Volunteer Befriender Application Form

Volunteer Befriender - Application

Please read the Role Description and Expectations below before proceeding with your application.
About the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council CIC (WPCC)

The Wiltshire Parent Carer Council CIC (WPCC) is an independent organisation which is managed and run by parent carers, for parent carers, seeking to enable the voice and experiences of parent carers to positively influence the services that their children and families use. The WPCC currently represents over 2,700 parent carers of children and young people in Wiltshire with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND). As we make our way through the latest lockdown, keeping in touch with people if you are feeling lonely and isolated has never been more important. To help support parent carers, the WPCC is looking to recruit some volunteer to trial a telephone befrienders scheme.
The Role

WPCC's volunteer telephone befriending trial is all about linking volunteer befrienders who are parent carers of children or young people with SEND, with other parent carers in Wiltshire who may be feeling lonely or isolated. As a volunteer telephone befriender, you will receive training and induction, regular supervision and you will be able to claim the cost of telephone calls. A WPCC volunteer telephone befriender would be matched up with at least one parent carer and asked to meet up with that parent carer by telephone once a week. There is no expectation that volunteer befrienders will befriend more than one parent carer, but the possibility of befriending more than one parent carer can be considered, if it is of interest to some volunteers. The role is about providing friendship over the phone only, you will not be expected to provide counselling, advice or signposting support.
Expectations

This is a voluntary role. The WPCC will reimburse the cost of telephone calls made in respect of this role. For continuity of support, the WPCC would ask befrienders to commit to a minimum of two months initially. You need to be a parent carer of a child or young person with SEND. You do not need any previous experience. We would like you to be yourself and positively meet with someone who needs friendship over the phone. We ask that befrienders commit to maintaining telephone contact with the parent carer they are matched with once a week and to arrange mutually convenient times. Befrienders must respect confidentiality, be non-judgmental and develop a positive friendship with the parent carer they are matched with. You will need to be confident using the telephone, have a friendly manner. You will need to be able to keep monthly records of your telephone calls. The WPCC anticipates that calls may last from a few minutes to approximately 20 minutes. As this trial is a new initiative, you will need to be flexible in helping the WPCC to learn how to develop and shape this service as it develops. Befrienders would not be expected to share their personal telephone number. Befrienders will be expected to participate in regular support and supervision to provide feedback on how things are going and to benefit from the mutual support of other befrienders. You will need to be able to supply references from two people who have known you for at least 12 months.
What you can expect from the WPCC

Volunteering can be a hugely rewarding thing to do. The WPCC welcomes applications from all parent carers who align to our ethos and want support us in making a positive difference for the people we represent.

Volunteering can help you to: -

• Gain experience and confidence
• Learning new skills
• Build up a CV for future employment
• Give something back to the community
• Finding employment through experience

The WPCC believes in equal opportunities and welcomes applications from any parent carer regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation etc.

The WPCC will provide training, induction, support and supervision to enable you to embrace this role. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and develop WPCC's trial scheme.

The WPCC will reimburse the cost of telephone calls made in respect of this role.

Thanks to a kind donation by the WPCC's office landlord, the WPCC will give each volunteer befriender a voucher as a gesture of thanks for their time and commitment.
Ready to Apply?

If after having read the information above, you have any further queries about the role and would like to talk to someone about it before deciding whether you would like to apply, please contact the WPCC Strategic Director, Stuart Hall on 01225 764647 (Option 1).

If you would like to be considered as one of WPCC's volunteer telephone befrienders, please proceed by completing the information below.

If you have decided this role isn't for you, simply leave this form. Thank you for your interest.
Full Name *

Prefix First Name Last Name
Current Address *

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

Town County

Post Code
Email Address *
Phone Number

Area Code Phone Number
Mobile Phone number
Reflecting on the information above, please give your reasons for applying for this role and any relevant experience you may have. *

Please limit your response to 400 words 0/400
References

We need you to nominate 2 people we can approach for references.

We will require contact details and information for two referees who can vouch for your suitability for the post.

They must have known you for at least two years.
First Referee

Please give details below of a person who has known you for at least two years, who may be approached for a reference.

If approached by us, we will be asking this person people to comment on your suitability for this role. It is, therefore, important that you make this person aware of the possibility that they may be asked to supply a reference for you.
Name *
Telephone Number *
Email Address *
Context in which you are known to this person. *
Second Referee

Please give details below of another person who has known you for at least two years, who may be approached for a reference.

If approached by us, we will be asking this person people to comment on your suitability for this role. It is, therefore, important that you make this person aware of the possibility that they may be asked to supply a reference for you.
Name *
Telephone Number. *
Email Address. *
Context in which this person knows you. *
Are you related or closely acquainted to any member of the WPCC? *

Yes No
If you said you are related or closely acquainted to a member of the WPCC, please give details.
Convictions
Please give details of any conviction, including the date of conviction and the sentence imposed (a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar).

Road traffic offences should be included.
Conviction/Caution/Bind-overs
Penalty/Sentence
Date
Please confirm that you understand this a volunteer role, not a paid role. *

I confirm that I understand this is a volunteer role
Please confirm you are happy for us to store your data for volunteer recruitment purposes? By submitting your application, you are giving permission for us to store and use your data for purposes of recruitment for this volunteer role. *

Yes
Please use this space if you would like to say anything else in support of your application.

200 words maximum 0/200
Thank you for your interest in this volunteer role with the WPCC.

The closing date for applications is Sunday 24th January 2021. If you have not been contacted by Friday 29th January 2021, please accept that we have not been able to consider you for this role on this occasion.

Please click SUBMIT below to send your application.
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Volunteer Befriender - Application

About the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council CIC (WPCC)

The Role

Expectations