Volunteering - Kent County Council

In Kent Adult Education Service,
volunteers work mostly within our
Skills for Life provision. Skills for
Life include English and Maths, as
well as independent living skills for those with learning disabilities
and difficulties.
Volunteers support students with their learning under the
guidance of teaching staff, as well as carrying out a variety of
other activities which contribute
to the smooth running of courses,
such as making and developing
resources or maintaining data.
This is a rewarding and valued
role. Volunteers come from all
walks of life; the essential
requirement is an interest in, and commitment to, supporting
others. Training is available and for some this can lead on to
becoming a Teaching Assistant or Tutor.
For more information contact:
Tel: 0845 606 5606
www.kent.gov.uk/adulted
Kent Adult Social Services has a large group of dedicated and
highly valued volunteers working across a wide range of services
being provided for our service users. These include residential
and respite care units for all client groups, day services for older
people and people with learning disabilities and also in a range of
other community settings supporting service users to lead
independent lives.
Volunteers carry out a variety of essential activities helping in
the Units and various schemes. These can be as diverse as running
small shops within residential units, where clients and visitors can
purchase their own little luxuries, to helping within a day centre
for adults with a learning disability to run a disco for the clients.
It is these volunteers who help provide the extra “special
touches” which help make our community services so highly
regarded by all.
Volunteers within Kent County
Council services receive training as
required and are supported by
our staff
The Youth Offending Service coordinate
the Youth Offending Referral
Order Panel Volunteers
YOS Referral Panel volunteers step in
to help young people put offending
behind them. When a young person
pleads guilty to a first offence and receives a referral order, a panel
of volunteers and a YOS advisor meets with the young person, the
parents and the victim of the crime, to agree a tailor-made
contract aimed at putting things right.
The volunteers are
committed to get young
offenders to make amends to
their victims or the
community and support
them to move forward to a
positive future.
There is a need for over
140 volunteers at any time
and there is an opportunity for panellists to gain an NVQ in
recognition of good practice.
For more information contact:
Tel: 08458 247 100
www.kent.gov.uk/yos
Kent County Council volunteers who
are involved with children, young
people and vulnerable adults are all
subject to a Criminal Record check
Heritage Kent has 12 Windmills, the oldest dates back to 1760
and the youngest to 1869. Nowadays the Windmills are open for
visitors with a few still working commercially. As you can
imagine, keeping these Windmills in a good state of repair and
welcoming for visitors requires regular upkeep. Would you be
surprised to know that a lot of the maintenance and running of
the Windmills is done by volunteers.
The volunteers help with:
4 Ongoing maintenance from cleaning
to decorating to minor repairs
4 Help run the mill – full training is
given on the mill’s operation
4 Work on the sales desk on open
afternoons - Sundays and Bank
Holidays from Easter to the end of
September plus occasional days
during the Summer
4 Act as guides on open afternoons –
again full training is given
For information about volunteering at your local
Windmill visit www.kent.gov.uk/windmills
contact the specific Windmill direct.
Kent Volunteers is a partnership between Kent County Council
and representatives of business and the voluntary sector in
Kent, working together to promote volunteering across the
county.
To find out more about the wide range of volunteering
opportunities contact:
Tel: 01622 694844
www.kent.gov.uk/volunteers
This leaflet is available in alternative formats.
Please call 01622 694844.
Volunteering
within Kent County Council services
Volunteers contribute to services across Kent County Council and
make a real difference to the community, making the county a better
place to live, work and enjoy.
Promoting Volunteering is one of Kent County Councils ‘Towards
2010’ targets, pledging to build stronger and safer communities by
working with partners to find more volunteers.
Volunteering has many benefits for both the community and the
individual volunteer. Some volunteers are people who have pursued
careers and who now want to ‘give something back’, others see
volunteering as a means to acquire new employment skills or to
reintegrate themselves into their local community.
Whatever the motivation of individual volunteers, the overall effect
of volunteering is to improve the lives of the people of Kent, our
communities and our countryside.
In addition to placing partnership contracts with voluntary
organisations that involve volunteers who contribute to the services
provided by Kent County Council, we also manage a wide variety of
volunteers in projects across the county.
At any one time there are thousands of volunteers working in our
services. Here are some of the roles they are undertaking.

Environment volunteers are involved in a wide range of
countryside management activities across Kent, undertaking a
variety of roles within our country parks, conservation and
heritage. Projects take place in urban and rural areas and can
range from construction of dipping platforms to board walks,
enhancing habitat for specific species, maintaining our Public
Rights of Way, woodland planting, wildlife monitoring also tree and
river wardens, so there are
plenty of ways to get involved.
All our environmental
programmes enable volunteers
to learn new skills, improve and
enhance their local environment
and explore the countryside.
They also have the added bonus
of being great outdoor exercise.
For students and individuals wishing to gain hands on practical
experience in a range of specific interests for personal or career
objectives, volunteering placements and work experience can
be arranged.
Medway Valley Countryside Partnership
Telephone: 01622 683695
Email: medwayvalley@kent.gov.uk
North West Kent Countryside Partnership
Telephone: 01322 294727
Website: www.nwkcp.org
Kentish Stour Countryside Project
Telephone: 01233 813307
Email: Kentishstour@kent.gov.uk
White Cliffs Countryside Project
Telephone: 01304 241806
Email: mail@whitecliffscountryside.org.uk
Kent Downs AONB Unit
Telephone: 01303 815170
Email: mail@kentdowns.org.uk
Kent High Weald Partnership
Telephone: 01580 212972
Email: info@khwp.org.uk
Romney Marsh Countryside Project
Telephone: 01797 367934
Email: mail@rmcp.co.uk
Email: cmp@kent.gov.uk
Website: www.kent.gov.uk/environment
Children, Families & Education volunteers provide support
in a number of roles.
The Kent Link Scheme has over 100 volunteers around the
county who provide respite care, looking after children and
young people with learning and / or physical disabilities.
The volunteers undertake a varied range of time commitments
including; occasional - after school, - weekends - school holidays
or any combination of these to match the requirements of the
young person.
For more information contact:
Tel: 0845 330 2968
www.kent.gov.uk/SocialCare
School Governors are
all volunteers and come
from all walks of life.
Being a school governor is
one of the key roles within a school and its community. Working
as part of a team, in partnership with the Headteacher, they make
key decisions about a range of issues to ensure higher standards
and school improvement. They get to know the school through
reading reports and making monitoring visits, determine how the
budget is spent and provide a key link between the school, the
community and the local authority.
For further information
Tel: 01622 605160
Email: schoolgovernor@kent.gov.uk
Sport volunteers are vital to the support
of sport in Kent. Kent County Council
works with many sports clubs and sport
organisations involving volunteers across all disciplines, abilities
and age groups. Disability sport is
encouraged and supported and we work
with volunteers who deliver training and
coaching as needed
For more information contact:
Tel: 01622 605338
www.kentsport.org/volunteers
Partnership with Parents volunteers
support and empower parents to be
equal partners in decisions made about
their children’s additional and special
educational needs.
The volunteers provide information to
ensure knowledge of rights and
responsibilities. They help to fill in forms, write letters, prepare
for and possibly accompany parents to meetings and assist them
to liaise with professionals from all agencies.
For more information contact:
Tel: 01622 350640
www.kent.gov.uk/partnershipwithparents
Our volunteers come from all walks
of life and have either a little or
a lot of time to share
Youth Service volunteers carry out
a range of activities to support the
full time staff at youth centres around
the county. This includes shifts as
coffee-bar assistant, a bit of DIY or a
hand with the administration.
Some of the volunteers have past experience and training in
youth work and have come back to help as youth worker
assistants when needed.
Young people are encouraged to volunteer in a variety of roles
including the Youth County Council, enabling the issues and
wishes of young people to be heard.
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award volunteers
provide support within the programme,
accompany young people on expeditions
and acting as assessors.
For more information contact:
Tel: 01622 694788
youth.enqiries@kent.gov.uk or
www,Kent.gov.uk/DofE
Time2Give is Kent Libraries and
Archives (KL&A) exciting volunteering
programme, encouraging people to play
an active role in their communities.
Time2Give volunteers range from 13-90
years of age and help in a wide variety of
library services. Computer Buddies help
customers using the public computers,
providing information and advice in the
use of popular Microsoft packages,
helping to set up email accounts and
provide guidance in using the internet.
Local studies and archive volunteers help maximise the KL&A
local history resources.
Volunteers help with family based
activities such as Baby Rhyme
Time, Homework Clubs and the
Summer Reading Challenge.
Our Home Library Service
volunteers deliver books and
other library materials to
customers who are unable to
visit the library: for example, if they are housebound. Our Library
User Groups are consultative groups that act as local supporters
and critical friends. However, not all volunteer activities relate to
books, we have award winning library gardeners too.
For more information contact:
Tel: 01622 696528
www.kent.gov.uk/libraries
Paul Carter, Leader of Kent County Council says:
“On behalf of Kent County Council I wish to
acknowledge and thank the volunteers who so generously
give their time and share their interests and skills with
others and who do so much to conserve our countryside.
Volunteers are integral to our services and we value their
contribution in all communities across the county.”