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TRANSCRIPT
GETINVOLVED
STANDUP
STANDOUT
FEEDBACK
CELEBRATINGSUCCESS
UCLANSTUDENTS’
UNION
VOLUNTEERINGHANDBOOK
2015/2016
Thank you for volunteering at UCLan Students’ Union. Whether you’ve decided to volunteer to make a difference, develop skills, make new friends or for any other
reason we want to make sure that you get the best experience out of your time volunteering.
We have all been volunteers ourselves before we became elected Student Affairs
Committee members across different areas including sports, societies, representation
roles, media, campaigns and so much more. We have all learnt new and transferable
skills, made so many friendships and hope you do too from your experiences. With over
2000 volunteering roles on offer we hope there is something that interests you and if you
want something different we will help you find it.
This handbook outlines all the key information for volunteers about how we can support and develop
you, what you can expect from your Students’ Union and how we celebrate each other’s successes.
You make a real difference, a massive thank you from all of us.Josie, Hannah, Lucy, Tasmia and Tom
Interested in finding out more information about volunteering?You can find out more about volunteering in the Opportunities Centre:Open 9am – 9pm (out of term time close at 5pm) Monday – Friday.
01772 893000 [email protected] www.uclansu.co.uk
We have over 100 societies and 35 sports clubs to join, media opportunities in our Pluto newspaper, PSTV and Frequency Radio Station.You could be a Course Rep to represent your course and the people on it, or be a part of Green Ladder projects, such as Green Week, clothes drive or Secret Garden.
My background has always been in football, but I wanted to try something new, so I
started playing Ultimate Frisbee which I ended up running for two years and taking us
around the country and even abroad. I had no intention of doing any volunteering but
did it for the love of my club and providing opportunities that would benefit the team’s
university experience… however that is volunteering!!!
It has massively increased my confidence and even provided opportunities for part time paid
work at European Games in Baku, America and even in other areas. It also led to my election as
Activities and Participation Officer this year as my confidence grew, which led to an increase in ability
to organise and time manage effectively.
So, make sure you get involved and push, challenge, make the most of and create a new reason to be
proud of yourself! #Represent
Tom Daly Activities & Participation officer 2015-16
My background has always been in
football, but I wanted to try something new,
so I started playing Ultimate Frisbee which I ended up running for two years and taking
us around the country and even
abroad.
Volunteers achieve a great deal be it making a positive change through their course as a Course Rep, running an activity group or giving something back to the local
community. No one does it for the recognition but it is important that success is recognised and that everyone who works so hard is thanked for their hard work.
Union AwardsThe Union Awards is an annual celebration event held to recognise volunteers from across the Union with awards presented by the Student Affairs Committee and Vice Chancellor. The awards recognise outstanding volunteers and the work of
groups throughout the year.
A number of awards are presented across all volunteering areas to individuals and groups
as well as individual awards for those who have completed the Livesey Award.
Societies BallEntering its second year, the Societies Ball is a result of feedback from Society members that
they wanted their own end of year event. Organised by Society volunteers with the support of the Union
this event commemorates all the great work over seventy societies have done throughout the year.
Sports BallSports Ball is an annual black-tie event held in April which is an end of season celebration for all
members of sports clubs at UCLan. It is focused around the awards presented which recognise the
volunteering efforts of club members, and the performance of teams along with a ‘Sports Personality’
award.
Something else we could be doing? Email [email protected] with your ideas
The UnionAwards is an
annual celebration event held to recognise volunteers from across the Union with awards
presented by theStudent Affairs
Committee and Vice Chancellor.
Livesey AwardThe Livesey Award has been developed by UCLan Students’ Union to recognise the contributions of all our volunteers. The award leads to a free certificate accredited by
UCLan Students’ Union and Blue Edge Training which is an Institute of Leadership &
Management (ILM) Centre.
It is a thank you for the work, time and effort you put into volunteering with us, and will
help you understand the importance of the impact your efforts have on the Students’
Union, the people and communities you work with, and most importantly, to help you
reflect upon the skills learnt through your experiences while volunteering.
There are three levels of the Livesey Award based on the hours completed. They are Bronze (30 hours), Silver (60 hours) and Gold (90 hours). For each award you’ll meet with a
member of the Union staff and for the Gold Award you’ll be required to complete an essay or attend a
meeting mapping out the skills you’ve learnt.
All of the Union volunteering opportunities within this guide as well as attending Stand Up, Stand Out
sessions can be included in the hours towards your Livesey Hours.
You can sign up to the Livsey Award at:
www.uclansu.co.uk/livsey.It is a thank
you for the work,time and effort you put
into volunteering with us, and will help youunderstand the
importance of the impact your efforts have on the
Students’ Union.
Stand Up, Stand Out is your chance to take part in sessions that will develop your skills and enhance your CV. Sessions are held throughout the year on a number of topics
including Leadership, Public speaking and Campaigning. We are also going to hold one-off event sessions with guest speakers.You can find the latest sessions here:
HEAREvery student who graduates from UCLan is eligible for a HEAR transcript (Higher
Education Achievement Report). In 2013 over 88,000 graduates received the record and
increasingly employees will be keen to see them as more and more graduates receive them.
The HEAR transcript documents a number of activities during your University including an increasing number of Union volunteering activities. Look out for the “Counts towards your HEAR”
icon in this guide.
HEAR is an “opt in” process and you will be contacted by your volunteer manager if your activity is
eligible for HEAR to ask you if you want the activity included on your transcript.
Watch The Higher Education Achievement Report Introduction by The Higher Education Academy:
http://vimeo.com/50533056
www.uclansu.co.uk/top-navigation/opportunities/opportunitiesand to book on visit the Opportunities Centre or email:
In 2013 over88,000 graduates
received the recordand increasingly
employees will be keento see them as moreand more graduates
receive them
As part of signing up to be a volunteer we ask you to enter into a Volunteer Agreement with the Union. This sets out clear expectations of what you can expect of the Students’ Union in supporting you in your role and what we hope you can do whilst volunteering. This isn’t a legally binding contract or an intention to
create an employment relationship either now or in the future.
You can expect UCLan Students’ Union to:• Respect your skills, dignity and individual wishes and do our best to meet them
• Induct you into how the organisation works and your role
• Provide you with a Volunteering Handbook
• Provide a role description for your role
• Provide training through our Stand Up, Stand Out programme to support your development and offer additional role development training where appropriate
• To consult with you over any changes to your volunteering role
• To apply our equality and diversity policy to all volunteering activities
• Support you in conducting risk assessments
• Ensure you are never out of pocket due to your volunteering, providing it has been approved in advance by the appropriate staff member
• Provide insurance for you and your activities, as long as you have followed procedures
• Deliver any support or materials on time, as agreed with you
• Respond to your emails within a reasonable timeframe
• Investigate your complaints straight away, but if we can’t we will keep you updated on how we are dealing with the problem
• Regularly sign off any hours for the Livesey Award through the online volunteering database
• Offer you regular occasions to feedback on your volunteer experience
• Support you in gaining skills from your volunteering opportunity and having fun
What we hope from you:• Treat other volunteers and staff with respect and courtesy
• Refuse demands you consider unrealistic, beyond the scope of the role or that you do not have the skills to carry out
• Attend training to induct you into how the organisation works and your role
• To read and adhere to the Volunteering Handbook and accompanying policies, particularly the Equality and Diversity policy of the Students’ Union
• To follow UCLan Students’ Union policies and procedures
• Complete & provide risk assessments in accordance with timescales outlined in your role handbooks
• To not purchase any goods or services without speaking to the relevant staff member first
• To respond to our emails within a reasonable timeframe
• To attend on time, or to give reasonable notice to cancel or rearrange meetings with staff
It’s important you can give feedback on your volunteering role and there are a number of ways to do this.
Speak to your Volunteer ManagerEvery volunteer role has a staff member within the Union assigned to support it and
they are known as a Volunteer manager. They are on a rolling programme of staff
development to ensure they are up to date with best practice in volunteer management.
You should have been introduced to them during initial training for the role.
Sometimes you will face challenging situations or want to get a second opinion on how
to deal with an issue. Volunteer Managers want you to succeed and will do all they can
to help.
When challenges arise we like to use a volunteering strategy known as the “4 R’s”
to the events and take control of the situation
the situation by taking effective measures to continue to function effectively
what has happened and what action was taken in response
on the incident, why it occurred and what measures could be put in place to mitigate fit from occurring again
Annual Volunteer SurveyEach year we ask all students who take part in volunteering within the Students’ Union to complete a
short survey. This is a chance to formally give feedback so that we can all celebrate the positives and
work on any areas that need improvement.
RespondRecoverRecordReflect
...about the different rolesThere are a number of different volunteering roles within the organisation. You should be
able to access from the website pages more information about each role including a role
description and any information about training and recruitment.
Volunteer Role Email contact
Advice Centre Volunteer [email protected]
Campaigns [email protected]
Course Reps [email protected]
Duke of Edinburgh Project [email protected]
Get in 2 Volunteer [email protected]
Green Ladder Project [email protected]
Media (Frequency, PSTV, Pluto) [email protected]
School President [email protected]
Societies [email protected]
Students’ Council [email protected]
Trustee [email protected]
Team UCLan Sports Clubs [email protected]
Volunteering PolicyA full volunteering policy and accompanying documents can be found here.
www.uclansu.co.uk/volunteering. The Volunteering Policy sets out
exactly what you can expect of your Union and includes important information on
induction and training, expenses, grievance and complaints procedures and
Equality and Diversity procedures.
PromotionYou may want to promote your volunteering activity and there are a number of ways
we can help you with this. You can submit something for the student newspaper Pluto
to [email protected] and if you have a good news story about your volunteering
please share this with your volunteer manager and we can ensure this is promoted through
the Union website and social networks.
If you are looking to create printed materials there is a Print Shop within the Students’ Union building.
Risk Assessment and Health and SafetyIn your individual guides for volunteering roles guidance on any necessary risk assessments that you
should carry out. There are Health and Safety sessions as part of Stand Up, Stand Out where you can
find out more about this and for some volunteering roles this will be a required part of the role.
If you are asked to drive volunteers this may affect your insurance. If you do intend to do this please
check with your volunteer manager before doing so.
Other InformationAny other relevant information will be specific to individual volunteering roles. You can expect your
volunteer manager to provide you with a role description and appropriate information and guidance for
any activities relevant to the role you are undertaking.