Volunteering

Volunteers are at the heart of Ardoch’s work in communities facing disadvantage. To deliver our educational programs each year, Ardoch places more than a thousand volunteers in schools throughout Australia to help support the educational needs of vulnerable children.

The positive impact our programs are having for thousands of children each year comes down to the dedication and compassion of our volunteers. To put it simply, volunteers are integral to our program delivery, bringing immense value – and a whole lot of joy – into the classrooms.

Ardoch urgently needs more volunteers to support our partner schools in communities facing educational disadvantage. Enquire Now

Volunteering with Ardoch

Ardoch provides partner schools with trained volunteers to assist in a range of Ardoch programs, our volunteers not only provide valuable literacy and STEM support but are also positive role models for vulnerable children and young people.

Our volunteering program consists of Individual Volunteering and Workplace Volunteering. To learn more about Workplace Volunteering (including Literacy Buddies and Numeracy Buddies) through corporate partnerships, please see our Corporate Hub

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Volunteer with us!

Becoming an education volunteer is an incredibly rewarding experience, by working one-on-one or in small groups, your support helps students to further develop their literacy and numeracy skills and provides them with a friendly and positive adult role model to connect with.

Ardoch volunteers help deliver a range of programs depending on the needs of the school. See the roles below to learn more about how you can get involved:

Education Volunteers

Ardoch’s Education Volunteers provide valuable in-classroom support for children and young people, helping them to improve their confidence, engagement and interaction with their education. Volunteers are screened, trained, and then placed into primary and secondary school classrooms of our education partners. Classroom support may relate to literacy, STEM, or other classroom activities. By committing two hours at the same time each week for at least six months – working one-on-one with a student or a group of students who need extra support – Ardoch volunteers can have a positive impact on many children’s educational outcomes

Pathways Volunteers

Our Pathways programs rely on volunteers who can offer their time on an ad-hoc basis while sharing their knowledge and experience to help build aspiration and confidence in children and young people.

Volunteers can be involved in helping students practice interview techniques through Mock Interviews, share valuable information about their job in Speed Careers, or discuss careers and further study opportunities with students during a fine dining experience at one of our Learning Through Lunch sessions. To see upcoming dates and locations for these events, please see our volunteering calendar.

Program Support Volunteers

Ardoch is run with a small team of dedicated employees. To help us effectively deliver our programs, we have a committed team of Program Support Volunteers who can assist in screening letters, making calls, creating resources and other administrative support. Lending administrative skills and experience in the Ardoch office is another way of helping to ensure children and young people can have a positive experience with their education.

There are so many benefits to volunteering with us, including:

  • Training and support to help you feel confident in your role
  • Ongoing professional development sessions with knowledgeable guest speakers
  • Valuable work experience
  • Connection and support in our vibrant volunteer community
  • The opportunity to play an important part in a young person’s education journey

Enquire nowMeet our volunteers

Volunteering FAQs

How can I apply to volunteer for Ardoch?
To express your interest in volunteering and to learn more about the various roles, please fill in the enquiry form below. If you’re ready to apply, please fill in our online application form.
What are the benefits of volunteering?

The benefits differ for everyone! Some of the key benefits are:

  • Connecting to community
  • Making a difference in a young person’s life
  • Valuable training and experience to add to your resume
  • Ongoing professional development

What training do I need to do?

The training varies depending on the volunteer role. All volunteers need to do online training modules covering child safety and volunteering with Ardoch.

To be classroom-ready, our prospective Education Volunteers will also need to undertake two half-day training courses provided by Ardoch. These are delivered via Zoom.

What's involved in becoming a volunteer?

Like the training, the screening requirements differ depending on the role you are applying for. All volunteers need to attain a Working with Children Check and almost all need to also complete a National Criminal History Check (which Ardoch facilitates via CrimCheck).

Some roles may also require an interview or reference checks to be completed too.

What is Ardoch's expectations of volunteers?
We ask that volunteers are patient, kind, inclusive and uphold Ardoch’s robust child safety standards.

We ask that our Education Volunteers commit two hours a week at the same time each week to the partner school they are matched to and commit for at least six months, to help provide stability for the students.

I don't have any experience in education, will I have anything to offer?

While experience in education certainly helps, we also have plenty of volunteers who don’t come from an education background and find they bring tremendous value to their roles.

For Education Volunteers, the primary role is to provide support within a classroom under the direction of the classroom teacher. You are not expected to teach. Ardoch’s training and professional development sessions will help to set you up for success.

Further questions
For more detailed answers please see our comprehensive FAQs or enquire below

Enquire now