Organisation Name:
City of York Council
Organisation's Cause(s):
Children / Young People / Families
Men
Mentoring & Advocacy
Women
Location of voluntary activity:
Within the City of York area
When are volunteers needed: The role is flexible, but volunteers will be expected to be available for important meetings to support parents.
Type of Voluntary Activity:
Advocating
Role description:
The Volunteer Service at the City of York Council are looking for volunteer parent advocates to support parents going through the child protection process.
Our advocates need to have lived experience of working with Children’s Services, either with their own children or while supporting their family members.
As an advocate, you will provide one-to-one practical and emotional support to parents and carers navigating the child protection system. This will involve attending Child Protection Conferences, explaining complex processes, reading through reports with parents, building parents’ confidence to make informed decisions for their child, and signposting to relevant services and resources.
Skills and behaviours needed for the role:
• Volunteers will be non-judgemental and empathetic to the situations that parents are facing.
• Volunteers will have strong listening and communication skills.
• Volunteers will be able to explain processes and systems in clear and accessible language.
• Volunteers will understand the importance of appropriate professional boundaries.
• We ask for an initial commitment of one year to the role. Volunteers will be expected to dedicate 3 to 6 hours a month to their assigned parent and to attend conferences.
• We expect our volunteers to demonstrate a commitment to equality, inclusion and family empowerment.
Will there be a DBS check? Yes
Driving Licence required? No
Volunteer's own vehicle required? No
Suitable for:
Ongoing Volunteering
What will the volunteer gain/benefit from:
• We will provide full training to ensure that our advocates are well-prepared for their role. This will include safeguarding, confidentiality, the child protection system, as well as the development of key skills such as active listening, empathy, signposting and handling stressful situations.
• We will offer continuous development opportunities to our advocates so that they can develop existing skills and explore new training options.
• Each volunteer will be assigned a named supervisor who will be on hand before and after conferences should the parent advocate need to debrief or raise any concerns.
• We will provide regular supervision to our volunteers, giving them a chance to shape the programme as it progresses and an opportunity to raise and reflect on any issues they may be having in their role.
• Volunteering will be as flexible as possible to fit in around the volunteer’s other commitments.
• We are planning to build a supportive community of fellow parent advocates, giving our volunteers an opportunity to share experiences and strategies.
• Our volunteers will be treated as a professional and valuable member of the volunteer service.
• Expenses incurred by the parent advocate in order to fulfil their role will be reimbursed.
• After six months of volunteering, the service will be able to act as a reference for job applications and training courses.
How to get involved:
For more information about the role, please contact Rachel Robinson.
Rachel Robinson - Volunteer Project Officer
Telephone: 07542 510430
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
You can also submit our information form if you are interested in becoming a parent advocate.
Web link: Click here
Closing date: 10-11-2026