Volunteers Week

This week Early Years is joining in with the theme of volunteers’ week to say a big thank you to all the volunteers who work in the early years sector.  We know from research carried out in 2019 that there are an estimated 7000 volunteers who give up their time to join voluntary management committees and this does not include many more volunteers who work directly with children, help out with fundraising and support outings and activities.  So, to all of you we say a big thank you. The early years sector would be much the poorer without you.

If you would like to join in the celebration of Volunteers’ Week you can find more information and access resources on the website of Volunteer Now click here

Please also note the many forms of support that Early Years offers to our early years setting volunteers including:

Training

There is still one free governance training session taking place for early years members and Pathway funded projects. The session is specifically designed for voluntary management committees.  There will be further sessions available in the Autumn

Managing Your Finances and how to read accounts

This session will assist management/committee (or persons responsible for finances), in reviewing the financial processes within their setting.  Participants will be given practical hands-on advice on financial systems, budgeting and reviewing income and expenditure.  The course will also contain a piece on how to read accounts. This course is suitable for all groups.  Please note that the course is an overview and an introduction, it therefore may not be suitable for staff and committee members who already have extensive finance management experience e.g. finance officers.

Date	Book	Time
Tuesday 7th June 2022	Click Here	18.30pm - 21.00pm

One to one clinics

Voluntary management committee members can book a one to one clinic.  These are short one to one meetings where you can talk in detail and in confidence about any governance, funding or financial issue facing your group.  Please book your one hour slot which will provide individual support to your setting.

Date	Book	Time
Wednesday 8th June 2022	Email diarmuidm@early-years.org to book a slot	Between 12.00pm - 8.00pm
Thursday 9th June 2022	Email diarmuidm@early-years.org to book a slot	Between 12.00pm - 8.00pm

Resources and Manuals

There are governance manuals available to buy on the Early Year’s website https://www.early-years.org/shop.  Many of these are designed to be used by voluntary management committees. 

We also have a free resource specifically written for voluntary management committees about how they recruit and retain new members.  If you would like a copy of “Recruiting and Retaining Committee Members” please email diarmuidm@early-years.org.

Code of Good Governance and the Launch of the Good Governance Health Check

Early Years is part of the Developing Good Governance working group which produces the Code of Good Governance for voluntary management committees.  Hard copies of the code are available from diarmuidm@early-years.org and you can download an electronic copy here.  In addition, Early Years is also promoting the following event

Launch of the revised Governance Health Check - NICVA

Thursday 9 June 2022

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

The members of the Developing Governance Group (of which Early Years is a contributory partner) have been working on revising the governance health check which will be launched at this event.

The governance health check is a self assessment questionnaire which has been devised as a practical resource to assist trustees and those that work with voluntary-led boards to work towards adhering to the principles of the Code of Good Governance. 

The registration link for this free online launch event is here

For further information and support for volunteers in the early years sector please contact us