Role: Family Hub Volunteer - Speech, Language and Communication Needs Support (SLCN)
Partnership & Participation Team KCC
This focus is designed for volunteers with lived experience of supporting a child with SLCN.
· Supporting Talking Walk-ins by helping families feel welcome, providing support to complete paperwork, listening to concerns, signposting to relevant services and raising awareness of and supporting families to register to attend other Family Hub groups and courses. · Assisting in the delivery of targeted groups such as Little Talkers (for children with delayed language development) and The Communication Tree (supporting early interaction skills). · Explaining the purpose and structure of SLCN-focused groups to families who have been signposted, helping them understand what to expect
Advice, Information & Support
Reading & Writing, Reasoning, Language Skills, Listening
Skills and knowledge · Able to share personal experience to support families with variety of needs. · Able to offer empathetic and non-judgemental support to families. · Excellent at listening. · Good communication skills. · An understanding of the needs of families with young children. · Understanding the need for professional confidentiality. · The ability to establish and maintain effective relationship with a wide variety of people · Willing to undertake relevant training and follow KCC safeguarding procedures. · Flexible to the varying needs of families and services provided by the Family Hub. Additional Desirable Skills and Experience · Personal and/or professional experience supporting a child with SLCN (e.g. speech delay, autism, language difficulties) and/or experience of accessing the Family Hub offer. · Understanding of basic strategies to support early communication (e.g. using visuals, simplifying language, turn taking). · Willingness to undertake additional training specific to SLCN support. · Speakers of other languages welcome.
Benefits · Opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of families contributing to their well- being and resilience. · Training in key areas such as safeguarding, effective communication with children and families, trauma-informed practice and speech, language and communication development. · Opportunity to develop new skills or build on existing ones, particularly in areas such as mentorship, support, and community service. · Build strong relationships with families and other volunteers, fostering a sense of community and shared purpose. · Gain valuable experience working with children and young people. · Be part of a team of like-minded individuals. · Play a role in improving the social well-being of families, helping them to build strong, supportive networks.
Time commitment: We welcome discussion around your availability and the time you are able to commit. Days of the week and hours: this role accommodates the needs of the families and the Family Hub’s operational activities so hours are variable, and we welcome discussion about this.
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Location: Opportunities are available at Family Hub locations across all 12 districts of Kent
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