VOLUNTEER INFORMATION HUB

We are very grateful to all our volunteers who keep the Club running, but many hands make light work!  

There are many ways in which you can volunteer, not all activities require dedicated time on a regular basis.

1. Behind the scenes - monthly newsletter, articles for the paper, fund raising application just to name a few

2. Poolside - coaching or team managing when we are competing

3. Gala officials - starting with time keeping and then onto judging

4. Gala helpers - manning the door, marshalling the children, announcer etc

If you believe that you can offer some time to the club, in any capacity, we would love to hear from you. Whether you can spare time on an adhoc basis to assist with gala duties or are willing to join our committee or train to become an official we would like to hear from you.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you're interested; you won't regret it as it's so rewarding and fun.

 

Next steps

For some of these roles in order to keep the Club a safe environment for our young swimmers and fulfil our Swim England accreditation, there are a few things which you may need to complete. If you have any questions then please just ask one of the committee members

Contents:

  1. Swim England membership

  2. DBS checks

  3. Update service

  4. Safeguarding qualification

  5. Uploading certificates to OMS

  6. Time to listen course

 

  1. Swim England Membership

All volunteers at the Club must be Club members and thus will need a Swim England number- this will also give you access to the on line membership system (OMS) where you can log your qualifications (see below). Most adult non swimming volunteers will be ‘Club Support’ members- whilst there is a charge for this type of membership, the Club usually funds this annual fee.

  1. DBS checks

Virtually all volunteer positions with the Club will require you to have a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check carried out. There are two levels of check depending on your role but essentially the paperwork is the same as far as you are concerned. You will be contacted by email and then will need to choose a few documents to evidence your identity and home address - these will then be checked at the pool in a process which only takes about 10 minutes. Once complete, you will have an opportunity to apply for the update service which will allow future organisations, with your permission , to perform DBS checks without having to go through the whole process again. Registering with the update service is free for volunteers.

  1. Applying for the DBS update service for volunteers

This is a free service. It will allow (with your permission) any future organisation to recheck your DBS status when needed meaning that you shouldn’t have to reapply ever for a DBS check (as long as it’s the same level of check needed in the future for your role)

Once you get your DBS certificate you have only 28 days to register online with the update service at www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service. It is easier if you apply using your e-application reference number which should be available to you once your application is in progress.

You will also need to fill out the Swim England form below to give permission for Swim England to access your DBS check in the future. This needs to be returned to the address at the top once your initial check has been completed. As Swim England has carried out your DBS check then you do not need to include your certificate.

Once registered with the update service, if you need any future DBS check with another organisation at the same level, you will only need to fill out a similar form for that organisation to allow them to access your DBS record.

Once you have registered with the service, please let the Swim mark coordinator know then we won’t need to hassle you for a repeat check in 3 years. You should receive an annual email confirming your ongoing subscription which is free of charge as a volunteer.

  1. Safeguarding courses

All volunteers who are likely to have regular contact with the children in the Club will need to complete a Swim England safeguarding course within 3 months of appointment – the cost of this will be covered by the Club and a typical on line course takes 3 hours during an evening. The course lasts 3 years and when expired a refresher course can be undertaken

Access a safeguarding course at the institute of swimming via the link below:

Swim England Child Safeguarding (swimming.org)

Once the course is complete please let the treasurer know to arrange a refund of the fee (usually around £27)

Refresher safeguarding course with either self harm or mobile device module:

Swim England Child Safeguarding Refresher with Mental Health and Self-Harm Module (swimming.org)

Or

Swim England Child Safeguarding Refresher with Mobile Devices in a Sport Setting Module (swimming.org)

 

  1. Uploading certificates to OMS

All qualifications (eg coaching certificates, officials qualifications, CPD) need to be uploaded to your Swim England member portal on OMS. If you do not do this then any role that you have been assigned such as coach will not match to your qualifications and this will be flagged as a problem for the Club.

Officiating certificates should be uploaded through Swim Results as follows:

  1. Search https://www.swimmingresults.org/

  1. Click on the heading Members

  2. Click on English/Welsh Member Options from the drop down list

  3. Log in or register to access Member Options: https://www.swimmingresults.org/member_options/register.php

  4. Click ‘View or upload a certificates to be added to your membership record click here’

  5. Click ‘You can view and upload certificates here, click here to upload a new certificate’

  6. Select certificate type from the drop down list

  7. Upload file

  8. Click ‘Upload Certificate’

 

If you have any issues you can contact the national officials coordinator Helen Akers on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Any coaching qualification should be automatically added if they are Swim England run courses (as they should be). If there are any issues then the regional office can help with this. Email them at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

6. Time to Listen course

This is mandatory for welfare Officers and is provided regionally, for details go to :

Time to Listen course available online to Welfare Officers (swimming.org)





Information collated by Angela Spencer, November 2023

Please let a member of the committee know if anything seems to be out of date or have changed