Engaging employees
All of our volunteering opportunities are designed to be delivered in-person or virtually. Your employee volunteers add value to the work of SHS practitioners and make a meaningful difference to the lives of children, young people and families.
Aspiration Days
- A group of pupils and their parents will visit your offices with their School-Home Support practitioner, to learn about working there and to raise their employment aspirations.
- Many of these children have low aspirations for their future employment, with their parents typically having either low paid or no work.
- Aspiration sessions are designed to encourage children and young people to work hard at school, and give their parents confidence that this will improve their chances of getting a good job.
- Visiting your offices will motivate them, showing them the variety of roles on offer and serving to make the corporate environment less intimidating.
- One child said after visiting the Liberum offices: “it’s amazing what they do – I want to work here” while their parent said that ‘it was really eye-opening”.
Employment Skills Workshops
- Many of the parents that SHS work with want to gain employment but have a poor understanding of the skills they do have and how to describe them, and lack the confidence to apply for jobs or enter into further education or training.
- This means that many of them are not in full time employment, leading to financial difficulties and reliance on external support agencies.
- These parents are keen to learn and gain employment skills, but lack the networks and support to do so.
- They benefit enormously from being able to spend time with volunteers, who have a wealth of experience and expertise in terms of CV writing, interview advice and application writing and can offer practical tips. Volunteers share simple and practical tips for parents on practical employment skills, such as researching jobs, writing a personal statement and CV and/or interview skills.
The Nomura Charitable Trust has supported School-Home Support since 2011. We have seen a significant impact as a result of our funding, which has resulted in the continued partnership for over four years. School-Home Support is unique in its approach to engaging both hard to reach children and parents, and identifying innovative ways to engage with corporate supporters.
Naomi Matthams, Head of Community Affairs, EMEA Nomura
Literacy and Numeracy Programmes
- Volunteers provide support to children in school who are in need of extra help with their literacy or numeracy, either one-to-one or in small groups.
- Activities include listening to a child read, supporting them to complete class work or maths and literacy exercises.
- The children who attend the support sessions are identified by the SHS practitioner and their class teachers as needing extra support with their learning.
- Providing regular support to these children outside of the classroom increases their confidence with literacy or numeracy with long-term benefits.
- Volunteers provide a positive role model outside of school and home settings, supporting academic achievement and building a child’s self-esteem.
- The pupils greatly benefit from having someone who regularly checks in with their progress, giving them the motivation to do well.
- The children really value the time they get to spend with volunteers who they would otherwise not get the opportunity to meet – one child referred to their volunteer as ‘my superhero’ and another ‘my banker friend’.