Engaging and supporting young people to volunteer
There are many people, aged 13 to 17, with the time and drive to help their community and volunteer. But volunteering opportunities are often aimed at people over the age of 18.
So, how can we create more volunteering opportunities for younger people that are accessible and varied?
Things to consider when engaging young people
Law
You should check your insurance policies to make sure that young people are included. You should also look into child employment law for best practice.
Those working with volunteers under the age of 18 may need an enhanced or an enhanced with barred list DBS check depending on what their role involves. It’s free to carry out these checks on volunteers. People under 16 also can't make house-to-house collections for charities.
For more information read our overview of DBS checks for staff and volunteers.
Risk assessment
Risk assessments should always be carried out for activities involving volunteers. A separate risk assessment needs to be completed and kept up to date if you involve young volunteers.
This is because they have different needs, capacities and pressures than adults. You'll also have additional responsibilities when safeguarding children.
Read our guidance on how to manage risk.
Responsibility and safeguarding
You should get parental permission and (where applicable) photo consent before young volunteers start volunteering. This should also include the young person’s consent.
This can be done using a written consent form making them aware of safeguarding policies, the volunteering activity and emergency contact information. At least one person should be present at all times who has DBS clearance.
Read our safeguarding guidance.
Code of conduct and volunteer policy
All volunteers should sign a volunteer agreement to show they've read and understood the volunteer policy.
Read our guidance on how to write a volunteer policy.
Support
You may want to give young people enhanced induction, training and supervision as this may be their first experience with volunteering. They may also require more appropriately sized equipment.
It's particularly important to ensure that young volunteers receive training and support to help them understand what safeguarding is. They should understand why it's important and how to report a safeguarding concern.
Read our guidance on how to deliver safeguarding training.
Roles
Create exciting, different and engaging roles young people are interested and have expertise in.
This could include social media, a topic like sustainability, or a specific field they want to gain more experience in.
Case studies
We've spoken with organisations including East Riding Voluntary Action Services (ERVS), St John’s Ambulance and Reclaim about a range of programmes aimed at people from as young as five years old.
These programmes were best achieved through collaboration with schools, local authorities and wider partnerships to make sure they’re accessible to those from a variety of backgrounds.
This can also be done by focusing on specific areas and making sure programmes are written by and for these groups through co-creation and collaboration.
Funding can come from a variety of sources depending on the programme type or the young beneficiaries, such as schemes with green objectives or aimed at young carers.
Some projects also came about through informal volunteering, which was then developed into more structured opportunities.
Some case studies we found include:
- Uniformed programmes: we heard about Humberside Police Cadets and St John’s Ambulance youth opportunities where young people can gain valuable skills and support the most vulnerable people in our communities. This was particularly effective during the height of the pandemic, from helping in vaccination centres to organising national conferences.
- Green Influencers Scheme: a programme supporting 10–14-year-olds to create social action and environmental change. They created an app and educational resource packs for primary school children, among a range of other activities.
