Teacher FAQ

• Which age group will be involved in the volunteer program?
  We work mostly with Year 8+ students, with Year 8s and 9s working in small groups (with teachers supervising each group) and Year 10s-12s able to volunteer on their own in the community.
• Will it be promoted through one particular unit, or school-wide?
  Sometimes schools decide that volunteering fits well within a particular area, such as Society and Environment, Student Council, English, Vocational Studies. Some schools decide to invite a whole year group to participate in YVolunteer. It’s good to try a small group the first year, just to see how it goes.
• How does YVolunteer related to the Curriculum Framework?
  Volunteering WA has received letters of support for YVolunteer from the Department of Education and Training, Association of Independent Schools and the Catholic Education Office. This demonstrates the widely-held view that volunteering goes hand and hand with the values which underpin the Curriculum Framework:
  osocial and civic responsibility;
  orespect and concern for others and their rights;
  oenvironmental responsibility;
  oself acceptance and respect of self;
  othe pursuit of knowledge; and,
  oa commitment to achievement of potential.
  
  The Department of Education & Training (DET) has also implemented the Community Service Program, where all year 10 and 11 students will need to complete 20 hours of community service in order to receive their Western Australian Certificate of Secondary Education. YVolunteer is working closely with DET to assist those schools interested in running YVolunteer for students wishing to volunteer. For more information on the Community Service Program, click here.
• What is service learning?
  Service learning is where service to the community is taken in an educational context. Or, where education is taken in a service context! Service learning explores the connection between the act of volunteering and the relevance that it has in society. Students are encouraged to think about this connection through reflection activities such as a discussion, writing in a journal, conducting further community research. YVolunteer promotes service learning, particularly the keeping of a YVolunteer Journal.
• What are the benefits of using a service learning model?
  We love to hear about schools that link educational outcomes to volunteering thus allowing students to volunteer during the school day. This opens up a wider range of volunteer opportunities. Many non-profit agencies are only open during weekdays. School hours also happen to be the time where non-profits have volunteer managers available to supervise the students.
• Will the students be volunteering during school, or on their own time?
  It is up to the school when the students will be able to volunteer. However, we strongly recommend that school staff manage communication with agencies to avoid over-whelming numbers of students contacting agencies for the same information. Agency staff prefer to have one point of communication with each school to use their limited time and resources most effectively
• For how long will the students volunteer?
  Every school has a different volunteer program. Some prefer the 'immersion' system where students volunteer all day for a one-week period, although few agencies can support this approach due to the demanding supervision requirements. Others schools ask students to complete a certain number of hours per year, or invite students to volunteer for one term during class time. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. At YVolunteer, we promote regular volunteering, where the student can build a strong relationship with a particular agency.
• Will you be covering the students for personal injuries while volunteering?
  If the students are volunteering out of school hours, you must make sure they are covered under personal accident insurance. Many times, non-profit agencies have this cover, but often, the minimum age limit is 16. Also, the cover is often quite low ($10,000) if a volunteer is under 18. If all students from your school are able to get their own cover, this would open up more volunteer opportunities for them. Please contact YVolunteer for more information.
• How much time is involved in organising YVolunteer?
  YVolunteer save you time by identifying opportunities for partnerships with not-for-profit organisations in your area. We have access to a database of 100's of member organisations and others, to streamline the process.
  We strongly recommend that the teacher visit each agency involved in the program to build a rapport with the Agency Supervisor.