Volunteer Application Pack

The Way Youth Zone Wolverhampton Volunteer Application pack

Thank you for your interest in volunteering at The Way Youth Zone.

We are looking for a range of enthusiastic people with varying skills, talents and interests to work within a variety of roles within The Way Youth Zone and with our young people. Please note our volunteers must be a minimum of 18 years old.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or require any information prior to returning your completed application form.

To enable you to become an active volunteer as soon as possible, please complete and return your application form as soon as possible. You will then be invited to attend a short informal interview and complete a DBS disclosure form.

The team at The Way Youth Zone look forward to receiving your application very soon.

Andrew Walker

[email protected]

Registered Charity Number 1151247

Do something rewarding, worthwhile and be part of something AMAZING:

The Way Youth Zone is a purpose built, state of the art youth facility. We offer a safe, exciting and stimulating environment to young people between the ages of 8 to 19 years. With a minimum of 20 activities every night we offer a huge range of fun, constructive and developmental activities and opportunities which inspire and empower all young people; all for an affordable, nominal entry fee of just 50p. We give young people ‘Somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to’

We are open whenever school isn’t; 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year, between 16:00 – 21:00 every week day and 10:00 till 22:00 at the weekend. We’re also open between 08:00 - 22:00 throughout the school holidays. The Way Youth Zone is open to all young people who want to become a member, regardless of their age, which school they go to or where they live.

Why Volunteer?

 Make a difference to a young person’s life. Everyone has something to offer.

 Volunteering is a fantastic opportunity to meet new friends who share similar interests to you.

 With our training and development programmes, volunteering offers a great way to learn new skills and build your confidence. You will also gain valuable work experience which may help you become clearer on the career direction you wish to choose and can lead to career progression.

 By volunteering at The Way Youth Zone you are doing something worthwhile and giving back to your community by creating positivity and encouraging opportunities for young people.

 Volunteering is fun!! You will have a great time by taking an active part in something amazing that really does enrich the lives of young people. Opportunities at THE WAY YOUTH ZONE

Volunteer Youth Worker:

All our Youth workers are passionate about inspiring young people to be the best that they can be. In a professional and young person centred environment, we adopt a fun and supportive approach to enable young people to socialise, join in activities, and access advice and information to gain personal development opportunities.

Regular sessions would include working with either Juniors (8 - 11yrs) or Seniors (Secondary school age and over). We will also run a number of Girls- only sessions, for example, girls gym class or girls football coaching. There are also fantastic opportunities to really change lives in exciting ‘Outreach’ programmes which target young people on the streets to encourage them to access The Way Youth Zone in a controlled and alcohol and drug-free state.

There are opportunities available to work and have fun within the recreational area and to be within the ‘hub’ of the club. This is a general support network, participating in informal educational discussions. You can make such a difference by simply making time to kick a football, play a game of pool or simply make yourself available to chat.

Experience is not as important as a willingness to learn and seeing things from the point of view of the people we support.

Sports Volunteer:

Sport is a corner stone of any effective youth Zone and at The Way we pride ourselves in the facilities that we have to offer. Alongside our 3G football pitch, we have a 7m high climbing wall, a boxing gym and a state of the art gymnasium. We will also offer a multi-use four court sports hall incorporating - basketball, netball and badminton courts, as well as cricket, cheerleading, martial arts, rounders, trampolining, wrestling and much, much more. Outdoor adventure volunteer:

We are looking for volunteers who are keen to embrace the wonders of the outdoors with our camping trips, orienteering, mountain boarding, canoeing, caving, abseiling and many more. We will be offering challenge days with qualified instructors that will not only challenge our young people, but will challenge you too. You will be able to try things you haven’t done before and improve your teambuilding skills whilst supporting our young people to believe in their own abilities. Alongside this we have an exciting state of the art climbing wall, where the skills can be practiced inside, before mountain climbing and abseiling outdoors.

Duke of Edinburgh Award:

We will be very proud to offer our young people the Duke of Edinburgh Award. By supporting the D of E, you’re in for an amazing adventure and lots of fun as you’ll take part in a range of activities, all leading to our young people gaining the accreditation of an Award that's recognized by universities and employers alike.

Gym Instructors:

We are also looking for gym instructors to support members in our fully air- conditioned gymnasium with the latest high tech exercise equipment. We will set up challenges and targets for young people to take part in to improve fitness, determination and self-belief.

Sport creates a support system which young people commonly seek out. It offers a feeling of belonging and loyalty for your team mates who have a shared purpose. We strive to encourage leadership qualities and a defined structure where everyone is ‘good enough’.

Disability Worker:

We require volunteers to support and enable young people with additional needs to fully participate within The Way Youth Zone. We will offer wheel chair basketball and compete within local teams and tournaments. Our aim is to support people to become as independent as possible and maximise their independent living skills to exercise as much choice and control over their lives as possible.

Arts Volunteers:

The Way Youth Zone offers a diverse and stimulating blend of art based activities that allow our young people the space and time to express their creative talents in a safe and nurturing environment. We encourage the young person’s art, design and crafts to be seen and enjoyed by others.

Theatrical dance and performing arts:

Through energetic and enthusiastic volunteers we embrace our young person’s creative side through dance and drama. We acknowledge the way drama can allow young people to leave their troubles behind and embrace a different side of their character, encouraging confidence building and public speaking. We will offer various dance classes such as tap, modern and ballet and take pride in putting on fantastic performances of plays and musicals

Fashion and Design:

Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics to clothing and accessories. We will encourage young people to work in a number of ways to design clothing and accessories in an attempt to satisfy consumer desire for aesthetically designed clothing. This will encourage working to time scales and understanding the consumer market. As well as designing and creating outfits for The Way Youth Zone performances in the future.

Music Sound and recording:

The Way Youth Zone is proud to have a state of the art music suite with acoustic, electric and bass guitars, drums, keyboards and other instruments as well as a high tech recording studio to bring out the rapper and or singer in each young person.

MCing and DJing: In our music suite, we have facilities to teach and embrace the art ‘D J ing’ and ‘M C ing’. (MC stands for master of ceremonies and is the art of rapping) We will have our very own The Way Youth Zone radio station where our young MCs can deliver and broadcast an engaging and exciting form of communication. Our young people will require support and involvement from enthusiastic volunteers to complete workshops in order to write and present for their current audience. This will improve speaking and listening skills as well as give an opportunity to develop scheduling and organisational skills. With the radio station, we can reinforce what has been learned in the classroom by making radio shows about topics covered. We can also give budding musicians the chance for their music to be recorded and played on the airwaves to share their good work and talent.

Volunteer office support/ IT/ Receptionist

We also have various opportunities to work within our office, completing administration duties and reception work. There are opportunities with I.T and all general admin duties. You can gain valuable experience and improve your communication and organisational skills.

Volunteer Kitchen assistant and tuck shop assistant

Our large well equipped kitchen provides quality meals and snacks for our young people at affordable prices. The kitchen is well subsidised to enable kitchen staff to provide nutritious and delicious meals to all our young people. We will require enthusiastic, engaging volunteers to help serve food and snacks. We will also provide cooking courses, sessions and training within the kitchen environment.

Volunteer Mentor:

Mentoring provides a young person with one – to – one support from someone who cares. It’s noted that young people feel supported by volunteers as they know that a volunteer is there because they want to be there. This support is paramount to help improve confidence and self-esteem, enabling a coping mechanism away from the troubles of daily life. A mentor will offer support within their education and employment and be there to listen and encourage positive outcomes within their life. Enterprise volunteer:

We require volunteers who can support our young people in learning topics relevant to planning and running a business and to consider whether self- employment is right for them. Our members often need a little help and advice with their career direction and help with both completing CVs and with interview techniques. It may also be that they require advice and support with managing money, filling out forms or understanding the small print.

Domestic Life skills volunteer:

Often some members haven’t had the right direction with simple life skills such as basic cooking, ironing, paying a bill or tying a tie. If you are very domesticated and take pride in your appearance and home you may be able to help a young person with this direction.

Volunteer Mini bus drivers:

We require volunteers who have the experience and relevant training to pick up and drop off the young people at the Way Youth Zone from local areas at specific times of the day. All drivers will need to be over the age of 21 and hold a driving licence for over 2 years. The driving licence must have been taken before the 1st January 1997 to automatically allow you to drive the mini bus with a maximum 6 points on the licence. Prior to starting the role training will be provided for every driver and assistants.

Holiday Club Volunteer:

We require volunteers in all of the previously mentioned opportunities who can come and help us deliver our extensive holiday programmes during half terms and the summer holidays. If you have time off from college and university and looking to gain experience, this would be perfect for you. The main times would be 8am-12noon, 11am-3pm and 2pm-6pm but there are other times available if these are not suitable.

Other: If you have a skill, talent or experience in any other field which you could engage in with our young people then please do not hesitate to discuss with us. The Way Youth Zone is a young person led organisation that will adapt to the needs of each member and the skills and experience of the volunteers available.

Training:

At The Way Youth Zone, we are committed to continual training and support of all our volunteers. We also offer consistent line management appraisals which we find are paramount to achieving the high standards of professionalism within The Way Youth Zone.

We offer a core training course which all volunteers will complete; this includes modules on child protection and safe guarding young people, working with young people and maintaining appropriate relationships and boundaries. It also includes managing challenging behaviour, working with disabilities and partaking in small team games and sports. Our on-going training is reactive to local trends and what the needs are of our young people.

Time commitment:

We ask that all our volunteers commit to one session per week, but the day and time is decided by you, however where possible we like our volunteers to have regular shifts i.e. - Monday 4-9pm. This allows us to effectively plan our work with young people and ensures they have the continuity and stability of care that they deserve.

What next? – Getting started:

 Read though the pack

 Choose an opportunity that interests you

 Fill in the application form and return it to us

Then we will:

 Invite you to a short informal chat, where you can find out more  Fill in a DBS Disclosure form

 Send for two references which you will have provided

 Book you on our training programme

Application Form

About the Role

Position applied for: Area of interest/opportunity:

Personal Information

Name: Address:

Date of Birth:

Postcode:

Home Phone Number: Mobile Phone Number:

Email: National Insurance Number: Are there any restrictions to your Yes If yes, please provide details below… residence in the UK which might affect your right to take up employment in the UK? No

If you are successful in your application, Yes If yes, please provide details below… would you require a work permit prior to taking up employment? No

Do you have any unspent convictions, Yes If yes, please provide details below… cautions, reprimands or warnings?

(Before you answer this question we No must make you aware that you need to disclose any convictions, cautions, warnings, reprimands and previous or pending investigations as these will all appear on DBS checks, and non- disclosure of the information may prevent your acceptance as a Wolverhampton Youth Zone volunteer. The reason for the above question is based around not only child protection and health and safety but also around trust and honesty between the candidate and the host agency.) Do you hold a current driving license? Yes Please provide details of any current endorsements on your driving license (e.g. penalty points or driving convictions) No …

Employment History

Please provide any information that highlights your skills and the experience gained in your previous employment, including any voluntary work you may have carried out. Please provide as much information as possible including any periods when self-employed, unemployed, working abroad etc. in the ‘gaps in your employment and education’ section below. (Starting with your most recent employer).

Dates Name and Address of Employer Job Title, Main Duties Salary on Leaving, and Responsibilities, Reason for Leaving (Start and Major Achievements Finish)

Education

Please list all relevant education, training, professional qualification and professional memberships. Please provide as much information as possible including any periods of time out for travelling, casual work etc. in the following ‘gaps in your employment and education’ section below.

Name & Address of Dates (start Subject Awarding Qualification/Grades school/college/organisatio n and finish) Body Are you prepared to make a statutory declaration for any ‘gaps’ in your employment/education history as shown above? Y/N (please delete where necessary)

Information to support your application

Please tell us about any work experience or volunteering which are relevant to working with young people, strengths and skills and what you hope you hope to gain from volunteering at The Way Youth Zone (please use separate pages if needed) Ethnicity

Asian / Asian British Bangladeshi Chinese Indian Pakistani Any other Asian background Black / Black British African Caribbean Any other Black background

Mixed / multiple ethnic groups White and Asian White and Black African White and Black Caribbean White and Chinese Any other Mixed / multiple ethnic background

White British / English / Welsh / Northern Irish / Scottish Irish Gypsy or Irish Traveller Any other White background

Other ethnic group Arab Any other ethnic group

Prefer not to say Prefer not to say

References

Please list the names and addresses of at least two people from whom a character reference may be obtained. One of which should be your most recent employer.

Reference Name Address Tel No Relationship

Declaration

I declare to the best of my knowledge and belief that the information given in this application is correct. I understand that any false or misleading information given either in this application form or in any other documentation completed or verbal statement made during the recruitment process may prevent my acceptance as a Youth Zone volunteer.

If you are sending this form electronically you will be asked to sign it if you are invited to interview.

Signature: Date:

Please return this form by email to: [email protected]