How to Volunteer with the Tutorfair Foundation

How to Volunteer with the Tutorfair Foundation Volunteering is the answer for so many people with an interest or experience in education. We’re all aware that there are young people out there who could use our help, and that spending some time working in schools can have a large impact and can be extremely rewarding. But where to start? What kind of opportunities are out there and how can you get involved? Whether you’re an experienced tutor looking to share your skills or a student considering a career in teaching, The Tutorfair Foundation might have something that’s just right for you. Who are we? The Tutorfair Foundation is the charitable wing of Tutorfair â€" an online marketplace for private tutoring. Funded by donations from paying clients of Tutorfair, we work with volunteers to provide support to students from a broad range of backgrounds that might not otherwise have access to the help. We hope that by improving access to quality tutoring, we can make a positive contribution to the fight against educational inequality â€" one student at a time. What are we up to? This year, we’ll be running in-school tutoring in London, home visits in Birmingham and online opportunities everywhere else. “In-school” programmes involve our volunteers tutoring students in schools where the student population is more than 50% pupil premium eligible. This might involve working in a classroom (supporting a qualified teacher) or engaging students one-to-one or in small groups outside of lessons. Where we think there will be good engagement, we’ll work with schools to set up an after school club for those students who are staying behind to get on top of their homework. “Online” volunteering takes place using our Tutorfair On-Demand service. This is a text-and-image based platform available for free to eligible schools, whose students can log in during homework hours to post questions and topics they’re struggling with. If you’re volunteering at that time, you’ll see the questions being posted and be able to connect instantly with the student to help them through their problem. We have in-school programmes underway already this year in London, with opportunities available for volunteers to tutor everything from GCSE Maths to BTEC Health Social Care. We’re also looking for volunteers to get involved in Birmingham, where we’re offering help to a number of students who have been suffering from bullying. Tutorfair On-Demand will launch at the end of October, so if you’re looking to start volunteering, there’s plenty of ways to get involved! What can you expect when you volunteer? Every volunteer’s experience will be different, but there are a few things you can expect when you decide to get involved. Minimum commitment of 10 hours: usually 1 hour a week for 10 weeks.  Tutors are welcome to complete their 10 hours and decide whether to continue later on! Training and free DBS check: this is dependent on the tutor's level of experience Support from our programme managers: depending on how long tutors are with us, we’ll also do observations; providing feedback and development opportunities throughout your placement. Want to get involved? Here's how to sign up! If you’re already a tutor with Tutorfair, all of our volunteering opportunities will appear on your profile in the “opportunities” section. If you’re not already a tutor with Tutorfair, you can register your interest here  and someone from the team will get in touch to discuss the opportunities with you. We currently have opportunities in London and Birmingham. For in-school opportunities, if you have lots of experience, we’ll be able to get you a DBS check and start you straight away. If you have less experience, we’ll invite you to one of our training sessions. Some of our placements are only available to volunteers with some tutoring experience, but we have lots of opportunities available for people with no experience looking for a way into education. If you’re applying to tutor online, we’ll train you online. This will allow you to volunteer much more flexibly â€" agreeing availability in advance for any time between 6 and 9pm on weekdays and 5 and 8pm on weekends. You can support students who need help from wherever you are â€" home, work or university. For any enquiries please email: foundation@tutorfair.com