Befriending
Befrienders spend a couple of hours a week with a particular student and together they enjoy leisure activities both in house and in the local community. The role of the befriender includes encouraging the student to choose how they spend their leisure time. This relationship is particularly important to residential students who benefit greatly from having an independent visitor spend time with them on a regular basis.
Classroom support
Volunteers are involved in many different areas across the school and college. In the classrooms volunteers support students and staff in lessons and during the lunchtimes. Some volunteers will support students in areas where they have a particular interest, for example art, sports, music and drama.
Stanley’s Youth Club
Youth Club volunteers regularly support the students and staff during these sessions. The activities include themed nights, discos, parties, sports events, art & craft sessions and music and dance. The Youth Club also enables students to take part in various other local youth group’s events both on and off site. This is an important part of our student’s personal development. The greatest success of the youth club is in increasing the experiences of our students in both leisure activities and social interaction.
Physiotherapy support
Therapy volunteers are given training around working with individual students as well as pool safety training and manual handling training. We are currently looking for volunteers to offer support in alternative therapies for example massage and yoga.
Speech and Language Department (SALT)
This department offers volunteers with a specific interest in this field an opportunity to support our students communication skills.
CADS – Children’s Able and Disabled Sport
During the year three CADS event take place. Young people from RSDCD and the local community enjoy taking part in taster sessions of many different sports in a fully inclusive environment. CADS Clubs are also run weekly and include football, golf, basketball, Climbing and athletics.
Volunteers support young people throughout the events, encouraging them to take part in a non-competitive way. Other volunteers help in the administration of CADS before, during and after the events.
CADS events could not take place without the support of volunteers.
Arts Project
Creative arts projects are held at RSDCD throughout the year. Volunteers support students and young people from the local community to explore music, dance, drama and production.
Fund Raising
Volunteers are particularly welcomed in many different areas of fund raising for example collections or sponsored events. Volunteers can help out either individually or as a group.
Please contact our fund raising department for further information.
Corporate volunteering
Teams from local businesses offer support and are involved in different projects which may include decorating in either school or residential houses, maintaining garden areas or making tactile communication cards.
Administration
Volunteers are welcomed in all areas of administration and can support departments across the whole of RSDCD.
Gardens and maintenance
There are numerous opportunities around the 30-acre campus for volunteers to be involved either maintaining existing areas or in helping to develop new projects.
If you are interested in finding out more about RSDCD and volunteering for us, please do contact the volunteering department and we will be happy to arrange a visit for you.