Our commitment to you

Ready, Steady Read relies entirely on volunteers. We will do the best we can to make your volunteer experience with us enjoyable and rewarding. We want our volunteers to feel a valued member of our team, making a real difference to children’s lives.

As a reading volunteer you will play an important role in nurturing children to be the best they can be. You will increase their confidence and self esteem and raise attainment. You will encourage them to Read to Succeed!

Apply to become an Ready, Steady, Read reading volunteer and start making a real difference to the lives of children in Hull and East Yorkshire today. All we ask from you is that you commit to at least one term of volunteering, providing a minimum of 2 hours on the same day each week.

Safeguarding commitments

Ready Steady Read is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and requires all volunteers to share this commitment. As you will be working directly with children, the nature of our work requires that you:

Enable us to secure sufficient, appropriate references, undergo an initial check and regular re-checks via the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) in line with Ready, Steady, Read’s policies and procedures,inform us of any new convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings within two weeks of the offence,advise us of any changes to your health that could affect your volunteering within two weeks of diagnosis.

Must follow our policies, procedures and codes of practice, particularly (but not limited to) our child protection, safeguarding and safer working policies and procedures.

Safeguarding and Safer Practice

We will do our best to ensure that you are aware of and follow procedures designed to promote the welfare of the children we help, and protect them from harm, and to help guard you from any risk of unfounded allegation, in line with our child protection and safeguarding policy and our safer working code of practice policy*.

Training and Support

We will introduce you thoroughly to the work of Ready Steady Read and your volunteering role and provide the initial and on going training advice and guidance you need as a reading volunteer.

We will explain the standards we expect for our services and encourage and support you to achieve and maintain them.

Expenses

We will reimburse your expenses for travel to and from home and where you volunteer in accordance with our expenses policy*.

Diversity and Equal Opportunities

We will do our best to ensure that diversity is valued and everyone is dealt with in accordance with our equality and diversity policy*.

Health and Safety

We will do our best to provide procedures, guidelines and support to enable you carry out your volunteering role in a safe and healthy environment, in line with our health and safety policy*.

Problems

We will try to resolve promptly any problems, and deal fairly with any complaints, you may have while you volunteer with us in line with our volunteer problem solving policy*.

* These policies and procedures are included in the Volunteer Handbook (provided during your initial training) and are always available from us on request.

Your commitment to us

If you become a Ready Steady Read volunteer we do have expectations and standards that we hope you follow.

We hope that you will carry out your volunteering role reliably and to the best of your ability. This will include keeping up to date with training provided by us and meeting the time commitments, duration of association and standards of service which we have mutually agreed to.

We would ask that you seek and share feedback from your allocated school on the difference you are making.

We hope your volunteer experience will be as enjoyable and rewarding as possible so we would ask that you provide us with your own feedback regarding your experience.

Please keep us, and your allocated school in which you are volunteering on our behalf, informed if you are unable to attend on a particular day or for a specific period.

Please provide us with as much notice as possible if you are unable to continue as a volunteer.

Ready, Steady, Read’s, relationship with its volunteers is binding in trust and mutual understanding and does not in any way create a contract of employment or a legally binding obligation. No enforceable obligation, contractual or otherwise, can be imposed on volunteers to attend, give or be set a minimum amount of time to carry out the activity requested. Ready, Steady, Read does not undertake to provide regular activity or payment or other benefit for any volunteering undertaken.

If you would like to give children, who otherwise may not receive regular support and encouragement, the opportunity to Read to Succeed, apply today to become a Ready, Steady, Read volunteer.

The volunteering process

The volunteering process is really simple:
1. Complete the application form at the bottom of this page
2. Our team will work with you through the DBS and Safeguarding checks
3. You’ll receive full training, where you’ll learn all the skills you need
4. You will be placed in a local primary school
5. We will arrange a mutually convenient time for you to volunteer in the school

Please note that we reserve the right to exercise our discretion when selecting candidates. All volunteers have to complete full safeguarding training, and will be subject to DBS checks.