply today or for more information contact:

  • Lynn Wragg Mobile: 07792191522 / Email: lynn.wragg@zestcommunity.co.uk   
  • Wendy Sweeney Mobile: 07918 878975 / Email:wendy.sweeney@zestcommunity.co.uk                                                                                                                                      

Other opportunities

Dads who may have some lived experience of perinatal mental health themselves or that of a co-parent.You will be supporting relaxed, positive, social sessions where Dads can meet other Dads and help to give their babies the best start in life

Find out more: Steel City Dads - ZestZest (zestcommunity.co.uk)

Here is what some of our volunteers said...

• “I thought I knew a lot about breastfeeding, but I learned so much more from the training. This meant I felt confident to support others with breastfeeding. The training is delivered in such a warm, real and interactive way, while staying faithful to the evidence base. I have made friends for life with my peers on the training course. We stay in touch and continue to support each other. My longer-term aim was to work in breastfeeding support/infant feeding, and as a direct result of the training I'm about to start a paid role with the city council.”

• “Being involved in supporting women to breastfeed has been something I've wanted to do since having my first baby 7 years ago. I found the course absolutely fascinating and have loved meeting so many amazing, supportive and knowledgeable women in the volunteering role, not to mention all the lovely mums and babies!”

• "Wonderful knowledgeable and experienced trainers with fantastic ongoing support after completing the training. I learned so much more than I anticipated and met a really great group of like minded women/doulas. Being able to support someone through their pregnancy, birth and new arrival in a way that they feel seen, heard and their experiences valid is a real privilege. I really hope the community of doulas in Sheffield continues to grow and thrive."

• "I was wanting to give something back to my community and I looked at many volunteering opportunities. After applying and being chosen by the Doula Team to attend the training program I wasn’t disappointed. I learned so much as the training is quite intense, but sets you up with everything you need to go out into the community and support everyone who needs it. I cannot recommend this training enough. I have learned so much!! It’s a must for anyone wanting experience and confidence to progress into further education hoping for a career in Midwifery."


• "Great, inspiring training. Specially brilliant sessions on breastfeeding. The Doula Programme Team provides everything you need to get you going as a Doula, plus superb ongoing support"

• "Informative and dynamic training delivered from friendly and approachable women in a relaxed atmosphere. Allows you to connect with people who are like minded. A fabulous training program for those who would like to support pregnant women and their families in a very unique way."

  • "The knowledge and skills gained from the EPEC training and volunteering role have really helped me progress. It gave me confidence and less anxiety.  The Volunteer Coordinator helped me with job application and interview skills. As a result, I have managed to gain employment with SCC as an Infant peer Support Worker. I think without having done the EPEC training and delivering I wouldn’t have even got an interview."

 

  • "I really enjoyed The EPEC parent group Leader training and I learnt a lot. The training was very thorough and I felt listened to and valued. My confidence has increased and I feel like I am a better parent and more confident in my own parenting style. I feel less alone, and I am more relaxed and feel better equipped in parenting my children.  I now know that what I do is Good Enough and no- one can be the perfect parent, and it has given me the opportunity to reflect on my own parenting skills. I’m more sociable, have built some great friendships with parents going through similar things. I now have the EPEC family to chat with and we regularly meet up socially. The knowledge and skills gained have really helped me progress and improved my confidence and supported my move into employment into a role I really enjoy."

 

  • "I absolutely loved it! I found the teaching styles great as they were fun and interactive, varied and structured. I enjoyed the community feel with different people involved. My husband says I seem happier and more excited to learn new things. He likes to hear about what I have learnt and we are now more confident in our parenting. I have more of an identity as myself and not just as a mum. I look forward to any training. I feel part of a team and have met some lovely people. I have seen an employment coach at ZEST and now have an updated CV for when I am ready to return to work. I feel involved in part of a community, I’ve met so many inspiring people and I’ve been to different centres in different parts of the city. It is lovely to work with others from diverse backgrounds and to feel part of a supportive team."

 

  • "Attending the training was the best thing that happened for me. I loved the teaching material and the way of delivering them. The trainers were friendly and they have strong backgrounds. I learned how to be more patient and how to take care of myself to be able to give to my children. I can say I have become more confident at parenting and sharing my experience and knowledge with others. I feel that I became a productive member in my community, involved in different volunteer work, and I am excited to attend further courses and training. I have now gained employment working within my community at ZEST."
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