Volunteer with Home-Start
By volunteering just a few hours each week, you can transform the lives of young children and their parents/carers in your community.
Be a Home-Start volunteer
No special qualifications are necessary to become a Home-
Talking and listening can empower families to overcome their difficult situations. Volunteers are offered on-going training and support activities including specialist speakers and visits to family support services, as well as informal social gatherings.
Our volunteer roles would be great if you:
- Want to make a difference to a family’s life and give children the best start in life
- Are able to build a good rapport with young children and parents
- Are empathetic with a non-judgemental approach
What we offer our volunteers
- A detailed training course to give you all the knowledge and tools to best support a family
- Appropriate top-up training throughout the year
- Continued support through the coordinators and team in the office
- Refreshments at training provided
- Bi-annual celebration events with the Home-Start Portsmouth team
- Regular coffee mornings to come and meet fellow volunteers and members of the team
- Regular communications and updates from the charity
- Recognition of outstanding services and long-service
Volunteers can offer support at any time of the day and will be matched with a family to suit you both.
Please complete our Get Involved form to start your journey transforming lives in your area.
Volunteering Roles
Volunteer with Families
Supporting families in their home for a couple of hours a week can make all the difference. Support can be visiting in the home, going on a trip to the park or accompanying on errands to support the family. Visits can take place during the day, early evening or at the weekend and can be flexible aorund your schedule. All we ask is the commitment to visit the family weekly for up to 6 months.
Stay & Play Groups Volunteer
With 15 Stay & Play groups across the city each week, there are ample opportunities to help run these. These are completley free of charge for families to attend and offer a place of comfort to some, whilst children can play, learn and grow through messy play, craft, outdoor play and socailising with peers.
Group responsibilites include setting up toys before group and tidying away after and offering snack time towards the end of group.
Portsmouth Parent Board
PPB are always looking for new members to represent your community achieve change in services in the city, and be heard and make a difference.
PPB are a group of parents and carers who meet monthly to make a difference to services for children and families in the city of Portsmouth. Meetings are always hybrid and alternate between Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Training to be a Home-Start Portsmouth volunteer
Our volunteers undergo a full training and assessment programme before being matched with a family or with one of our groups.
Volunteers will learn about health and wellbeing, child development, child protection, community projects and a number of key areas of our specific services.
A programme of support and supervision, as well as ongoing developmental training, is in place throughout the year with the team of coordiantors.
Induction Training Dates
Weekday Dates – Wednesdays
23rd September
30th September
7th October
14th October
21st October
4th November
11th November
18th November
9.30am – 12.30pm
Weekend Dates – Saturdays
 14th November
21st November
9.30am – 15.30pm
Home-Start Portsmouth Offices
The Mary Rose Room, The Haven, 17 Lake Road, PO1 4HA
Please complete a Get Involved! form if you are interested in joining this course
Volunteer testimonials
I am a volunteer with Home-Start and have been for 3 years. I started taking my boys to the stay and play groups until they started school/preschool. They really enjoyed the groups and meeting other children and I met some lovely mums and volunteers. I then enrolled to volunteer. I really enjoy planning and running the stay and play groups with my volunteer colleagues. It’s great seeing the children enjoying themselves and getting to know the families. The support from the home start team is amazing and are such lovely people.
I would absolutely recommend volunteering with Home-Start. Helping others gives a lot of personal satisfaction which helps me grow as a person.
I feel that I was able to make a real difference for the family that I worked with. The mum has grown in confidence and feels more able to handle issues herself. Whilst volunteering with the family I learnt that sometimes all people need is a supportive ear and reassurance in their own ideas.
Other ways to volunteer for Home-Start
Join our Management Board
We are looking for Board Members who can contribute to the development and success of Home-Start Portsmouth.
If you have experience in management or in a former executive role and are looking to get involved in something meaningful locally, then this could be for you.
You would be expected to attend Board Meetings once every 6 weeks and contribute as necessary out of committee.
If you’d like to find out more, please do get in touch or send your CV and a brief covering letter explaining why you are interested in joining the Management Board to office@hsportsmouth.org.uk
Become a Home-Start Volunteer today
Home-Start’s team of trained volunteers make sure a child’s early years count. By volunteering just a few hours each week you can transform the lives of young children and their parents in your community.