Do I need to be a teacher to volunteer at PLP?

Not at all! We provide training for our teacher volunteers. And there is a wide range of volunteer roles available. If you want to volunteer and are unsure what you can do, get in touch!

How much time will volunteering take?

We know that families with young chidlren are extremely busy and often juggle multiple roles and activities, including paid work. Therefore, we aim to make volunteering at PLP as easy as possible. Class preparation is minimal as we provide the detailed curriculum and all teaching materials. Weekly themes, craft materials and support for playgroup are also provided.

Most parents volunteer whilst their own children are in class at PLP; our enrolment policy in any case requires a designated carer to stay at PLP during the full session for safety reasons. To provide continuity for the chidlren, we do ask volunteers to commit for a whole academic year. 

What support will I receive?

All materials such as the curriculum, weekly lesson plans and teaching materials are provided following a curriculum planed by our Curriculum Coordinator.  All volunteers attend a training day in September. We also provide on-going support during the year, including informal monthly meetings that volunteers can choose to attend for guidance or support and to share tips and advice. Our Director, Curriculum Coordinator and Literacy Coordinator are also there to provide support whenever it is needed.

I am not an English native speaker. Can I help? What about my Nanny?

Yes! You do not need to be a native English speaker. You just need to be fluent, willing to learn and like children! If you employ an English speaking au-pair or nanny, they may relish the opportunity to get some practical teaching experience.

When can I become a volunteer?

Volunteer positions are usually organised alongside our annual registration process (in May-June). 

Sometimes vacancies arise during the year – so please let us know if you are interested in volunteering. Specific positions may be advertised here.

I want to volunteer! How do I sign up?

You can indicate that you want to volunteer on your enrolment form when you register for PLP. You can also use the enrolment form to let us know if you have any specialized skills or experience that you think could be of help,

You can also contact us for more information.

Each playgroup has two volunteers who collaborate to lead and organise the sessions. In addition, to the 90 minute playgroup session, the volunteers may require a limited amount of extra time to communicate with the parents and the PLP board.

How can I volunteer in the literay classes?

Each literacy class has a two literacy volunteers who teach the class as a team. For each PLP session, we also have one “floating” volunteer who helps with the library or other tasks to support the literacy classes.

How long will it take?

As well as committing to attending the 90 minute class each week, we estimate that volunteers would require around one hour of additional time each week for class preparation and to send a weekly email to parents and to read communications from the PLP team.

Usually, people volunteer whilst their own children are attending classes at PLP.

Do I need teaching experience to volunteer in the literacy classes?

We welcome volunteers with a teaching background, but this is not a pre-requisite. In some cases, our volunteers have embarked on teacher training and a career in teaching following their experience at PLP! 

Does PLP provide training for the volunteers?

PLP provides a structured training and support programme for all our teachers and assistants to simplify class preparation and to make teaching fun. Three sessions are held throughout the year to learn about PLP and the phonics programme and to share tips and ideas.

How does PLP support its volunteers?

Our volunteers are not alone! They are all part of the PLP team.

We provide ongoing support :

• PLP provides a structured curriculum of weekly lesson plans and materials (books, stationary, games, songs) as a basis for the classes
• A shared forum is available providing more resources and materials
• Our Literacy Curriculum Coordinator and Literacy Coordinators for each level provide support and guidance
• Each week, volunteers receive an email with news, announcements and reminders

PLP is entirely run by volunteers. These roles are flexible and involve ad hoc tasks related to the area of responsibility and, in some cases, attendance at board meetings, rather than regular attendance at PLP. These roles take place behind the scences and are vitally important to keep PLP runnign smoothly!

• Director: overall responsibility for the management, long term strategy and performance of PLP
• Registrar: manages the membership aspects of PLP including enrolment
• Treasurer: responsible for the finances, invoicing and fees. (The ideal candidate has knowledge of French)
• Secretary: responsible for scheduling key meetings and managing the logistics of the PLP Board
• Playgroup Coordinator: responsible for the Playgroup Programme
• Literacy Coordinator: responsible for managing the day-to-day of the Literacy Programme
• Communications Coordinator: responsible for communications to members, parents and externally
• Literacy Curriculum Coordinator: responsible for the content and structure of the curriculum
• Craft Coordinator: responsible for coordinating and providing materials for the weekly playgroup/ pre-literacy craft activities
• Snack buyer: responsible for plannign and buying in snacks for the children
• Library Coordinator: responsible for managing the library
• Special Events Coordinator: responsible for coordinating PLP’s well-respected social events program
• Newsletter Editor: responsible for producing the thrice-yearly newsletter for all members
• Photographer: taking photos to record PLP events for our communications; taking the annual graduation photos and photos at the Christmas Party
• Materials coordinator: responsible for planning and buying in the supplies we require at PLP
• Sponsored read project leader: leads the organisation of our annual sponsored read
• IT Support: provides IT support, especially for our database of members. An ideal candidate could help PLP create a new database and automated billing system