Position

Volunteer Tutor (In-School and Online Workshops)

Reports to

Volunteer Manager / Storyteller

Position details

Voluntary

In-School Workshops  

Online After School Workshops

Duration

Term-Long or One-Off

Term-length commitments.

Time commitment

Workshops are held Monday to Friday, either between school hours or after school.

For term-long programs, we require volunteers to attend a workshop on at least one day per week, for the duration of a school term (generally 7-9 weeks). This involves approximately  2 - 4 hours each week, on the same day and time.

One-off workshops run on an ad hoc basis throughout the year. Each workshop lasts for approximately 2 - 4 hours.

Workshops are generally held Monday to Thursday, from 3:00pm - 5:30pm.

We require volunteers to attend for approximately 2.5 hours each week, for 8-10 weeks of a school term.  

Location

Schools across Sydney.

Online via Zoom.

Organisational Overview

Story Factory is a not-for-profit creative writing centre for young people aged 7 to 17 based in Sydney and Western Sydney. Our mission is to enrich the lives of young people from under resourced communities through creative writing and storytelling.

Story Factory works with schools and community groups to deliver fun and inventive creative writing programs which build literacy, confidence and creativity in young people.

About the Opportunity

Our volunteer tutors play a crucial role in helping Story Factory deliver workshops with a focus on storytelling and expression.

Led by trained educators (Storytellers) and supported by our volunteer tutors, these workshops empower students to find their voice and create their very own unique pieces of work. As a volunteer tutor, you will provide support and encouragement to students, working in groups under the supervision of a Storyteller.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Attending all assigned workshops.
• Working with groups of students to complete activities and tasks set by the Storyteller.
• Creating a safe and welcoming space for students to express and share their ideas.
• Showing interest, curiosity, and enthusiasm in students’ ideas and work.
• Providing guidance to students, and encouraging them with prompts to express their ideas.
• Providing constructive feedback to students, and praising them for their work.
• Assisting with scribing, grammar, punctuation etc., if required.
• Being flexible and adapting to the needs of each student.
• Following all reasonable instructions provided by the Storyteller.
• Participating in workshop briefing, debriefing and evaluation processes.
• Maintaining regular contact with Storytellers, Volunteer Managers and Story Factory staff.
• Maintaining confidentiality and setting clear boundaries in line with Story Factory Policies and the Code of Conduct, Child Safety and Social Media Policies.

Story Factory is a child safe organisation with comprehensive child safety policies and charter and adheres to all child safety guidelines and we ask that volunteers immediately report any child safety concerns to Story Factory staff.

Skills, Qualities, Attributes

Essential for in-person and online workshops:

• Encouraging and supportive.
• Good listening skills.
• Flexible and adaptive.
• Enthusiastic and curious.
• Reliability, commitment and patience.
• Non-judgemental, respectful and empathetic.
• Tolerance and respect for individual and cultural differences.
• Demonstrated ability to actively maintain appropriate boundaries.

Essential for online workshops:

• Confident typer.
• Comfortable co-facilitating and leading discussions and conversations in breakout rooms.

Desirable for in-person and online workshops:

• Experience working with groups of children and young people.
• Experience working with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Confidence with technology: in particular with Zoom, Zoom chat, sharing screen and using Google docs, all at once.

Application and Screening Process

Volunteers are required to:

1. Complete our online application form.
2. Obtain a Working with Children Check and a National Police Check.
3. Attend a mandatory training session.