does anyone volunteer in their dc school?

[AlrightStill]

this may be silly but its my first time with both dc in full time school (well from oct 1st) and im worried i will be bored at home and thought it would be a good way of getting out of the house and getting some experience of working again.

i am thinking of asking if the school dc go to needs any parent volunteers. what i would like to know is, if you do volunteer what do they get you to do? is it fun? did it affect your dc in anyway?

I'm sure your school will be delighted to have you help out, they always seem to welcome parents coming in and helping with all sorts of things.

I have been helping regularly for the last year, hearing reading in my DS' class, it is lovely to see the children's progress and get to know them (and the staff), also I learn far more about what goes on at school than I ever do from DS. It is also excellent experience if you ever want to work with children. I have also helped with art and craft and cookery activities, plus getting ready for Christmas play etc. Some schools won't let you help in your own child's class, some will, DS loves it when I come in, and it doesn't distract him particularly.

thanks for the reply, made me want to do it even more now. i would love to work with kids and thought this would be a good way to get some experience. so what do i do, do i just go into school office and ask?

I'd go in & ask - you may find some schools want a CRB check first.

Ours allows you to help without the CRB check but you must always be in a room with a staff member, you can't take a group of children out of the classroom to a reading area for example, so they do ask everyone to have one done as soon as possible, it is free, just ask about it in the school office. They may well not want any help in the first few weeks as everyone settles back in, esp in Yr R, but you could get the application in now so you are ready.

I helped out last year in reception. The teacher generally asked me to play maths games with some children who found number work difficult. It was great for me and for the children. The first week did unsettle my dd a bit as she wanted to come home with me when I left. I just told her that I wouldn't be able to help if she got upset about it and she was fine from then on. I've just offered my services to her new teacher, so hopefully will be doing something similar again soon.

thank you for your replies everybody. the school does need a CRB but thats fine they will do it all for me i think. im going to ask on monday and even if they dont need me now they may well need me later on in the term and at least they will know i am willing to help out. i think my dd will be the one to struggle with me being in school but i will deal with that as and when i need to.