Do schools dislike volunteers?

This has been on my mind for a bit now, since I'm trying to find a school that will accept me for two weeks.

Currently, my position is that most schools don't actually want volunteers since they are considered a hassle to deal with. However I could be slightly biased here.

What do people think? What have people found?

Reply 1

Veggiechic6

14

Schools are very busy places. I think some of them do see volunteers as a bit of a hassle. When I volunteered at a school, I just felt like I was in the way. Nobody had any time for me.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

Jacob Boris

9

Depends on the school, how much experience you have, and also personal connections, such as knowing teachers, SLT, the head etc in that particular school. I was a volunteer TA for a day a week in a local primary school during college term time and close to full time when holidays didn't match up, and I also ran an extra curricular club after school once a week. In my experience the teachers were always happy to have an extra set of hands, to work with various groups, pupils, often the lower achieving or the stretch and challenge for the top, so that they could work with the rest of the class, and being on good personal terms with the head, meant that he had no problem with me, and was glad for me to be there.
But I do think it depends on the school, the time within a term, and how many staff there already are, or if there is need of more, and of course the head, and SLT.

Reply 3

Carnationlilyrose

18

Schools get a great number of requests for work experience and it's often more than they can cope with. Somebody has to be with the person all the time if they haven't been DBS checked and that's not always a productive use of that member of staff's time. It's hard on new entrants to the profession, but it can honestly be more trouble than it's worth for a school, particularly one which has PGCE students already, since the most suitable members of staff already have their hands full.

Original post by Tombola

This has been on my mind for a bit now, since I'm trying to find a school that will accept me for two weeks.

Currently, my position is that most schools don't actually want volunteers since they are considered a hassle to deal with. However I could be slightly biased here.

What do people think? What have people found?

As above, its usually the DBS situation that's the issue. Putting someone in place to stick with the volunteer is very difficult to manage through a normal teacher's working week. Two weeks is actually only 10 working days, one day of that will be paperwork, induction and introductions. So that's nine days to chaperone someone either for one or two teachers so the volunteer takes pot luck, or for a good variety of activities and insight, but a heck of a lot of planning to keep them accompanied all the time.

Maybe that's just my school, but a 2 week volunteer couldn't actually do anything useful for us in that time, so they wouldn't be adding anything to the classroom but would take a lot of supporting.

Reply 5

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by threeportdrift

As above, its usually the DBS situation that's the issue. Putting someone in place to stick with the volunteer is very difficult to manage through a normal teacher's working week. Two weeks is actually only 10 working days, one day of that will be paperwork, induction and introductions. So that's nine days to chaperone someone either for one or two teachers so the volunteer takes pot luck, or for a good variety of activities and insight, but a heck of a lot of planning to keep them accompanied all the time.

Maybe that's just my school, but a 2 week volunteer couldn't actually do anything useful for us in that time, so they wouldn't be adding anything to the classroom but would take a lot of supporting.

Precisely.

Reply 6

tashag93

I've got a work experience placement for one day a week at my old school, and anyone else doing similar to me are also ex-students. I'm not sure if it is the case with all schools, but I've found that because the teachers know me already and know the way that I am from teaching me for so many years, they haven't minded going that bit further in order to help me. E.G. helping organise my DBS checks prior to starting, getting me involved from the get go as a teaching assistant etc. They've also suggested helping me do some starter lessons and things such as that. Had I been someone that they didn't know, or perhaps was not as hard working in school, I question whether I would have had such a positive work experience placement. From working with them even for one day a week, it's easy to understand the immense work load that each teacher has as well as the day to day duties that spring up each day.

I'm guessing already that you would have got in contact with your old school. But if not, definitely do this. Even if you do and they say they can't take you on, I've noticed that a few ex-members of the school have gone onto different schools in the area so there is connection elsewhere.

Reply 7

thomas101

I've volunteered in two schools and neither of them were stringent at all about the DBS check thing. At the second school they said it's okay not to bother with it because I "wasn't being left alone with children", which wasn't even true as I'd been left alone with children on numerous occasions lol.

Anyway, during my time as a volunteer I did feel like a spare part at times, but I never felt like a hassle, much less "disliked". They seemed quite happy to have me work there for a while. I actually requested to stay longer at one of the schools, but they said they couldn't as they were busy with PGCE students coming in and whatnot. Maybe at certain times of the year it's more difficult to find volunteering placements.. I'm not sure.

I got one of my volunteer placements by searching on do-it.org, so you might want to try that out if you find the time.

Reply 8

Tombola

OP

17

Original post by threeportdrift

As above, its usually the DBS situation that's the issue. Putting someone in place to stick with the volunteer is very difficult to manage through a normal teacher's working week. Two weeks is actually only 10 working days, one day of that will be paperwork, induction and introductions. So that's nine days to chaperone someone either for one or two teachers so the volunteer takes pot luck, or for a good variety of activities and insight, but a heck of a lot of planning to keep them accompanied all the time.

Maybe that's just my school, but a 2 week volunteer couldn't actually do anything useful for us in that time, so they wouldn't be adding anything to the classroom but would take a lot of supporting.

Yeah I suspect it probably in the DBS thing.

What I find interesting is that there is quite a number of schools in London who will happily use supply teaching assistants. I guess the agencies must provide the school some level of assurance since the inductions/introductions during those moments tend to seem quite short.

Most seem to be just expected to get on with things?

Reply 9

Carnationlilyrose

18

Original post by Tombola

Yeah I suspect it probably in the DBS thing.

What I find interesting is that there is quite a number of schools in London who will happily use supply teaching assistants. I guess the agencies must provide the school some level of assurance since the inductions/introductions during those moments tend to seem quite short.

Most seem to be just expected to get on with things?

I strongly suspect it's to do with desperate shortages enforcing desperate measures, but I could be wrong.

Original post by Tombola

.........

I suspect the people who get those appointments have the relatively new transportable DBS. When you get a new DBS certificate you have a window of about 19 days where you (the certificate holder) can pay something like £13 admin fee and make your DBS transportable.

That's assuming the DBS/post office combo can get your certificate to you within 19 days of printing it of course :frown:

Reply 11

Airfairy

21

Original post by threeportdrift

Maybe that's just my school, but a 2 week volunteer couldn't actually do anything useful for us in that time, so they wouldn't be adding anything to the classroom but would take a lot of supporting.

This. It is important to remember that even though you are technically 'volunteering', you are not an extra set of hands for them. You will tend to find that you can't do anything overly useful to help out, yet take a lot of looking after at the same time.

It's difficult, and I always felt like a pain when I was there. You do get some schools who are genuinely helpful though.

Reply 12

swarfliam

11

Original post by Airfairy

This. It is important to remember that even though you are technically 'volunteering', you are not an extra set of hands for them. You will tend to find that you can't do anything overly useful to help out, yet take a lot of looking after at the same time.

It's difficult, and I always felt like a pain when I was there. You do get some schools who are genuinely helpful though.

Definitely this ^!

Do schools dislike volunteers?

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