RSVP West Region: School projects

RSVP volunteers lend a helping hand in many schools throughout the region; a group of about twenty works in Bristol.

Volunteers mostly join primary schools — less often secondaries. Usually there’s one volunteer to a school but sometimes more. They’re there under the general direction of a teacher Former headteacher and volunteer listens to a child reading in a Bristol primary school

Former headteacher and volunteer listens to a child reading in a Bristol primary school

to help and support classwork. Most often they listen to children practising their reading, but some also support children doing cooking and sewing, arts and crafts, maths, music, languages, sport and computing. The time they spend ranges from one session of two hours a week up to five or more, though they usually start at the lower end of that range.

Sylvia Dodd helps to place volunteers and is an active volunteer herself. “It’s the individual one-to-one attention that’s most valuable, so we normally listen to a child read on his or her own away from the rest of the class. The key to success is this personal attention, having the time to treat children as individuals and showing that you care about them and what they’re doing. In return you get fun, affection and stimulation. Not Volunteer Ian James helps set up a video camera for an interview.

Volunteer Ian James helps set up a video camera for an interview.

least, you’re stimulated, almost forced, to belong in today’s world, to keep in touch with the interests of young people and appreciate their different outlook on life.”

Ian James is also a volunteer in a local school, these days mainly specialising in computing. “Between us, Sylvia and I place the new volunteers. They are usually assigned to a teacher who acts as a mentor and contact and who works out a programme of support for the volunteer with individual teachers. We find that volunteers very quickly become deeply involved with the life and work of the school, so that the job of organising them is hardly arduous. You don't need special training to become a volunteer but — apart from the ability to relate to the staff and children, of course — you do need to be flexible. You’re there to support the school with any skills you have. But you’re also there to enjoy yourself: if you aren’t having fun you should be doing something different.”