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Bed poverty exists when a family doesn’t have the sleeping arrangements they need for their children due to a lack of financial resources. For children in this situation, it has a significant impact on their education. Zarach’s mission to ensure that every child in England has a bed of their own gives them a greater chance to learn and succeed at school.

Zarach is a national charity committed to helping vulnerable children and families living in poverty. We work closely with schools and professionals in the community. We see the challenges of poverty every day. We aim to reach out to families within 48 hours of their school referral. We are passionate and driven to make an immediate and real difference to a child’s life.

At the point of delivering beds and bundles to children, we are helping to lift them out of bed poverty in that instant. This incredible act removes a mountain of cost for a family and can last for many years. A bed provided to a child as they start school could last them their whole primary school journey. This massively improves their opportunity to engage at school and supports their physical, emotional, and learning development.

Join our social mission to end child bed poverty, giving children the opportunity to engage in their education, and a chance to break the cycle.

About the Role
As a Family Engagement Volunteer, you’ll visit families in their home to assess the family's bed requirements and identify any other needs the family may have so we can signpost to other relevant services. As many of the families can be in difficult circumstances, a key part of the role is putting families at ease so you’re able to complete the assessment effectively and sensitively.

Skills Required
Ideally, we look for volunteers with experience of working with vulnerable individuals or families. However, if you are the right person for this role with relevant skills then we would be happy to train and support you!

Volunteers must be:

• Good at communicating with a diverse range of different people, and able to put families facing challenging circumstances at ease.
• Non-judgemental and able to adapt to support families from all different communities and backgrounds.
• Able to demonstrate Zarach’s values of being open, collaborative, respectful and aspirational.
• Able to use technology as required, including using a Zarach phone to complete electronic forms during home visits.

Responsibilities

• Visit referred families to complete an initial assessment to help us to provide the correct beds and gather relevant data
• Identify any other needs the family has so we can signpost them on to relevant local services and resources
• Record information from the visits and keep your designated Family Engagement staff member updated
• Communicate effectively with the Family Engagement and Volunteer teams
• Respond to any safeguarding concerns in line with Zarach policies and procedures
• Comply with all relevant Zarach policies and procedures.

Timings:

Family visits take place on weekdays between 10am and 2pm.

Commitment:
We're looking for someone who is able to volunteer one day a week. This can be discussed before you apply.

Zarach

18 yrs and above

• Children/Young People/Families

• Application form required
• References required
• DBS (criminal record check that the organisation will organise)

01/10/2027