- Tackle educational inequality through Schools Plus
- In person and online
- Two hours per week
- No experience needed
What is Schools Plus
Schools Plus places University of Southampton students at local schools to tackle educational inequality.
The programme works with schools to provide study support both inside the classroom and after school activities to combat educational inequality. The goal is improving subject understanding, building confidence & resilience whilst supporting a desire to learn and creating motivation towards education. The programme will also benefit volunteers by helping you develop key skills through working with young people and whilst supporting your wellbeing and confidence, resilience, leadership and teamwork
What Student Hubs has made me realise is that wherever I end up I can and therefore will aim to make a difference to children’s lives for the better.
Emma Watts, Schools Plus volunteer 2021-22
What you’ll be doing
As a Schools Plus volunteer you will attend 6 2-hour weekly sessions at one of our partner schools.
You can choose which partner projects you want to be a part of, from classroom assistant, to reading support, forest schools to extra-curricular clubs you will find the right placement to develop your skills and support young people.
How to get involved
To apply you need to complete an application form to let us know why you’re interested in Schools Plus, your availability for training and which projects you want to take part in.
Once we’ve heard from you the next steps will be:
- Attending introductory training
- Attending project specific training, including child safeguarding
- Completing a DBS check
- Attending a school induction
If you have any questions, or require any support to get involved, don’t hesitate to contact us at stephen.muldowney-mizen@southamptonhub.org
FAQ
There are loads of benefits for you if you get involved with Southampton Hub. These include:
- Having an impact in the community. You can make a difference and tackle educational inequality
- You will develop key skills including teamwork, leadership, resilience and confidence. This will be supported by the professional training you receive and the support you get throughout your experience
- A certificate recognising the commitment you’ve made, which you can put on your CV and share on Linkedin
We’ve assessed the accessibility of all our opportunities and are able to discuss these with you prior to you starting your placement, this includes any reasonable adjustments we can make. All accessibility information will also be sent to you prior to your placement as standard. If you have any questions about accessibility, or want to make request a reasonable adjustment, please reach out to us at hello@southamptonhub.org.
Some examples of reasonable adjustments we can offer include:
- Using an expensed taxi service to aid mobility conditions
- Making sure there is seating with no arms
- Extra time to complete activities in training, as you would get in exams
Our activities are all open for everyone so if you’ve not been involved in social action before, or you’re apprehensive about getting involved, reach out to us at hello@southamptonhub.org. All of our opportunities practice a safe space policy meaning they are supportive, non-judgemental and always willing to listen.
We will be in touch as soon as we’ve read your application. We will let you know about upcoming training, our available opportunities and other key information to support the application process such as expectations to complete safeguarding training and get a DBS check.
DBS stands for Disclosure and Barring Service. These provide a UK criminal records check and are required when individuals are working closely with young people or adults at risk, or have access to sensitive information. In order to get your DBS check you will need:
- Your address history for the last five years
- Your national insurance numberu
- Your passport, driving license or other form of ID
Southampton Hub pays for the check and will support you at every step of the process. If you have a question about this check or want to make a self-disclosure about a criminal record please reach out to us at hello@southamptonhub.org.
In order to support you to be confident working with young people as a Schools Plus volunteer we deliver comprehensive training covering:
- Safeguarding, to ensure both you and the young people you work with are kept safe
- Tutoring techniques, to equip you with the tools you need to support the pupils you work with effectively
- Working with young people, to give you the confidence you need to communicate with pupils and manage behaviour
It’s natural to feel nervous when you try new things, but don’t let you put that off. If you want to talk to a member of our team before applying or attending a session you can email them. Or if you’re not sure who to speak to email info@southamptonhub.org and we’ll get back to you.
Some things we recommend often include joining the programme with a friend – you could sign up together and come to the same session so that you’ll have a friendly face. Alternatively, you could arrange to meet a member of our team before a session so that you get to know each other 1-1 and can travel together. We’ll work together to find a solution which supports you to get involved, whatever that may be.