Training new after-school volunteers

Abstract

Strong after-school programs are enhanced by the presence of well-trained volunteers and staff. Effective training empowers volunteers to do their best and leads to greater academic and social success among children enrolled in these programs. This effective practice offers general tips that program directors need to know for training elementary school-age care volunteers, and is excerpted from the book Training New After-School Staff: Welcome to the World of School-Age Care, by Roberta Newman (School-Age Notes, 2002).

Issue

Elementary school-age care directors want to provide new staff and volunteers with information and ideas for carrying out their responsibilities, but sometimes have limited resources and time to devote to staff training.

Action

According to Roberta L. Newman, author of Training New After-School Staff: Welcome to the World of School-Age Care, effective practices for training new after-school volunteers include understanding children's developmental needs, building relationships, and establishing clear program guidelines.

Make certain volunteers are aware of children's developmental needs for the age group they are tutoring. Volunteers should be able to understand and respond to children's needs, interests, and concerns.

To be successful in working with school-age children it is important to keep their typical needs, interests, and characteristics in mind. Volunteers should be aware that:

School-age children are growing physically.
They are developing new thinking abilities and skills.
They are developing social skills.
They are expanding their world beyond home and family.
They are moving towards competence.
They are experiencing many new thoughts and feelings.
They are moving toward independence.

Differences among school-age children include differences in:

Interests
Abilities, talents, skills
Learning styles
Backgrounds
Temperament

The effectiveness of volunteers depends in large part on their ability to build positive relationships with children.

Relationship building starts the first time a volunteer interacts with a child. Some ideas for reaching out to children and youth include:

Greet each child with a friendly smile.
Use nametags to learn children's names and be sure to use names when talking with children as soon as possible.
On the first day of interaction, initiate a procedure to get children's attention, gather them into a group, or prepare for a transition to another activity or area.
Express enthusiasm and excitement about activities the children will be doing.
Set a positive tone.
Talk with children about the program's established rules and limits, stressing safety issues.
If tutors are responsible for planning or leading games or activities, they should be prepared with all resources they will need, and a plan for how to get the activity started.
Be sure tutors know how to use the program's system for keeping track of children's whereabouts.
Be sure tutors know whom each child may be released to when it is time to leave the program.

Programmatic and administrative concerns include the following:

Plan for a successful first day by informing volunteers about the program and making sure they understand their responsibilities.

Inform volunteers about the program. Include:

Program mission, philosophy, goals, and objectives
Behavior management policies and procedures
Release policies and procedures (to whom children may be released and under what circumstances)
Fire drill procedures
Medical emergency procedures
Weather-related emergency procedures
Touch policy (defining appropriate ways of touching children and youth)
Child abuse reporting policies and procedures
Safety and health standards checklist

Inform volunteers about their responsibilities. Make certain they understand:

Overall description of duties
Program areas where they will be working
Volunteers' responsibility for planning and leading activities
Where resources can be found for planning
Volunteers' responsibility for gathering resources and arranging the program environment
Volunteers' responsibility for supervising children's safety, play, and learning experiences
Names of children the volunteer will be supervising
Names of co-workers
Who the volunteer reports to -- who he/she asks for help
Volunteers' responsibility for participating in training activities
Volunteers' responsibility for interacting with parents
Additional volunteer responsibilities

Volunteers need to maintain effective program rules and limits and to communicate these rules to the children as soon as possible.

If the program has an established "code of conduct" it is important to share this with children on the first day. Examples of things to have rules about include:

Staying safe
Staying healthy
Treating each other with fairness, kindness, and respect
Getting along with each other
Respecting people's privacy
Sharing games and equipment
Respecting and protecting personal property
Respecting and protecting program materials, equipment, and facilities

Recognize that children are much more likely to "buy-in" and live by rules and limits if they have a chance to help shape them.

Interactions with children: activities and conflict management. Plan and implement activities children will enjoy.

Link activities to developmental needs and interests
Learn about techniques for involving children and youth in program planning
Make the most of the program environment
Share ideas and make plans with co-workers
Explore "back pocket" or "in a pinch" activity ideas and how to use them
Think about how to introduce and lead games and activities effectively

Oftentimes, volunteers will need to manage conflicts among children. Volunteers should:

Set a positive tone from the beginning
Teach children step-by-step problem solving strategies
Learn to recognize the common causes of conflicts in school-age programs
Diffuse and reduce conflicts when they emerge
Become aware of their own conflict management style
Ask for help with difficult problems and conflicts

Context

Education providers and teachers in communities around the country have built strong after-school programs. These programs are enhanced by the presence of well-trained volunteers. Volunteers come from programs as varied as AmeriCorps, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Foster Grandparent Programs, and Retired and Senior Volunteer Programs.

Citation

Newman, Roberta, Training New After-School Staff: Welcome to the World of School-Age Care. School-Age Notes, 2002.

Outcome

Providing after-school volunteers with training and resources contributes to the overall success of after-school programs.

Posted On

May 15, 2003

Resources

From The Resource Center library:

Training New After-School Staff: Welcome to the World of School-Age Care

Item number: R2157

Related Practices

Related sites

Afterschool.Gov

Resource Center