Become a Crewmate
Jump aboard our ship and become a Literacy Pirates Crewmate, supporting children with their reading and writing at our after-school sessions. You’ll work with one or two children, guided by a qualified teacher who’ll show you what to do.
We’re currently running a Virtual Ship on Microsoft Teams. We’ll be back to working in our learning centres in Hackney and Haringey (while also still running our virtual sessions) when restrictions ease.
All volunteers are DBS checked and require a UK residence.
We will be pausing our volunteer trainings for a month or so over the summer but you can still sign up below to let us know of your interest.
Four steps to becoming a Crewmate
- Let us know your interest – fill out our volunteer sign up form and tell us why you want to become a Crewmate.
- We’ll get in touch when we’re next running training sessions – during term time we run these every month.
- Complete a DBS – after training we will be in touch to arrange a time to complete your DBS application. This is currently taking place via video call.
- Book volunteering slots and attend any additional tech training – once your DBS has arrived you will be invited to book sessions at the times you would like to volunteer. If you’re volunteering virtually, you will also need to attend a short 30 min tech induction on the virtual platform.
What skills do I need to be a Volunteer Crewmate?
Our sessions are led by trained teachers, so don’t worry – you don’t need any teaching experience, or to have worked with children before. Just bring your enthusiasm, and interest in supporting local children.
Our ideal Crewmate…
• can support children’s learning, in line with our learning strategies and behaviour management techniques (guided by teachers)
• has a patient and respectful approach to children and adults
• has functional English skills
• has good communication skills and the ability to follow, remember and then give instructions
• is reliable and punctual
• is self-reflective, seeking ways to improve how they work
• (for our virtual sessions) has basic IT skills, and access to a laptop that allows you to share your screen.
What equipment do I need to be a Crewmate?
Our sessions are currently all online. You’ll need a stable internet connection and access to a computer or laptop. We run our sessions on Microsoft Teams and we’ll offer training on how to use it before your first session.
As a guide these are the tech requirements of a computer and wifi connection:
- A Desktop or Laptop computer with Windows (edition Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows server 2019, Windows server 2016), minimum 4GB RAM available and 3GB of free storage.
or
- Macs (version macOS Bir Sur or macOS Catalina or macOS Mojave), minimum 4GB memory available and 1.5GB of free storage.
- Internet speed must be not lower than 25 Mbps (you can check yours on www.fast.com)
When can I join?
We run sessions every weekday during term time, generally from 3:45pm to 6:15pm. We ask that volunteers join at least 10 sessions in total – either weekly or on a more flexible basis.
We recruit every half-term, and run trainings at least four weeks before each half term starts. If you’re interested in joining us, sign up here. We’ll be in touch with more information.
What are the benefits of volunteering at Literacy Pirates?
- Giving back to the local community in a meaningful and impactful way.
- Gaining skills in interacting with a variety of different people, as well as communication and collaboration skills.
- Getting additional training and support from us, plus a regular newsletter with updates and top tips.
- Making friends and meeting new people in sessions.
- Having fun! Most of our volunteers keep coming back because they enjoy working with our Young Pirates so much.