In this article
Introduction
There can be different types of volunteers in a forum, depending on your structure. If you’re a charity or CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation), it is likely that your trustees will be working as volunteers. If you are a CIC (Community Interest Company) your directors may work as volunteers or may be paid depending on your articles of association. Unincorporated associations could run entirely on volunteers. Some forums will have a mix of employed staff, self-employed workers and volunteers.
Whether people are paid or unpaid, it’s important that they receive support and respect for their contribution.
Volunteer – Definition from Gov.uk: ‘A person engaged in an activity which involves spending time, unpaid (except for travel and other approved out-of-pocket expenses), doing something which aims to benefit some third party other than, or in addition to, a close relative.’
Supporting volunteers
Often, someone within a forum takes on the role of volunteer/parent rep co-ordinator. This person is responsible for recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers who work for the forum, unpaid, except for travel and other approved out of pocket expenses. The volunteer co-ordinator usually spends time getting to know parents, building trust through informal activities, and learning what interests people so they can match them to suitable roles. The volunteer co-ordinator helps volunteers to progress into different roles in the forum over time such as running events and consultations, joining focus groups on specific topics, representing parents on strategic groups, or becoming a steering group member.
The volunteer co-ordinator also spends time mentoring volunteers until they’re confident in roles, giving both the volunteer and forum time to decide if the role is the right fit.
Volunteers do not have a contract of employment so they do not have the same rights as an employee or worker. You can find out more information on the government website page Volunteer opportunities, rights and expenses.
Good practice when working with volunteers
When a forum uses volunteers, it is good practice to:
- Make sure each volunteer understands their role and receives the right training and support, including regular supervision.
- Provide a volunteer agreement, and clear information about what to do if they have a concern or complaint.
- Explain what expenses can be reimbursed and how to claim them.
- Provide information whether the forum’s insurance covers them.
Forums can access a volunteer management template through Community Matters.
Volunteers give their time free of charge to help support the forum, but it is good practice to reimburse any out-of-pocket expenses. These might include costs directly related to their voluntary role or expenses that enable them to carry out the role.
Forums should also take a look at the page Paying people in the forum to ensure they understand how to handle any payments appropriately.
Video: Good practice in volunteer management
Working with volunteers in practice: forum success stories
How the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) Recruits, Supports and Works with Volunteers
The Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) is run by parent carers and supports families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Wiltshire. The WPCC is independent and has been running for many years. The DFE grant part-funds WPCC’s parent participation work and they receive funding from both the LA and Health in addition to the DFE grant.
In addition to focusing on participation and co-production at its core, the organisation delivers a number of other services and offers of support for parent carers, including its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Service, (known as SENDIS) and a dedicated ND Advice Line. SENDIS provides information, advice and support to families. The WPCC also supports the administration of the Wiltshire Short Breaks Scheme. Volunteers are one of the WPCC’s most valued resources. They help run events, facilitate courses, and take part in decision-making boards.
The Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) is run by parent carers and supports families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Wiltshire. The WPCC is independent and has been running for many years.
Additional to focussing on participation and coproduction at its core, the organisation delivers a number of other services and offers of support for parent carers, including its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Service, (known as SENDIS) and a dedicated ND Advice Line. SENDIS provides information, advice and support to families. The WPCC also supports the administration of the Wiltshire Short Breaks Scheme.
Volunteers are one of the WPCC’s most valued resources. They help run events, facilitate courses, and take part in decision-making boards. Because volunteers represent the WPCC in professional settings including meetings, events and training sessions, the WPCC has a clear, open and robust recruitment process. This includes clear role descriptions, information sessions and checks to make sure people are suitable, including DBS checks if needed.
Volunteers are supported by a Volunteer Coordinator (funded separately from the DFE grant) and are offered training, mentoring and wellbeing support alongside regular check-ins and team meetings, and at least two annual Away Days to build community and wellbeing. The DFE grant part-funds WPCC’s parent participation work and they receive funding from both the LA and Health in addition to the DFE grant.
The WPCC believes volunteering helps parent carers feel less isolated and improves wellbeing.
It also helps them make friends, gain work experience and feel a sense of identity beyond their caring responsibilities and role. Some volunteers have gone on to get paid jobs within the WPCC and elsewhere.
You can read more about WPCC’s volunteering model here and on the WPCC website.
About Cheshire West & Chester Parent Carer Forum’s Volunteering Model and Funding
Cheshire West & Chester Parent Carer Forum (PCF) is an independent, constituted group led and run by parent carers. While the forum funds a part-time administrator, the organisation is driven almost entirely by volunteers who are themselves parent carers. These volunteers play a vital role in supporting other families, helping them understand and navigate the SEND system, and ensuring that parent carers’ experiences and views influence local services and decision-making. The PCF is funded soley by the DFE grant of £17,500 per year.
Cheshire West & Cheshire Parent Carer Forum (PCF) is an independent, parent carer led organisation. The PCF employs a part-time administrator but everything else is done by volunteers, who are all parent carers. The PCF is funded solely by a £17,500 annual grant from the Department for Education. This funding helps the PCF run activities and events across a wide area, which includes both urban and rural communities. Through its volunteers, the PCF aims to reach as many parent carers as possible and make sure their views and experiences are heard and used to improve local services.
Volunteers are central to the PCF’s work. They help organise and run events such as forums, coffee mornings, and “sip and learn” sessions, where professionals discuss important topics with parent carers, including mental health, neurodiversity, education, health and care plans (EHCPs), and preparing for adulthood. Volunteers also manage online resources like recorded events and blogs, so parents who cannot in person can still access information and support.
In addition, the PCF has a network of 22 school representatives who act as the forum’s “eyes and ears,” sharing information from families with the steering group. Volunteers are also involved in strategic work, making sure parent carers’ voices influence decisions made by the local authority, including the SEND Partnership Board. In total, 34 volunteers dedicate hundreds of hours each year to support families, run events and influence decision making (. Their work helps families(delete: , helping them) understand and navigate the SEND system and ensures that real experiences and views are fed back to the PCF to improve local services.
You can read more here.
You can read more about the forum’s work including the training the PCF offers parent carers, their biannual survey and strategic work on their website. You can hear more about their survey on the online learning session they did with Contact.
- NCVO: Paying volunteer expenses
- NCVO: Step by Step guid to involving volunteers
- Volunteer now: How to develop a volunteer agreement
- SCOPE: Example volunteer agreement
Last Updated: May 2026
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Find out more about volunteers
Paying people in the forum
Information for forums about paying people including staff, self-employed people and volunteer expenses.
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Policies and Procedures
Find more information and downloadable templates for policies and procedures.
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Community Matters
Community Matters can offer forums support on governance, legal structures, handling complaints and paying people.
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Contact Parent Carer Participation Advisers
Parent Carer Participation Adviser's support the forum and provide a sounding board for the forum leadership. Find your forum's named adviser here.
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CIC Assistance Programme
The CIC assistance programme offers forum Wellbeing support as well as Managerial, legal and Financial advice lines
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Support for forums
Find out more about all the different support available for forums.
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