Volunteering

Thank you for showing interest in becoming a Volunteer with Family Footings.

The role of the Volunteers is vital to enhance this team and to ensure the messages and benefits of Person Centred Approaches continue to be sent out across the country. We want Volunteers who have experience of living with someone with a disability or special educational needs.



Background info

The project began in 2011 and is funded for 2 years but we hope the work will continue long after that!

We are a small team with Project Manager, 5 Family Footings Facilitators and Parent Co-producers who work across 5 regions of the country and Communications Officer who manages the website.

Who are our Volunteers?

  • Experts by experience
  • Parents
  • Carers
  • Siblings
  • Grandparents
  • Foster carers of children with special educational needs 
  • People with experience of disability, recent or past

Menu of Volunteer activities

The menu is broad and you will be able to select a setting in which you wish to work. Examples are:
  • 1-to-1 work 
  • Supporting us in  MacIntyre, Family Footings or local events and promotions
  • Supporting Family Footings Facilitators in training parents and/or professionals
  • Writing for the website
  • Creating artwork and developing engaging activities.

MacIntyre's Family Footings will support and reward the Volunteers through:

  • 1-to-1 or group support
  • offering a range of training with certificates
  • personal and professional development
  • keeping you safe and confident
  • helping you develop your own Individual Professional Portfolio.
  • offering opportunities to spend time with other Volunteers
  • respecting you and your commitments 
  • paying expenses promptly 
  • offering person centred support
  • valuing your contribution and experiences 

We will expect you to:

  • Adhere to the Volunteer Policy
  • Commit to Person Centred Approaches
  • Share your experience
  • Work with Family Footings Facilitators and families
  • Know your capacity and not take on too much
  • Help to shape the project
  • Recruit and pass on work to future Volunteers
  • Bring your passion
  • Enjoy!

We will help you identify your commitment in a unique contract which will:

  • State your purpose
  • Identify what you bring to the project  your strengths and assets 
  • Say what good support is for you: how, when, where, who
  • What is important to you in volunteering 
  • Frequency / nature of your commitment

To become Family Footings Volunteer please fill in our Application Form * and email it to family.footings@macintyrecharity.org



* We recommend that you fill in, save and email the form using a desktop computer or a laptop with Adobe Reader (available free).
If you would like to fill in this form on a tablet, you need to install an application which will let you fill in and save pdf forms (such as free LifeForm for iPad).
You can also print the form and send it to us in post: Family Footings, 602 South Seventh Street, Central Milton Keynes, MK9 2JA.