Beds SU Volunteering Community Partnership Agreement

The University of Bedfordshire Students’ Union (Beds SU) is an independent, student-led organisation with over 12,000 members, all of whom are students at the University of Bedfordshire. Beds SU is committed to providing opportunities to students whereby they are able to take on a role of responsibility, empowering them to build confidence, learn new skills and make themselves more employable in addition to their academic studies.

The Community Partnership Agreement is designed to ensure that the time and dedication given by students receives recognition, support and the students receive praise for their commitment to volunteering. It outlines methods of recruitment, support procedures and the mechanisms in place to safeguard volunteers placed by Beds SU Volunteering. The Agreement also ensures community organisations that we work with receive a satisfactory service from the Beds SU brokerage scheme, delivered by the Volunteering department.

This agreement acts a reference point to both volunteers and community partners in order to highlight the rights of volunteers and how they can expect to be treated, as well as stating our responsibilities towards the community partners and our expectations from them.

What we provide for you:

 A platform to advertise your volunteering opportunities  Notify you by email when we receive a volunteer’s expression of interest  Update information about your organisation and opportunities on the Beds SU website when requested  Provide regular updates throughout the year and keep you informed with other news and events from Beds SU Volunteering  Promote your volunteering roles to students via the Beds SU website, Volunteering Facebook page, notice boards, drop-ins, fairs etc in an unbiased manner  Promote volunteering as an extra-curricular activity which complements a student’s academic studies  Maintain regular contact with your organisation and the volunteer throughout the duration of a volunteer’s involvement, offering on-going support, opportunity for feedback and assistance in resolving any pertinent issues  The opportunity to attend the Beds SU Volunteering Fairs and advise you about the best way to promote your volunteering opportunities within Beds SU  Provide access (subject to availability) to our campuses to raise awareness of your organisation and promote your volunteering roles throughout the year  An opportunity to be the featured organisation of the month, which will provide you with additional publication throughout the month as well as become the focus of our social media outlets and website  Twice a year we will review with you the number of volunteers you have received from us and how to improve this What we expect from you:

 Provide volunteering opportunities which are appropriate for students, where levels of expectation are realistic and achievable and where voluntary activity will not replace the work of paid members of staff.  Ensure that you have / will: - Employers Liability Insurance/Public Liability Insurance to cover all volunteers - A health and safety policy - Properly risk assessed all volunteering activities and premises - Policies for the protection of children and adults at risk (as applicable to your line of work) - Work with volunteers in a non-discriminatory way in accordance with Equal Opportunities policies. - Hold responsibility for undertaking DBS checks or seek references on volunteers if this is a requirement for the volunteer role  To act in accordance with Beds SU data protection policy by treating all student volunteers information confidentially and only using there information for opportunity as advertised.  Inform us when our volunteers have begun volunteering with you  Induct each volunteer and provide training, where required  Provide a named supervisor and regular supervision for each volunteer  Reimburse volunteers all reasonable out of pocket expenses in a timely fashion, upon receipt of the necessary documentation  Maintain open and on-going communication with Beds SU Volunteering, regarding volunteer referrals and progress, and ensure that any issues and concerns are raised immediately.  Provide Beds SU Volunteering with ‘good news story’ updates about our volunteers and exceptional work that they have completed.  Ensure all Beds SU volunteer timesheets are approved and encourage students to complete Beds SU timesheets as appropriate.  Inform Beds SU when a volunteer’s involvement ends, for whatever reason

Below outlines the student volunteer’s rights and responsibilities and it is advised that community organisations familiarise themselves with these, so as to fully understand the relationship our students expect to enter into when volunteering with you. Every student that registers with our database will be provided access to a copy of the below for their reference. Volunteer Rights in the Community

Beds SU will…

Ensure Volunteers Feel Valued:

 external organisations are encouraged to provide recognition and further development opportunities

 Beds SU will host a yearly Thank You party for volunteers

 Volunteers should not be out of pocket: Voluntary organisations have a certain obligation to reimburse voluntary workers’ expenses, such as travel expenses to and from the place of volunteering. It is important to Beds SU that barriers to volunteering are not put in place, and that our partner organisations consider following volunteering good practice when it comes to payment of expenses.

Ensure Volunteers Feel Supported:

 Volunteers will receive regular supervision meetings with the community partner, if this is not being fulfilled then Beds SU will contact and support any volunteer who feels their rights are not being met

 Volunteers can expect to be contacted at least twice a year to find out how their volunteering is going by Beds SU

 Volunteers should receive opportunities to feedback: Volunteers are encouraged to let the SU know of any issues or concerns they have with a community partner or the department itself.

Ensure volunteers Feel Safe and Secure:

 Community partners should have all necessary and up to date insurances for the voluntary work taking place.

 If it is discovered that an organisation does not have the necessary insurance they will be removed from the brokerage system and Beds SU will no longer support their recruitment.  Volunteers do not have to carry out any task they believe to be inappropriate or unrealistic

Volunteers responsibilities in the community

A Student Volunteer Will…

Act as an ambassador for Beds SU:

 By behaving in an appropriate manner.

 Agreeing to abide by the Students’ Union’s Equal Opportunities Policy and follow policy and procedure when Volunteering.

 Make Beds SU Volunteering aware of any changes in circumstances that may affect your volunteering and to keep in regular contact with the Student Activities team

 To provide Beds SU with details of the number of volunteering hours undertaken, in order to assist with reference provision and for Beds SU reporting purposes.

Treat their volunteering opportunity with professionalism:

 respect confidences.

 be reliable and maintain agreed levels of commitment.

 attend training where appropriate.

 To be committed to furthering Beds SU’s vision, mission and values

 Volunteers are free to stop volunteering at any time, however we would encourage our students to give plenty of notice and to conduct themselves in a professional manner.