Helpers in School
First of all, welcome and thank you for taking the time to come into our school and offer your help. This sheet is intended to answer a few of the questions you might have about helping in our school. If there is a question you have that is not answered here, let us know.
What should I expect from the school when I come in?
When you come in to school to help for the first time you will be welcomed by a member of staff who will give you a bit of background on what you will be doing. If it involves a skill that you need to know the school’s approach to, such as how we teach addition or the way we listen to readers, then they will explain that to you.
What will I be doing?
There are all sorts of ways we can use helpers in school:
Helping children with work in class
Helping with cookery, games, art and technology projects
Giving lifts or accompanying school trips and walks round the village/nature reserve
Photocopying and making art resources
Putting up displays
Hearing children read and helping with the library
Setting up and clearing up after particularly equipment-heavy lessons
There are also times of the year when there will be particular projects that benefit from helpers:
Christmas decorating, parties and events
Special projects- usually in the spring
The Moving On carnival that the oldest children take part in each summer
Do I have to be a parent to help in school?
No, we would welcome any member of the local community who wanted to help in school.
Should I work with my own child?
There is no rule: this needs to be something negotiated between you and the school. Some parents do not like to work with their own children and sometimes the teacher may not want you to work with your own child because there are particular skills around independence they are working on, so we ask for your understanding with that.
Do I need to be police checked?
No. If you come into school as a helper you will not be left alone with a child and we ask you not to put yourself in that position- you will always be within sight or sound of a member of staff and on this basis we do not need to get people police checked. If you become a very regular helper over a long period we may seek a police check later on down the line.
If you are giving lifts for school trips we ask to see your licence and insurance and again we need to make sure that you are never alone in the car with a child. N.B. children can sit in the front seat of a car if the seat belt fits them safely.
Can I talk about what I have done in school?
As a school we aim to be as open as possible with parents about what is going on and how children are doing, so we do not have secrets! However, it is the job of the staff to talk to parents about their child’s work and behaviour so we ask helpers to defer to staff in these matters. If you have witnessed something that concerns you please bring it up with staff rather than with parents and if a parent asks you about the class and what you have been working with the children on, refer them to the staff.
What should I do if a child is injured?
Accidents will happen in school, and we aim to keep every member up-to-date with their first aid training. Please inform the staff if an accident occurs and they will tell you if there is anything you can do to help.
What other information do I need?
In the room where you are working you will see copies of the school rules, timetables, plans and a wealth of information that will help you help us. If there is anything else that you need to know- just ask!
