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Volunteering Policy Statement

Thank you for your interest in voluntary work for Beatbullying.

1.0 Introduction to Beatbullying

Beatbullying is the UK’s leading bullying prevention charity. Founded in 1999, Beatbullying empowers young people to lead anti-bullying campaigns in their schools and local communities, and builds the capacity of local communities to sustain the work. Beatbullying assists and supports young people that are being bullied, re-educating and changing the behaviour of young people that bully, and preventing bullying in schools and communities across the UK.

Beatbullying is the UK’s first children’s charity to devise anti-bullying strategies for young people by young people, focusing on ‘peer to peer’ education and empowering young people to take action against incidents of bullying and help others combat the problem. We strongly believe that young people have the ability to shape society - a society in which bullying is unacceptable.

Beatbullying aims to reduce and prevent the incidence and impact of bullying, (physical, emotional, verbal, genderised, racist, inter-faith, homophobic) between young people. We provide on the ground anti-bullying support and workshops for schools all across the UK, and this website offers a wealth of information and resources on the problem of bullying.

In line with this Mission, Beatbullying seeks to involve volunteers in its service provision in order to:

1. ensure that our services meet the needs of our children and young people across London, regionally and nationally;
2. provide new skills and perspectives;
3. maintain and build on our links with the local community we serve.

1.1 Why become a volunteer with Beatbullying?

As a volunteer with Beatbullying, you will have the opportunity to make a real difference to your local community. During the course of your volunteering, you will also get:

1. opportunities to develop interests and skills through regular access to training and supervision;
2. opportunities to learn new skills and to put them into practice with support from co-workers and formal supervision;
3. the chance to gain work experience within a supportive, empowering and dynamic environment (this can often prove very valuable if you are looking for paid work and require a job reference);
4. the chance to find out more about the issues surrounding bullying, social inclusion, behaviour management, conflict resolution, citizenship and hate crimes.

Although volunteers give their time free, you will be refunded for any out of pocket expenses you incur whilst working for Beatbullying (for further information, please see Section 6 under Expenses).

2.0 How to become a volunteer with Beatbullying

As a first step, just fill in the application form enclosed in this pack and return it to Beatbullying, Rochester House, 4 Belvedere Road, London SE19 2AT. Before returning the form, please ensure that you have completed:

1. the Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check (this is something that Beatbullying is legally required to ask you to fill out, due to the sensitive nature of the work. However each case will be viewed individually, and having a criminal record will not necessarily exclude you from becoming a volunteer);
2. the References section (reference checks will need to be completed before a volunteer can begin induction and training).

Please make sure to the best of your ability, to mark all contact information and references contact details clearly. All information that you give on the form will be treated in the strictest confidence.

3.0 Matching you to your preferred volunteering opportunity

Beatbullying will always endeavour, within reason, to match each volunteer that it recruits with his or her preferred area of Beatbullying’s service provision, whether that be the service for children and young people, parents and professionals, fundraising, marketing, administration, research, design and Information technology. 

You may have a very clear idea of the area that you wish to work in already, and if this is the case the application form gives you the opportunity to express this and to explain your reasons for wanting to work in that particular area.

However, many applicants are less sure of which area they wish to work in. If you are unsure about the service you would like to work most closely with, don’t worry. This will not count against you in the selection procedure, and it is something that can be worked out as part of the recruitment process.

The most important quality that Beatbullying looks for in its volunteers is a commitment to supporting all those affected by bullying in a responsible and sensitive manner, in line with Beatbullying’s mission statement, policies and procedures (in particular its Equal Opportunities, Confidentiality and Health and Safety Policies).

3.1 Availability

Given that Beatbullying’s services operate on specific days, one of the factors that may affect which service area a volunteer is placed with is his or her availability. For example, the Beatbullying inter-community forums may often be convened in the evenings or Beatbullying’s fundraising may include volunteering on a Saturday or Sunday, and so if a volunteer was consistently unavailable to work at any time during that period, he/she would be unlikely to be able to work with that service.

4.0 Beatbullying’s responsibilities to you

Beatbullying’s Volunteer Policy is underpinned by the following principles:

1. Beatbullying will ensure that volunteers are properly integrated into the organisation;
2. Beatbullying does not and will not aim to introduce volunteers to replace paid staff;
3. Beatbullying expects that staff at all levels will work positively with volunteers.

4.1 Induction and training

All volunteers will receive an induction into Beatbullying and their own area of work, which will consist of approximately 1-2 x three-hour sessions. Evaluation will take place after each session.

Once you become a volunteer, further training will be provided as appropriate.

Professional and ethical guidelines will be adhered to by instructors, volunteers, the management team and management committee members.

4.2 Support

All volunteers will have Beatbullying’s development director as their main contact, in addition to the particular link worker for the area in which they work (domestic violence/racial harassment/homophobic abuse/crime). They will be provided with regular supervision to feed back on progress, discuss future development and air any problems.

5.0 Your responsibilities to Beatbullying

1. To be committed to furthering Beatbullying’s aims and objectives.
2. To abide by Beatbullying’s codes of practice, policies and procedures (including the Code of Conduct, the Confidentiality, Equal Opportunities and Health and Safety Policies), all of which are included in the Volunteer’s Induction Pack.
3. To take part in regular training, induction and assessment sessions and activities.
4. To contribute towards a pleasant and efficient working environment by treating all co-workers and clients with respect and courtesy.

6.0 Practice Guidelines

The following guidelines deal with practical aspects of the involvement of volunteers. More detailed information, including copies of the various documents referred to, is provided in the volunteer's induction pack.

Recruitment

All prospective volunteers must complete the application form that follows, including:

1. the section requesting references (reference checks will need to be completed before a volunteer can begin the induction training);
2. the section regarding criminal record checks (N.B. Because volunteers with Beatbullying will be working with vulnerable people you are required by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 to declare all criminal convictions including those that are spent. However, each case will be looked at separately and having a criminal record does not necessarily mean that you cannot become a volunteer).

volunteer Agreements and Voluntary Work Outlines

Each volunteer will sign a volunteer Agreement establishing what Beatbullying undertakes to provide them with. In addition they will agree a written outline of the specific work they will be undertaking.

Support

All volunteers will have Beatbullying’s development director as their main contact, in addition to the particular other staff will be available to support and discuss issues with. They will be provided with regular supervision to feed back on progress, discuss future development and air any problems.

The Volunteer’s Voice

Volunteers are actively encouraged to express their views about matters concerning the organisation. They can do so at any point through Beatbullying’s Development Director. The board of directors will also be available for volunteers to feedback to direct or via the appropriate member of staff.

Confidentiality

All volunteers and paid staff are to handle confidential material in accordance with the confidentiality procedures in place and must sign and return the Confidentiality Statement before they can commence their induction.

Health and Safety

Volunteers are covered by Beatbullying’s Health and Safety Policy, a copy of which is in the Volunteer's Induction Pack.

Equal Opportunities

Beatbullying operates an Equal Opportunities policy in respect of both paid staff and volunteers. A copy is in the Volunteer's Handbook.

Absence/availability
Volunteers are requested to give 24 hours notice of absence or availability.

Insurance

All volunteers are covered by Beatbullying’s insurance policy whilst they are on the premises or engaged in any work on Beatbullying’s behalf.

Expenses

Voluntary organisations have a certain obligation to reimburse voluntary workers’ expenses, such as travel expenses to and from the place of volunteering. It is also good practice to allow volunteers working a minimum of five hours per day to claim expenses for lunch. With this in mind Beatbullying agrees to pay the following expenses to its volunteers.

Travel expenses up to £10.00 per day,
Lunch expenses up to £6.00 per day

Grievances and Disciplinary Procedures

We aim to identify and solve problems at the earliest possible stage. A procedure has been drawn up for dealing with complaints either by or about volunteers and all other staff of Beatbullying. A copy of the disciplinary and grievance procedures is included in the Volunteer's Induction Pack.