- Offer accessible academic support at libraries
- In person and online
- Two hours per week
- No experience needed
What is Libraries Plus
Libraries Plus runs weekly sessions at local libraries for University of Southampton students to offer academic support to local pupils in order to tackle educational inequality.
The programme benefits young people by providing near-to-peer study and homework support in local libraries on a 1:2 basis. Improving their subject understanding, confidence, resilience and motivation for learning to ultimately improve their educational attainment. The programme will also benefit your engagement with the world around you, well-being and key skills such as confidence, resilience, leadership and teamwork.
I have absolutely developed my confidence and leadership skills through this programme, as it has helped me to learn how to be responsible in a tutoring setting. By helping others to develop their own skills, I have become more confident in my own teaching skills; this has helped me to be more confident in other areas of my life.
Alex Stilgoe, Libraries Plus volunteer 2021-22
What you’ll be doing
As a Libraries Plus volunteer you will attend weekly 2 hour sessions with young people to support their studies. You can choose which library that you would like to volunteer at.
The current session times are:
- Wednesdays, 4-6pm, Shirley Library
- Saturday, 11am-1pm, Portswood Library
- Saturday, 1-3pm, Central Library
The minimum level of commitment we would expect is 6 weeks, but you are welcome to volunteer all year if you would like.
How to get involved
To apply you need to complete an application form to let us know why you’re interested in Libraries Plus, your availability for training and which projects you want to take part in.
Once we’ve heard from you the next steps will be:
- Attending introductory training
- Attending project specific training, including child safeguarding
- Completing a DBS check with the Library
- Attending a project induction
If you have any questions, or require any support to get involved, don’t hesitate to contact Stephen at stephen.muldowney-mizen@southamptonhub.org
FAQ
There are loads of benefits for you if you get involved with Southampton Hub. These include:
- Having an impact in the community. You can make a difference and tackle educational inequality
- You will develop key skills including teamwork, leadership, resilience and confidence. This will be supported by the professional training you receive and the support you get throughout your experience
- A certificate recognising the commitment you’ve made, which you can put on your CV and share on Linkedin
We’ve assessed the accessibility of all our opportunities and are able to discuss these with you prior to you starting your placement, this includes any reasonable adjustments we can make. All accessibility information will also be sent to you prior to your placement as standard. If you have any questions about accessibility, or want to make request a reasonable adjustment, please reach out to us at hello@southamptonhub.org.
Some examples of reasonable adjustments we can offer include:
- Using an expensed taxi service to aid mobility conditions
- Making sure there is seating with no arms
- Extra time to complete activities in training, as you would get in exams
Our activities are all open for everyone so if you’ve not been involved in social action before, or you’re apprehensive about getting involved, reach out to us at hello@southamptonhub.org. All of our opportunities practice a safe space policy meaning they are supportive, non-judgemental and always willing to listen.
We will be in touch as soon as we’ve read your application. We will let you know about upcoming training, our available opportunities and other key information to support the application process such as expectations to complete safeguarding training and get a DBS check.
DBS stands for Disclosure and Barring Service. These provide a UK criminal records check and are required when individuals are working closely with young people or adults at risk, or have access to sensitive information. In order to get your DBS check you will need:
- Your address history for the last five years
- Your national insurance number
- Your passport, driving license or other form of ID
Southampton Hub pays for the check and will support you at every step of the process. If you have a question about this check or want to make a self-disclosure about a criminal record please reach out to Sapthi at sapthi@southamptonhub.org.
In order to support you to be confident working with young people as a Libraries Plus volunteer we deliver comprehensive training covering:
- Safeguarding, to ensure both you and the young people you work with are kept safe
- Tutoring techniques, to equip you with the tools you need to support the pupils you work with effectively
- Working with young people, to give you the confidence you need to communicate with pupils and manage behaviour
It’s natural to feel nervous when you try new things, but don’t let you put that off. If you want to talk to a member of our team before applying or attending a session you can email them. Or if you’re not sure who to speak to email info@southamptonhub.org and we’ll get back to you.
Some things we recommend often include joining the programme with a friend – you could sign up together and come to the same session so that you’ll have a friendly face. Alternatively, you could arrange to meet a member of our team before a session so that you get to know each other 1-1 and can travel together. We’ll work together to find a solution which supports you to get involved, whatever that may be.