Volunteer in Pimlico or Marylebone

As a Regular Home Volunteer you will:

• Visit the same 5 families at a set location in Westminster every week during school term, either in their home or on their doorstep.
• Read and engage with the families and bring books for the children to read at home between sessions.
• Volunteer with the same volunteer partner each week.
• Volunteer on either Tuesday or Thursday starting at 4.30 pm and finishing at 7.00 pm.
• Build a long-standing relationship with the whole family.
• Complete post-session notes on our internal database.
• Make a regular weekly commitment during school term time for 32 weeks of the year. Volunteers are entitled 2 absences per term.

As a Semi-Regular Home Volunteer you will:

• Visit the same 5 families at a set location in Westminster every other week during school term, either in their home or on their doorstep.
• Read and engage with the families and bring books for the children to read at home between sessions.
• Volunteer with the same volunteer partner/partners every other week.
• Volunteer on either 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.
• Make a regular every other week commitment during school term time for 16 weeks of the year.

As a Stand-in Home Volunteer you will:

• Fill in for our Regular Home 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.

This depends on your volunteering role. As a Home Reading Volunteer, you’ll read with children in person in Westminster. Prefer to volunteer in another location or online? Visit our main volunteer page to find out about our other opportunities.

All volunteers must be based in the UK, so that we can carry out an enhanced DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check for working with children.

Please note that you need a permanent UK address to volunteer at Doorstep Library due to our volunteering-from-abroad policy. Please see here for reference.

As a Regular Volunteer, you will visit the same families on either Tuesday or Thursday every week for a minimum of 9 months during school term time only.

As a Semi-Regular Volunteer, you will visit the same families on either a Tuesday or Thursday every other week for a minimum of 9 months during school term time only.

As a Home Volunteer you will start at 4.30pm and finish at 7.00pm and if you are a an Online Volunteer you will start at 4.30pm and finish at 6.30pm.

You won’t be required to volunteer during the half-term holidays or during the Easter, Christmas or Summer holidays and you are entitled to 2 absences per term. Altogether you will be volunteering for approximately 32 weeks of the year as a Regular Volunteer and 16 weeks of the year as a Semi-Regular Volunteer. 

If you can’t volunteer regularly, you can become a Stand-In Volunteer. Our stand-ins step in when a Regular and Semi-Regular Volunteers can’t come to a session. We ask Stand-in Volunteers to volunteer once every 3 weeks/12 times across the year during school term time. This is much more flexible and can be a great opportunity to meet and work with different volunteers and families.

The main aim of our reading sessions is to inspire a love of books, stories and storytelling, and to instil a lifelong love of reading. This helps to prepare children for school and broadens their opportunities in later life.

As a Home Reading Volunteer, you’ll visit the same 5 families each week and spend 20 minutes reading and engaging with each family. You’ll also bring the children a few extra books to leave behind, ensuring they always have enough to read at home between the sessions.

Our reading sessions are all about bringing the gift of books and the joy of reading into the home. We don’t have set attainment goals, the sessions should be fun for both children and volunteers. Friendly chats, reading with silly voices or playing a game is very much encouraged!

Your volunteering journey begins with filling in the application form above. We will then arrange a short interview via Teams to get to know you better.

We’ll also help you complete an enhanced DBS check and you’ll be asked to provide the names of two referees. Finally, you’ll complete your training to get you ready for your reading sessions.

Please note you need to be over the age of 18 and have a permanent UK address in order to volunteer.

Absolutely, we provide training programmes for Home Reading volunteers which include pre-recorded training videos that you can watch at home in your own time and at your own pace. The training covers topics such as basic rules and principles, safeguarding, and plenty of advice on how to make reading sessions engaging and build a relationship with the children and families.

Throughout your volunteering, you’ll be getting lots of support from your Project Leader as well as other volunteers. We’ll be always happy to hear your feedback, answer any questions and respond to any concerns.