Trial of an online training program for volunteers
WSU has partnered with Save the Children to trial volunteer online training modules created to support volunteers. WSU enjoys a long-standing relationship with Save the Children as fellow members of the VFC consortium . The Consortium (including Karitane and the Benevolent Society) is the formal partnership that led the conduct of the effectiveness trial of VFC and high-quality implementation across seven trial sites, alongside the development of the manualised training and practice guidelines.
Save the Children has been successful in securing a Victorian Government Let’s Stay Connected grant and has used this funding to expand VFC in East Gippsland. This includes piloting the online training package developed by TeEACH and exploring the impact of VFC for families when delivered as a mixed-method service model.
The training program has:
- Piloted a foundational volunteer training program that was delivered online
- Provided foundational knowledge to guide best practice for the volunteers.
The evaluation aims to:
- Assess the value of the piloted training program
- Measure the impact of the VFC program for families on key outcome variables including social connectedness, sense of parenting competence, parent wellbeing and optimism, and the sustainability of family routines
- Explore the experiences of the volunteers in delivering this program.
THE TRAINING PROGRAM
In collaboration with members of the VFC Consortium, the WSU team has designed a training program for community volunteers, to support the development of skills that will help them as they provide support to vulnerable families. The training program will be piloted in the current project.
