About GoldStar 
Assessing support needs
As early as possible in the recruitment process there needs to be a formal assessment of the needs of each volunteer. A record of this assessment will form the basis for an action programme and ongoing appraisal.
Below are a few examples of how other organisations have accoplished this: |
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Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea support people with disabilities and people with mental and physical health needs to get involved in volunteering. |
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Thirsk, Sowerby and District community care association has appointed a volunteer coordinator with responsibility for induction and ongoing support |
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Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea
A+ Volunteering at Volunteer Centre Kensington & Chelsea encourages and supports disabled people and people with mental and physical health needs to get involved with volunteering.
The project works with volunteers who have additional support needs resulting from:
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Physical or sensory impairment |
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Mental health issues |
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Learning disability or difficulties |
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Other hidden disability or illness |
It supports volunteers to make a valued contribution to their communities through volunteering, and to develop new skills, interests, confidence and independence.
For some volunteers the support will be very practical – help with application forms, travelling to a project, or meeting new people; for others, simply reassurance that an impairment or health concern will not preclude volunteering, and encouragement with taking the initial steps.
The Volunteer Centre may also discuss with an organisation how a role could be developed or adjusted to suit an individual’s particular skills and needs. In every case, the Centre works closely with both the volunteer and the chosen placement to ensure that a good match is made.
All new volunteers have an initial one to one meeting with the A+ Volunteering staff to establish interests, current skills and experience, availability, and what support the volunteer would like from either the Volunteer Centre or a placement project in order to volunteer successfully. The aims of the meeting are to:
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Make the prospective volunteer feel welcome and comfortable with the Volunteer Centre |
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Ensure the prospective volunteer understands what A+ Volunteering does and offers |
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Discuss what kind of volunteering the prospective volunteer is interested in |
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Discuss volunteer support needs and what they think they would need and from whom they would like this support |
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Agree on a plan of action |
When the potential volunteer is referred to the project from Social or Health Services or a voluntary sector organisation, a key-worker (or equivalent) is often involved with this initial process if this is helpful to the individual volunteer.
Thirsk, Sowerby and District Community Care Association
Support for volunteers is provided by the Volunteer Co-ordinator who is responsible for volunteer induction and on-going support. If volunteers have any issues or concerns, these can be addressed with the Volunteer Co-ordinator.
The Association has structured procedures for arranging and agreeing ongoing supervision and support with volunteers, set out through a volunteer arrangement for supervision/support form and a volunteer support/supervision record.
The volunteer arrangement for supervision/support form sets out the principal functions of the supervisory process, which are:
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To ensure that that the volunteer understands their role
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To enable the volunteer to carry out their responsibilities according to policies, procedures and role description
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To be a source of support for the volunteer, recognising the demands of the volunteer role
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To assist with personal development
The content of the supervisory sessions include:
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A review of the volunteer role
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Agreeing goals and forming a social action plan
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Developing the volunteers skills and knowledge base
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A chance to reflect on the volunteer’s own practice as part of the learning process
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Constructive feedback
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Support
The frequency, length and location of the programme of supervision/support are agreed with the volunteer through this process.
A confidential volunteer support/supervision record is maintained, which for each session records the agreed agenda and notes down in relation to each topic/issue:
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The points raised
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Action required and agreed
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Action by whom
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