Let’s talk about Volunteering and Training
Volunteers are always needed and are welcomed at Barry Beavers. Most of our volunteers have no experience when they join the club. There are many volunteer roles within the club, the most popular is the chance to help people in the pools. There are many other roles available too, from helping around the pools, working with fundraising for the club. Helping at club events is always needed. Just saying yes I can help, is always appreciated.
There are no rules for how often you need to help, its great if volunteers can help each week for the club sessions, but if you can’s make it always that’s fine. Do you know that you can be a young volunteer at Barry Beavers age 14 years old - Wow!
Best way to find out more is to come along to a club session on a Saturday to have a chat with our volunteer staff or use our ‘Contact Us’ page.
Hey remember volunteers are so important to the club, it’s very rewarding and great fun too.
All our opportunities are listed on the Volunteering Wales website.
Training
All our volunteers are encouraged to partake in training, some training is essential like Safeguarding for example. Barry Beavers take training very seriously and see it as an essential part of running the club and helping volunteers to reach their own aspirations. The best news is that All Training for Barry Beavers is Free, it is payed for by the club. Barry Beavers is affiliated to Halliwick Association of Swimming Therapy, Halliwick is the leading organisation supporting and teaching methods to help and support disabled people in the water.
The Halliwick Concept
The Halliwick Concept is more than just a means of teaching swimming. The term ‘Concept’ was later used to encompass all aspects of the swimmer’s development, physical, psychological and social. As James MacMillan (known as ‘Mac’) said,”the mind, the body and the spirit”. ‘Concept’ also reflects the dynamic nature of our work, developing as our knowledge increases and our experience widens.
Halliwick is based on principles of hydrostatics, hydrodynamics and kinesiology. It is an holistic approach, bringing together knowledge about: the water and the body; teaching and learning; motivation; challenge; activities, games and music; group dynamics; disability equality issues and swimming strokes.
Swimmers are taught on a one-to-one ratio until complete independence is achieved but each pair is a unit within a group activity so that the swimmer gains advantage of group work but also gaining from the constant attention of an individual instructor. No flotation aids are used so the swimmer is able to discover their own balanced position in the water by learning to deal with any problems of imbalance.
We have qualified Halliwick Instructors who are volunteers for the club, they are all like you, and have had to learn and train to gain qualifications. We run training sessions 3 times a year for our Helpers in using Halliwick. The sessions are on a Sunday in February, July and November. They are a very good way to learn about Halliwick.
To become a Halliwick Instructor you have to take Halliwick Courses. Barry Beavers do host the Halliwick courses, but not often, however Halliwick course do take place all over the UK and worldwide too every year.
For more information, visit the Halliwick Website.
Halliwick Training
Here is a brief outline of Halliwick Courses.
Foundation Course - 4 day course - 8 hours a day classroom and 2 pool session per day. This course costs £450 each, but is free if you are a Barry Beavers volunteer. Only experienced Helpers are put forward for this course, but we do encourage all Helpers to progress in their knowledge and skills. So it is achievable and very rewarding too.
Advanced Course - 4 day course - 8 hours a day classroom and 2 pool session per day. This course costs £450 each, but is free if you are a Barry Beavers volunteer. Only experienced Helpers are put forward for this course, but we do encourage all Helpers to progress in their knowledge and skills. So it is achievable and very rewarding too. After completing this course you will be a Qualified Halliwick Instructor.
Visit www.halliwick.org.uk for more details on Halliwick Courses, or ask one of our Halliwick Instructors at Barry Beavers, they are all happy to advise and help you.
Additional Training
Barry Beavers offer all other training needs to its volunteers.
Here is a list of training provided. The club is open to All training that can help improve our volunteers awareness and skills, don’t be afraid to ask for details or suggest what training you would wish to do.
Safeguarding
First Aid
Governance
Funding
Media
Working with Disabled People
Our pledge
That ALL Volunteers are core to Barry Beavers, we appreciate all the work they do.
Training is essential and will always be available.
Barry Beavers is a great place to be a volunteer, we want you to enjoy your volunteering, and have great fun with us.
We look forward to hearing from you!