Fun with NumbersTraining Session

What does the project involve?

You will attend a primary school in Leamington or Coventry (depending on what days you are free) in a group of volunteers.

You play maths related board games with the children so as to improve their maths skills in an enjoyable way.

The children are generally aged between 6 and 11.

Project Leaders Naina Mathur (3rd Year Accounting & Finance)

Siew Koon Wong (3rd Year Economics)

Joel Pope (4th Year Maths and Stats)

Lauren Hutchings (3rd Year Sociology)

Ice Breaker On your tables, introduce yourselves one at a time (name, what you study,

why you are taking part in the project, any other societies you are a member

of/hobbies you have etc).

Once you have done that, on your pieces of paper, write down any

questions/fears you have at this stage about the project. We will look at these

at the end of the session if they still need addressing.

You have 5 minutes.

What is required?To volunteer with us you will need to do the following:

1. Attend a ‘Fun with Numbers’ training session as you are today.

2. Attend a ‘Safeguarding Children and Young People’ training session run by Warwick Volunteers for all projects working with children. You can sign up for these on our website very soon.

3. Get a DBS check. This is done through Warwick Volunteers and you will be emailed the application once you have attended our training sessions.

4. Get a Certificate of good conduct if you have not been permanently resident in the UK for the last 5 years.

DBS check A DBS check is a criminal records check within the United Kingdom. You will be

emailed a link to the DBS form and to book a DBS appointment. Steps:

1. Complete the online DBS form. You will need to pick THREE different forms of identification you would like to show at the DBS Appointment. You will also need to take a complete list of addresses from the last 5 years.

2. Book and turn up to DBS appointment. Please bring along:

All ID documents you have listed on the form (original copies as print-outs, photocopies and electronic copies cannot be accepted).

3. The DBS certificate will then be sent to your home address. This can take up to 4 weeks.

Take it to the school each week!

Do not lose it!

Certificate of Good Conduct

You only need one of these if you have not been a permanent resident in the

UK for the last 5 years. You will need it as well as your DBS.

It is similar to a DBS check, but for your home country.

The application process varies from country to country.

Warwick Volunteers is always here to help if you have questions and they can

reimburse costs of getting the certificate providing you keep all the receipts

etc.

How to Confirm Your Place?

On coming today, you will all have been given a sign up form. Fill this in to

tell us the times of the week at which you are free in Term 2. If you cannot

give it back today, hand it in to the Warwick Volunteers office AS SOON AS

POSSIBLE.

Although not necessarily all schools, most want lunch time sessions, so try

to be free at least one day around lunch time (2 hours between 11am and

2pm).

Logistics

Groups

The groups will range in size depending on how many children each school will have at the sessions. Generally, the size will be between 5 and 10.

Within each group, we will need a group leader. It will be the group leaders responsibility to find out if any volunteers can’t make a session and inform us of attendance. They should also book the taxi(s) each week. Remember, this won’t be much extra work and will be another addition to you CV!

Again, we can’t stress enough, the importance of attendance/letting us know as soon as possible if you cannot make a session so that we can make sure the school is informed.

Term 2, Week 1

You will be required to meet at the time at which you will usually be volunteering, in front of the Warwick Volunteers office. One of us will meet you there.

You will collect your placement details, get to know each other, exchange numbers, choose a group leader and can spend some time getting to know some of the games so that you are ready for the following week.

The Sessions

These will run from Week 2 to Week 10 in term 2

Each week, you will book the taxi for 15 minutes or so before the session, depending on how far away your school is. You can meet in front of the Warwick Volunteers Office a bit before this to pick up games.

Note that you will need to drop the games back after the session.

Booking Taxi’s

You book this online through the Warwick Volunteers website. We will send out a link closer to the time.

Warwick Volunteers pays for the taxi. You can pick up the ticket from the office, which you will then give to the taxi driver.

Note that in the past, there has been problems with the taxi’s, with them not showing up at the time they are supposed to etc. If you have this problem, call the number that will be on the ticket. If this fails, call the Warwick Volunteers office.

At the School

On arriving at the school, report to the main reception. Tell them who you are, showing them your university ID and the Warwick Volunteers card that you will be given. The first week certainly, you will have to show your DBS, so make sure you take this along with you.

You will then be introduced to the teacher who is responsible for coordinating the sessions. Make sure you talk to the teacher about what the group of children you are working with will be like.

The sessions will generally be in classrooms.

How many children will you work with:

Generally there should be enough children for you to work individually with a group of children.

If there are ever too few children, then two volunteers may have to work together with a group of children.

Try to work with at least two, but no more than about five.

Choose the games you play based on how many children you are working with.

Your role As a volunteer, you will work directly with the children, playing the games

with them, a teacher not getting directly involved. HOWEVER;

A teacher will always be present in the room.

Generally, they will keeping an eye on everything, so will be on hand anyway if you need help. They will provide discipline.

How to Run the Sessions1. Starting the sessions:

Introduce yourself and then ask the names of the children.

Also, ask what year they are all in/how old they are which will determine what game you play.

2. Choosing the right game:

Decide based on the age range.

If in doubt, ask the children or teacher what sort of things they are covering at the moment.

Certain games (e.g. Trilemma) are good if you are working with children of a range of abilities or ages.

How to Run the Sessions?3. Introducing the games:

Ask if they have played it before.

If not, explain the rules slowly and clearly.

If some have played before, get them to explain it to the others to keep them all engaged.

To make sure they are all listening, ask them questions.

How to Run the Sessions?4. Playing the games:

You can either take part or just supervise.

REMEMBER you are not there to teach. You are there to help them improve skills they are already learning. If you are working with a group of competent students, you can try explaining something new, but ask the teacher first

Don’t try to push them too much, especially if they are getting upset.

More importantly, you want them to be having FUN!

5. At the end of the session:

Say goodbye to the children and the teacher and leave promptly so that you can be in time to get your taxi back to campus.

Important Points

No swearing

No Mobile Phone’s

Dress Appropriately

Activity

There are a very large number of potentially difficult situations you could have to deal with volunteering in the project. To help you understand this and understand the sort of ways to deal with them, we ask you to discuss situations in your groups.

Final Important Advice Stick to methods they already use, even if these are no methods you

would use to teach them. It would be counterproductive and confuse them if you try to teach them new methods.

Keep to their language. For example, if they use ‘add’ and have never heard of ‘plus’, always use ‘add’ when talking to them. Again, this will prevent you confusing them.

Let them explain things to each other. This will help keep them all engaged. They may be more likely to listen to each other than to you. For those who already understand something, this will help them fully consolidate their knowledge.

Positive Feedback. This is really important to maintain a good relationship and for their esteem. Say well done to them when they have answered a challenging question correctly and at the end of the session.

Final Activity

Playing Time!

Join our Facebook group to receive updates and information

Fun With Numbers 2014/15

Email: funwithnumbers2014@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/289905914544595/

Thank you all for coming and we hope you enjoy

the project!