Students spend time regularly each week outside school as an individual volunteer, being useful to others without being paid for it. This could be in a busy primary school classroom, in the home of an isolated elderly person, at a Charity shop - or anywhere else where help is needed. Students choose the help they are prepared to give - but they are usually helping through an organisation where people know what help is needed and have their own rules for volunteers.
Usually we help students make contact with the organisation. Some organisations prefer us to make first contact with them (e.g. primary schools). Opportunities for volunteering can be found on the 'gift' noticeboard to the left of Mr. Uttley's door in the common room and on the "do-it" website described there.
The 'Community Service' often takes place on a Wednesday afternoon, but it can be arranged at other times, allowing Wednesday afternoons to then become private study periods. Usually it lasts 2 terms.
You may already be giving help you think could be treated as 'Community Service' -if so please tell us about it. We will need to contact those you are helping if it is to be your PDP activity, but we'd like to know about your volunteering even if it isn't for PDP (this could help other students).
If you decide 'Community Service' is your first choice for PDP your next step is to fill in the special community service application form - but at the same time you can join a national organisation supporting and certificating volunteering called "V".
If you are considering this option then please look at the 'V' section of the website
Co-ordinators Mr. P. Mattam
When Wednesday afternoons or other times
Where Off-site locations
How Long Yearly but this is flexible