Independent visitor role description

Accountable to the Independent Visitor Manager and based within Wiltshire Children’s Rights Service, Independent Visitors are volunteers who visit, advise and befriend identified children/young people within the looked after system:

Your role will be:

To visit a child/young person on a regular basis as agreed by the child/young person and their carers
To give sound adult advice
To befriend and take an interest in the child/young person, ensuring at all times the young person’s personal safety and welfare.
To provide consistency and continuity to young people by maintaining regular and on-going contact throughout their time within the care system
To be aware of and seek to promote any needs the child/young person may have which relates to their ethnicity, religion, language, disability or other specific areas.
To respect confidentiality, except where the child/young person may be at risk of significant harm.
To maintain a child-centred and independent ‘lay’ perspective
To contribute towards the child/young person’s social, emotional and educational development
To ensure the child/young person is invited to talk about problems
To help the child/young person make informed choices and help them express their views
To check that the child/young person understands the reasons why he or she is in care
To be interested in future plans for the child/young person and check that the child/young person understands the plans for him or herself
To maintain contact with the Scheme Manager and return monthly mileage/subsistence claims
To work within guidelines for Wiltshire Independent Visitor Service
To be responsible for your own Health and Safety and that of anybody else who may be affected by your acts and omissions
To report to the Scheme Manager any complaints, allegations or police involvement relating to any area of your life.

Wiltshire Independent Visitor Scheme will provide:

Initial training and further information or training opportunities as available
Ongoing support and supervision, both in a group and individual setting
Agreed travelling costs and out of pocket expenses

Contact Details

Email: iv@ypvoice.co.uk
Telephone: 01373 859485
Fax: 01373 827706
Postal Address:
"Voice"
Westbury Youth Development Centre
Eden Vale Road
Westbury
Wiltshire BA13 3NY

Last updated: 24 March 2009