Playroom Volunteers

Do you enjoy spending time with young children and helping them grow in confidence?

We are looking for warm, patient and reliable Playroom Volunteers to spend time alongside our Early Years team, supporting children aged 2–4 through play, conversation and everyday interaction.

At COG, many of the children we support have SEND or additional needs, and some may also have experienced challenges in their young lives that mean they benefit from extra nurture, encouragement and reassurance.

What might you be doing?

As a Playroom Volunteer, you could be:

• reading stories with children
• joining in with their play and interests
• talking, listening and helping children communicate
• encouraging children to explore new activities
• helping children build confidence with unfamiliar adults
• supporting friendships and positive interactions with other children
• gently extending or “scaffolding” play by introducing ideas, language or resources
• helping children develop independence, confidence and resilience
• supporting activities indoors and outdoors
• helping during lunchtime where needed

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The role is about being present, engaged and encouraging, helping children get more from their play and giving them another trusted adult with whom they can build a positive relationship.

You will always be working alongside experienced COG practitioners. We do not expect volunteers to take responsibility for teaching children, planning their learning or assessing their progress – these remain the responsibility of our qualified Early Years team.

Personal care is not normally part of the volunteer role. This would only be considered where a volunteer had relevant experience or qualifications and specifically wished to take on additional responsibility, with appropriate guidance from COG staff.

Who would this role suit?

You do not need to be an Early Years professional. We are looking for people who are:

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💚 kind, patient and encouraging
💚 comfortable spending time with young children
💚 able to listen and respond to individual needs
💚 reliable and happy to work as part of a team
💚 interested in helping children develop confidence through positive relationships and play

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This can be an incredibly rewarding role, particularly because many of our children benefit from having additional adults who can give them time, encouragement and individual attention.

For children with SEND or those who have experienced difficult circumstances, building a trusting relationship with another supportive adult can make a real difference to their confidence, resilience and ability to engage with others.

Safeguarding

Keeping our children safe is our priority.

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All Playroom Volunteers will be required to complete our safer recruitment process, including:

• a volunteer application
• two references
• a full Enhanced DBS check
• a small amount of safeguarding and Prevent training, which does not take long to complete

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There is no cost to the volunteer for the DBS check or required training.

Interested?

If you have some regular time to give and would like to become part of the COG team, we would love to hear from you.

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