Volunteering with refugee families - various opportunities

The team of volunteers plays a key role in supporting the refugee families. We do this by helping families to learn English, familiarising them with Norwich and Norfolk, and helping to engage them with the wider community. With the team’s and your support, they are able to rebuild their lives in Norwich.  

An Outline of Our Volunteer Roles  

Befrienders  

Befrienders make up the majority of our volunteer team. Befrienders are assigned to a family or an individual, and focus on helping them to become more self-reliant in the UK. The befriender’s role is the most diverse one, and can involve a wide variety of tasks such as helping families get to grips with their post (often bills or other formal requests for information); helping them navigate their way around the city; and getting to appointments using public transport. We find that refugee families who have a regular befriender pick up English more quickly due to frequent, purposeful conversation. This normally requires a commitment of two or three hours, once a week or once a fortnight, for at least a year. Each family also has a Development Worker or Social Worker from PfAT, who works with the family following their support plan.  

Ad Hoc volunteering 

From time to time the team will need extra hands with one off tasks such as the preparation of houses for new clients. The team has dedicated members who furnish the housing using donations, but every now and then we call on our volunteer team to make final touches by freshening them up with a last minute clean and tidying the gardens. Additionally, if a client needs to attend an appointment and a member of the team is unavailable to assist, we ask for a volunteer to accompany them in using public transport.  

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Volunteer 

Being able to read and write English is central to refugees and asylum seekers successfully building a new life here, as this will be essential for employment opportunities and generally engaging with the wider community. ESOL volunteers don’t need to have a background in teaching or in ESOL. Being sensitive to each adult's different abilities and finding new ways to explain things in a positive, fun and encouraging way is more important than being able to conjugate a verb!

All of the refugee adults who come to Norwich have to attend English language lessons. The tutoring is provided by specialist teachers in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), with volunteers supporting learners with their independent follow-up work, practising reading, writing and speaking English. Volunteers work in pairs to support small groups of learners.

We also need more volunteers to join our team teaching English to asylum seekers at a Norwich hotel. Sessions currently take place on Tuesday afternoons.

One-to-one help with English 

If you are keen to support refugees with their English in a less formal situation, we can pair you up with someone who wants extra help with their classroom-based learning, or who, for one reason or another, does not attend classes. You will meet regularly either in their home or a local library. You do not need formal qualifications, just a determination to communicate! 

Nursery volunteers

For young children below school age we provide a nursery which runs alongside their parents' English lessons, so that childcare is not a barrier to attendance. Leading the nursery are two experienced nursery assistants and a qualified teacher. The children who come to the nursery love to play, interact,

have a snack, and play some more! Additionally, the nursery plays an invaluable role in preparing the children for school, by developing the foundational language skills they will need to succeed. The volunteers here have a hugely important role in supporting the nursery manager to provide a wide variety of

learning experiences through play.

How We Support Volunteers 

We really appreciate the contribution our volunteers make which ensures the success of the resettlement scheme. In return for your time and commitment, we provide ongoing support to volunteers including the following: 

- Training

PfAT volunteers come from all walks of life, with varying skills and experience, so our training is individual and personal to each applicant. Meetings take place in Bar Marzano, in the Forum, at a time to suit you.

- DBS certificates

All of our volunteers undergo full DBS checks and are issued with an enhanced certificate before they can begin working with us.

- Newsletter

Each month, you will receive an e-newsletter which has updates from Simon and the team about the project. It also covers any new developments, news on events, as well as additional volunteering opportunities or one-off requests for help. 

- Volunteer Coordinator

You can call or email Kim, our VC, for personal support at any stage of your training or volunteering.

- Expenses

All travel costs will be refunded.

Thank you for reading this information – we look forward to meeting you.