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Safe Families and Home for Good Peer Support Group Leader Agreement

Peer Support Group Leaders are a vital and valued part of the mission of Safe Families and Home for Good. In you volunteering to support us in this way, we will do our best to make your experience with us as enjoyable and fulfilling as possible.

The intention of this agreement is to ensure you are clear about what you can expect from us in your volunteer role and what we, in turn, expect from you as you volunteer. This is not a contract of employment, instead it is an agreement between Safe Families and Home for Good and yourself. We ask that you read through this agreement carefully, speak to us about any questions and then sign the agreement at the bottom of this page.

Once we have a completed copy of this agreement and you have undergone all volunteer onboarding checks, we will add you to our register of volunteers and connect you to a staff member who can support you in your volunteer role.

Your Volunteering Role

We commit to supporting you in your role as a Peer Support Group Leader. Our staff team will ongoingly support you as you outwork your role and provide you with support and coaching as you lead your Peer Support Group and support other carers, adopters and/or hosts.

When you start volunteering with us, we will hold an initial planning meeting where our team will talk through how regularly you'll catch up, any questions you have and what plans you may have for your group.

We ask that all our Peer Support Group Leaders commit to doing the role for at least 12 months to enable you to develop relationships with your group. During these 12 months, you will have termly catch ups with your Safe Families and Home for Good link to discuss anything related to your role and how things are going.

We ask that you inform Safe Families and Home for Good as soon as possible if for any reason you are unable to continue your volunteering with us whilst you are an active volunteer. As you are representing us in your volunteering role, we reserve the right to ask you to stop your volunteering at any point if this is in the best interests of the charity and its aims.

Safeguarding

Safe Families and Home for Good take safeguarding children and adults at risk of harm or in need of protection seriously. We strive to develop and maintain a strong and effective safeguarding culture, whereby everyone understands that Safeguarding is Everyone's Responsibility. This means that:

  • We do everything we can to protect and keep everyone safe.
  • We understand and recognise risk and seek to mitigate risks by following policies and procedures that are in place to guide us.
  • Everyone has confidence that their concerns will be dealt with appropriately.

Your role will interact with foster carers, adopters and/or supported lodgings hosts and may also interact with the children they care for (e.g. in group meet ups). As such, we know that it's important we all take the safeguarding of the children these people care for seriously. We ask that you commit to informing teh relevant body if you have any concerns (e.g. you church's Designated Safeguarding Lead or the Local Authority directly.

Our Commitment to You

We will:

  • Invest in getting to know you and supporting you in your role as a Peer Support Group Leader.
  • Offer appropriate training and ongoing development where possible.
  • Provide you with the relevant resources needed to carry out your role.
  • Be available to support you as you need outside of our planned touch points, and celebrate wins with you to make sure you know how valued you are through our check ins and wider supporter events.
  • Keep you up to date with what's going on at Safe Families and Home for Good.
  • Support your welfare whilst you volunteer with us.
  • Keep in open communication with your church leader to provide them with regular updates as part of our ongoing partnership with them as an organisation.
  • Be willing to hear feedback from you to us and provide opportunities for you to share ideas.
  • Discuss any issues in an appropriate manner and professional way.
  • Review your volunteering with you through termly check ins and yearly reviews.
  • Actively outwork our values towards you as one of our volunteers to give you every chance of succeeding.

Our Expectations from You

We expect you to:

  • Be passionate about the mission and purpose of Safe Families and Home for Good.
  • Outwork our organisational values as you represent us (Hope, Courage, Integrity, Compassion, Togetherness).
  • Always promote and represent Safe Families and Home for Good positively and do not do anything that might bring our organisation into disrepute.
  • Give your best to your role and bring your best ideas to us.
  • Treat everyone you meet with respect and value them unconditionally .
  • Act in accordance with our policies and procedures as appropriate for your role around safeguarding, data protection, health and safety and equal opportunities.
  • Keep yourself and others safe from risk.
  • Follow our brand guidelines and key messaging when using Safe Families and Home for Good content and resources.
  • Respect people and organisation's confidentiality.
  • Be willing to hear feedback and willing to take accountability for your actions.
  • Speak to us about any concerns or problems you may have.
  • Let us know if you can't make any commitments you've made with as much notice as possible.
  • Let us know as soon as possible if your circumstances or details change from the information provided in your application.