Student volunteering is a wide area, from school age students right up to university students. Students gain a great deal from volunteering, learning new skills, getting valuable experience for work and life, giving back to their community, and making new friends.
School aged
At Orion Academy we believe our young people (aged 11 – 16) are unique individuals and as such we have designed our school curriculum with their learning and Special Educational Needs at the heart of all we do. Our nurturing approach seeks to extend our work into the community; actively supporting, listening and engaging with our families and carers to deliver the best possible environment for our children and young people, thus enabling them to learn effectively, and become active and responsible citizens who are well prepared for life after school.
Volunteering Opportunities at Orion Academy
At Orion Academy, we are actively seeking volunteering opportunities for our Year 10 and 11 students that will support their development towards employment readiness and independent living. We aim to build partnerships with local organisations who can offer meaningful placements, ideally for small groups of students, to allow for focused support and real-world experience. Ideally these volunteering opportunities would take place on a weekly basis during term time, with appropriate teacher support provided, and are an important part of our commitment to preparing students for life beyond school.
Contact details: Email Di Waine, Careers Lead.Â
Location: OX4
Chilworth House Upper School is an independent specialist day school providing high quality education for boys and girls. Based in Wheatley on the outskirts of Oxford, the school meets the needs of a diverse group of pupils with complex educational needs, communication difficulties and challenging behaviours. The students absolutely love helping the community and are currently working with a couple of local charities helping to transform their green areas. The students are hardworking, motivated and have helped maintain many gardens this year.
Volunteering opportunities
We’re always on the lookout for more opportunities to volunteer within the community so please get in touch if you need help with anything. We have transport available so we can drive up to 45 mins away and all the students are always with staff. We have access to garden maintenance equipment so we’re able to offer a fantastic service to a wide area.
Contact details: Email Andrew Hemming, Assistant Headteacher
Location: OX33
Email Head of Economics, Kendell Fowler
Find out more. You can also email: k.sheppard@oxf.gdst.net
Further Education
Email Industry Placement Co-ordinator, Carola Lopez
Higher Education
Take a look at the Oxford Brookes Portal
Take a look at the Oxford Student Union Portal
Oxon Volunteers promotes hundreds of volunteering opportunities across the county, as well as having thousands of potential volunteers registered who are looking for roles.
There are many ways to get involved with students under 16, either through offering Duke of Edinburgh volunteering, work experience or through local events like Making a Difference (MAD) week. You can read all about how OCVA got involved in MAD week in 2024.
There are important legal aspects to volunteering with under 16’s that need to be considered before recruitment.Â
Warwickshire Community and Voluntary Action have a Factsheet on involving young volunteers which includes info on the law and sample risk assessment.Â
NSPCC guidance on volunteering with young people.
Volunteering Kingston have a toolkit for involving young volunteersÂ
Oxfordshire County Council guidance available here.
