Volunteer with the Barnardos MacUilliam Parent & Toddler Service

Description of Project, Service or Department:

The MacUilliam Parent & Toddler / Child Health Clinic service (Dublin South West, Children’s Service Department) operates every Tuesday from 10am to 12pm in the Community Room of the Barnardos Lorien Project at 31 MacUilliam Crescent, Fortunestown, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

The service is provided in conjunction with an HSE Public Health Nurse Child Health outreach clinic.

The aim of the group is to:

• Provide a safe welcoming environment for children and their families to play together.
• Promote children’s well-being and development through play and positive interactions with significant adult, via the roll out of the Peep programme (delivered by trained Barnardos staff). Peep stands for Parent Early Education Partnership and is about valuing and building on what parents already do.
• Parents and carers will receive peer support and also support and advice from Barnardos staff in relation to child development and parenting.
• Children and families will be supported with specific needs and referred to relevant agencies.

 

Outline of Volunteers Tasks and Responsibilities:

A volunteer with an interest and experience in early year’s development, play and positive parenting is required for the MacUilliam Parent Toddler / Child Health Clinic service to assist with:

1. Preparing a child centred environment in line with the Peep programme
2. Welcoming parents and children to the service
3. Interacting in a positive and friendly manner with both parents and children
4. Planning and supporting play activities in line with Peep programme
5. Supporting parents to build friendships
6. Assisting in the preparation of refreshments for parents and children (light snacks).
7. Helping set up / tidy up toys and equipment
8. Participating in the planning and reviewing of programmes
9. Assisting project staff to ensure a high standard of health and safety and good practice (including Covid guidelines)
10. Feeding back and completing with staff, when required, incident forms if any issues arise regarding child protection or health & safety
11. Facilitating staff to promote the parent child relationship of service users
12. Facilitating staff in encouraging parents to actively play with their children

 

Training and Support Plan:

• The service will provide induction, and hands on follow up training with volunteer as required.
• Where possible the volunteer will attend training as provided centrally in Barnardos, and where linkages are available locally to other training providers
• Supervised by project staff as assigned.

 

Time Commitment:

As we try to ensure consistency of service to families and children attending the project we are seeking a minimum commitment of one session a week (Tuesdays from 10am to 12pm) for at least a 9 month period. The service will not operate during the month of August.

Person Specification:

• Friendly and polite.
• Confident (dealing with general queries – following training).
• Patience to deal with the various requests that can arise.
• Awareness of confidentiality in relation to service users.
• Understanding of child development.
• Have the capacity to work in a disadvantaged community.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Ability to respond in a positive and age appropriate way to children’s needs and behaviour.
• Ability to show initiative.
• A willingness to learn and experience new ideas.
• A willingness to accept and comply with Barnardos ethos, policies and procedures.
• A willingness to share experience, expertise and a willingness to accept support.
• To have a sense of humour.
• Willingness to play with children at their level, to sing nursery songs, to read stories and to engage in messy play (with paint, glitter etc).

 

Application process, references and Garda Vetting (plus extra police clearances if required)