Reading Volunteer Roles
Home Reading Volunteer
As a Home Reading Volunteer you will:
- Visit the same five families at a set location in London every week either in their home or on their doorstep
- Read and engage with the families and bring books for children to read at home between sessions
- Volunteer with the same volunteer partner each week
- Volunteer on either a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday starting at 4.30 pm and finishing at 7.00 pm
- Build a long-standing relationship with the whole family including giving out local signposting
- Complete post-session notes on our internal database
Online Reading Volunteer
As an Online Reading Volunteer you will:
- Visit the same three families online once a week, connecting via Zoom from your own home
- Volunteer with the same volunteer partner each week
- Volunteer on either a Monday, Tuesday or Thursday starting at 4.30 pm and finishing at 6.30 pm
- Build a long-standing relationship with the whole family including giving out local signposting
- Complete post-session notes on our internal database
Stand-in Home Reading Volunteer
As a Stand-in Home Reading Volunteer you will:
- Fill in for our regular Home Reading Volunteers when they are away, whether that’s because they are on holiday, unwell or for whatever reason they are unable to make their usual reading session
- Be contacted in advance with the upcoming available slots
- Select the days and locations you wish to volunteer at
- Work with many different volunteers and different families
- Volunteer once every 3 weeks which is approximately 12 times across the academic year. You can volunteer more often if you are able to
- Complete post-session notes on our internal database
Stand-in Online Reading Volunteer
As a Stand-in Online Reading Volunteer:
- Fill in for our regular Online Reading Volunteers when they are away, whether that’s because they are on holiday, unwell or for whatever reason they are unable to make their usual reading session
- Be contacted in advance with the upcoming available slots
- Select the days you wish to volunteer on
- Work with many different volunteers and different families
- Volunteer once every 3 weeks which is approximately 12 times across the academic year. You can volunteer more often if you are able to
- Complete post-session notes on our internal database
As a Regular or a Stand-in Home Reading Volunteer you can volunteer at:
Camden, Lambeth, Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham. Please visit ‘Our Services’ for a full list of timings and more information about our home reading projects.
As a Reading Volunteer, whether it’s as a Home or an Online or as a Stand-in Volunteer, you can select the day that suits you best but our projects run at the following times below.
How to get involved
We require the following:
- Register your interest
- Complete an application form
- Interview: We get to know each new volunteer in a 45-minute online interview
- DBS check: All volunteers must have an enhanced DBS check which we process free of charge
- Two references: We ask for one professional and one personal referee
- Training: Our specialised and engaging training covers topics including safeguarding, how to engage with families and how to pick the right books. It’s a combination of pre-recorded training videos and a live interactive training session
The safety of our volunteers and the children and families we read with is our number one priority and we follow safer recruitment guidelines. As a volunteer you’ll get plenty of support and our team is always here for you. To read more on our safeguarding, visit our policies page.
Please get in touch with us on volunteer@doorsteplibrary.org.uk if you have questions. We would love to help in any way we can.
