Inspired by our saints, Cuthbert and Bede, the mission of Durham Cathedral is to offer everyone the opportunity to encounter God and know God’s love in Jesus Christ..
In this role you can support and deliver a range of informal, engaging and hands-on family activities devised and coordinated by Cathedral Learning & Engagement staff, as part of our busy, vibrant and creative Learning & Engagement Team.
These activities enhance visitor engagement for family audiences at weekends and during school holidays. You will also be helping family audiences engage with liturgical seasons and/or programmed events and understand how this shapes what they experience in Durham Cathedral.
We welcome volunteers from any background, of all faiths and none, and those who in turn show respect and sensitivity towards all nationalities, religions, beliefs, cultures, backgrounds, and the ethos of the Cathedral as a working church.
In this role you can expect to:
- Assist families, including those with young children, engage with Durham Cathedral, its mission, fabric and stories through informal activities such as crafts.
- Provide a friendly face and a welcome for young visitors, pitched at an appropriate level.
- Inform and inspire children and young people through a variety of engagement activities that can include tours, storytelling, crafts and object handling.
- Support the safety and wellbeing of those engaging with the activities.
- Use your skills, experience and reflective practice with the team to help ensure consistent high-quality delivery of the Learning & Engagement Programme.
Durham Cathedral is committed to safeguarding. It is expected that all staff and volunteers share this commitment. If at any time the post-holder sees or hears anything that could suggest a safeguarding risk or has any other reason to be concerned, it should be reported immediately to the Cathedral Safeguarding Officer. Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.
For this role, we are looking for the following:
- Lively and enthusiastic individuals who can engage learners of all ages, often in intergenerational groups that include children.
- Eagerness to engage visitors in conversation in a friendly and approachable way.
- Good communication skills.
- Willingness to demonstrate and assist with simple craft activities.
- Creative approach to be able to adapt to suit the needs of learners.
- Reflective practitioner in order to help improve the quality of the visitor offer.
- Reliability and conscientiousness.
- The ability to deal with potentially difficult conversations or situations safely and efficiently and with tact and diplomacy.
- Respect and sensitivity towards all religions, beliefs, cultures and backgrounds and an empathy with the mission and values of the Cathedral.
- Teaching and/or volunteering experience in a learning environment is desirable.
- Experience of working with learners with special educational needs (SEN) is an added bonus.
- Knowledge of other languages including BSL would also be very much appreciated.
In this role you will usually be based in the Cathedral and its precincts, or Learning Centre next door. Depending on the activity, you may occasionally be based in the College area behind the Cathedral, or the Woodlands and Riverbanks surrounding the Cathedral, including our outdoor classrooms.
Learning & Engagement informal family activities usually take place between 10:30 AM and 3:30 PM on weekdays during school holidays: October (1 week), December (2 weeks), February (1 week), Easter (2 weeks), May (1 week) and July/August (6 weeks). We are working towards launching family activities on Saturdays at the same times.
Our volunteers typically gift up to 4 days of their time a month. In busy periods we might offer additional opportunities, but we appreciate any gift of your time and you will set your own time commitment in agreement with the Area Lead.
We will ask you to undertake the following essential online courses; you must complete them before you start your volunteer role. Details of how to access the training will be sent to you after receipt of your application, and support is available if you would like support with access or you feel affected by any of the course content.
- National Church of England Basic & Foundation Safeguarding training
- ACT Action Counters Terrorism training
- The Association of English Cathedrals national volunteers training
Your main training will be through induction, shadowing and an introductory period. The duration of this training before you deliver any sessions independently will vary depending on your prior experience, skills and aptitudes.
We shall provide you with access to information about Learning & Engagement, as well as some background material about the Cathedral itself.
You will receive ongoing support, feedback and further development, and we would appreciate you making every effort to attend additional training sessions. As a volunteer you will be encouraged to undertake other organisational training, for example health and safety.
Unfortunately we are unable to offer expenses.
- Fantastic opportunity to volunteer alongside the Learning & Engagement Team at the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- References available on request
- Opportunity to join the Cathedral’s Community Roll (https://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/get-involved/community-roll)
- Cloister Card offering 10% discount in the Cathedral Shop and Undercroft Restaurant (conditions apply)
- Refreshments
- Various optional volunteer training as available
