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Job description
About Schoolreaders
One in four children in England leave primary school unable to read at the expected level — a barrier that shadows their education, confidence, and life chances. Schoolreaders was founded in 2013 to change this.
The Charity delivers weekly one-to-one reading support to primary school children who need it most, powered by a nationwide network of trained volunteers. This community-driven model delivers exceptional impact at minimal cost. It is incredibly simple and everyone wins – the children benefit from consistent, regular additional reading support, schools benefit from trained volunteers spending one-to-one time with children, and volunteers benefit from an increased sense of purpose and wellbeing.
Demand is soaring. In just 13 years, Schoolreaders has become England’s largest in-school reading support charity. Today, almost 40,000 children receive one-to-one reading support each week, and the charity is on track to deliver more than 1.5 million in-person reading sessions in 2026 — the National Year of Reading.
Support is targeted where it matters most: 46% of participating children are eligible for Pupil Premium, and over half of partner schools serve disadvantaged communities. Independent evaluation with the Institute for Research in Education shows powerful results: across three terms, every single child improved their reading age beyond expected progress.
Schoolreaders is proving what’s possible when communities mobilise around children’s futures.
The organisation is run by a small team in Bedford, achieving high staff-to-volunteer leverage and exceptional cost-effectiveness. Its supporters include patrons Gyles Brandreth and Kate Adie, and it is governed by a Board of Trustees and an executive team. Schoolreaders has been praised for its adaptability and innovative use of digital channels in volunteer recruitment and fundraising, and for the strength, expertise, and depth of its Board, whose members typically serve multiple terms, reflecting a strong sense of commitment and continuity. This collective leadership and innovation continue to position Schoolreaders as a vital partner in tackling the literacy gap at scale.
Role specification
As a Trustee at Schoolreaders, they will play a key role, helping to shape the overall direction and vision.
The key duties of Trustees are to:
- Work collectively with fellow Trustees and the executive team to ensure Schoolreaders remains mission-driven, financially resilient, and effective in delivering high-impact literacy support, particularly to the most disadvantaged children
- Shape and challenge organisational strategy, supporting the charity’s continued national expansion and operational effectiveness, while managing strategic risks and safeguarding its reputation and resources
- Champion the importance of evidence-based, face-to-face reading interventions while constructively interrogating the potential role of digital provision, ensuring decisions are grounded in impact and inclusivity
- Engage as an ambassador for Schoolreaders, championing its mission and extending its reach through networks and partnerships
- Support the executive team in addressing key challenges, including safeguarding, funding pressures, digital transformation, and security of volunteer and beneficiary data
- Model inclusive, collaborative governance and foster an environment where diverse perspectives and backgrounds are valued
Person specification
Schoolreaders is seeking to strengthen its Board with new Trustees who bring expertise across two priority areas: Education and Communications / PR. While prior governance experience is welcome, the organisation is equally open to applications from those seeking their first non-executive appointment.
Education
The Board welcomes applications from those with current experience as a primary school practitioner, ideally within the state sector. The capacity to deliver strategic direction is essential. Insight into challenges linked to deprivation and the use of educational technology would be particularly valuable in shaping policy, practice and partnership development. A background in safeguarding would also be highly valued. Candidates may have held leadership roles such as Head of Department, Assistant Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, Headteacher, Chief Executive, or Director of Education. Appointees will also join the Education Safeguarding Consultation Group (meets online three times per year).
Communications / PR
The Board is seeking a Trustee with significant experience in communications, brand development, and / or marketing, and a strong understanding of digital and social media strategy. Candidates may come from any sector, provided they bring sound judgement, strong strategic thinking, and the ability to operate credibly across these areas. Experience in stakeholder engagement and influencing at a senior level will be valuable.
This Trustee will bring valuable insight as Schoolreaders strengthens its in-house communications and marketing capability and will help to shape the development of a longer-term strategy to raise the organisation’s profile and extend its reach. They will also support the development of a more integrated and cohesive approach, contributing to thinking on brand strategy, marketing and communications priorities, audience engagement, and external profile, as well as offering insight across digital, social, and traditional channels.
Above all, successful candidates will be motivated by the mission of Schoolreaders and committed to supporting children’s literacy and life chances.
Location
Board meetings are primarily held virtually, with one in-person board meeting and one strategy day held annually (typically in Bedford). Trustees from all regions of the UK are encouraged to apply.
Diversity
Schoolreaders welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, belief or disability. All appointments will be made on merit, following a fair and transparent process. In line with the Equality Act 2010, however, the organisation may employ positive action where candidates from underrepresented groups can demonstrate their ability to perform the role equally well.
Terms of appointment
This is a voluntary role; however, reasonable pre-agreed travel expenses will be reimbursed. Trustees are asked to commit to:
- attending six Board meetings per year (every two months, three hours each, five virtual and one held in person in Bedford)
- attending three Committee meetings annually (virtual), as relevant to their expertise, noting that this is an emerging area and there is not currently a specific committee for the PR / Communications Trustee role
- attending an annual strategy day, which is held in person
The initial appointment is for a three-year term, which may be renewed at the Board’s discretion.
Organisation
Posted on: 28 April 2026
Closing date: 18 May 2026 at 12:11
Tags: Communications, Training / Learning, Marketing, Education, Public Relations, Students / School
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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Lingfield, Surrey (Hybrid)
Dorking, Surrey
Reigate, Surrey
Caterham, Surrey
Unpaid role, expenses not paid
Voluntary
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as applications come in. They're ready to hire as soon as they find the right person. Don't miss your opportunity, apply now!
Job description
RSPCA Surrey East Branch
We are looking for fosterers in the Surrey East area, including Redhill, Reigate, Dorking, Horley, Lingfield, Oxted and Caterham.
We’re looking for cat-loving volunteers to play a vital role in helping us improve the wellbeing of the cats in our care whilst they wait to be rehomed. Can you help them by providing a calm and caring home whilst we find their purrfect forever home?
Overview of the opportunity
As a cat fosterer, you would be supporting the RSPCA in providing our cats with the safety of your home whilst tending to their welfare needs such as feeding and grooming. In addition to this, by providing a temporary loving environment, you will play a crucial role in a cat’s wellbeing and socialisation, which will significantly improve their chances of successful rehoming.
Once everything is in place, the branch will guide you through the fostering process and ensure that you have all the necessary equipment, food, and veterinary care for your fostered cat.
Our Animal Welfare Officer, Robyn, is the fostering coordinator, so she will provide our fosterers will all the help and support they need. We are a small, remote branch, so fostering will be the backbone of our rehoming operation. Volunteers will play an integral part to our branch. We don't operate at a large capacity, so we will always be on hand to support fosterers and navigate the fostering process with them. They will be joining the branch at a very exciting time, as we have only just launched our cat fostering scheme.
Whilst our cats are in your foster care, you will:
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Provide them with care, suitable housing, and a safe environment as per our policies and guidelines.
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Feed, water, and groom them in line with our advice.
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Transport them to any veterinary appointments (if required)
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Provide them with your time and patience.
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Help us spread the word about the cats in your care so they might find their forever home quicker.
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Playing and cuddles are also a must!
What we are looking for in a volunteer Cat Fosterer
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Volunteers aged 18 or over who have had plenty of experience caring for cats.
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Fostering experience is beneficial but not essential as training is provided.
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For their wellbeing, our cats need to be kept in a separate room, so the whole family should be on board.
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Any existing pets or animals need to have been spayed/neutered (some medical reasons may mean they cannot be so, please let us know if this is the case).
What we can offer you as a volunteer Cat Fosterer
- You will be making a massive difference to the welfare of the cats in your care.
- Join a community which will enable you to meet new people and make new friends.
- Learning new skills through our comprehensive induction and fostering training programme.
- Enhance your CV by adding your volunteering experience and newly acquired skills.
It is worth mentioning that our cats do have different needs as whilst some are ready for rehoming others may require rehabilitation or ongoing medication. Therefore, we also aim to understand your situation and circumstances to ensure that we match you with your perfect foster cat.
If you would like to know more about fostering our cats and review our fostering process, including the changes we have made in light of Covid-19 to protect our staff and volunteers, please contact the Surrey East Branch.
How to Apply:
If you’ve got the drive and compassion to volunteer with the RSPCA and are passionate about improving animal welfare, we’d love to hear from you!
Please visit our website to learn more about what we do.
We hope you are interested in volunteering for the Surrey East Branch.
Join us in making a real difference to the lives of animals in need.
Our voluntary roles are subject to an informal interview and trial period. We will ask you to provide contact details for two referees, and depending on the position, you may need to sign an agreement and undergo specific training before starting the role.
Organisation
Refreshed on: 10 April 2026
Closing date: 25 May 2026 at 13:44
Job ref: Cat Fosterer Surrey
Tags: Volunteering Management, Environment / Animal
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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Job description
Settle Stories is recruiting a new Chair of the Board and up to five Trustees, as several long-serving trustees reach the natural end of their terms after years of outstanding service.
Who We Are
A world where every voice, empowered by story, helps build our shared future.
Settle Stories is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation based in the Yorkshire Dales. Since 2010, we have used the power of story to educate, to empower, and to endure. We have reached over 200,000 people across 44 countries and 6 continents. We pioneered hybrid live-streaming for storytelling events in 2019, a year before the pandemic made it necessary. In 2025, funded by the British Council, we collaborated with Msitu Wa Ndoto to broadcast live performances from Africa's oldest burial site, a 76,000-year-old cave in Kenya, connecting artists from the UK and Kenya to audiences worldwide. We are now looking to expand this work, broadcasting from unusual and culturally significant places across the globe.
In schools, our Stories for Schools platform brings the nation's finest storytellers into classrooms through filmed content aligned to the national curriculum. The Storyful Way, our mindfulness-integrated storytelling methodology, is validated by Sheffield Hallam University for its outcomes in emotional well-being and resilience. Judges for our annual Children's Story Competition have included Sir Michael Morpurgo, Joanne Harris MBE, and Anne Fine. Closer to home, Settle itself sits at the heart of everything we do: for 15 years we have preserved the stories of the Yorkshire Dales through oral history projects, heritage archives, and the world's first Listening Gallery, housed in a phone box, keeping local voices alive for future generations.
We have a strong and committed Board, and several trustees have stayed well beyond their original terms. That is a testament to the organisation. In line with good practice, the time has come to bring in fresh voices.
Our current Chair has served two distinguished terms, steering Settle Stories through the pandemic and into its strongest ever position. The organisation is well placed for Arts Council England's next NPO round and the opportunities ahead.
We are looking for an enthusiastic Chair and Trustees who share our values and our passion for the power of story. We are also keen to hear from individuals who would welcome supporting us in a specific area on an advisory basis.
What we are looking for
We are recruiting for Trustee roles and, for those who cannot commit to a Board seat, non-voting Advisor positions.
Applications for both roles are particularly welcomed from women, those from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and Person of Colour) backgrounds, and from those based in Yorkshire and the North.
All Trustees must:
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Have an understanding and acceptance of the legal duties, responsibilities, and liabilities of trusteeship.
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Be confident to work digitally using Zoom/GMeet and shared docs.
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Have strong networks and the willingness to build and share them.
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Exercise good, independent judgment.
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Have the ability to think creatively.
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Have a willingness to speak their mind.
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Have the ability to work effectively as a member of a team.
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Adhere to Nolan’s seven principles of public life: selflessness, integrity, objectivity,
accountability, openness, honesty, and leadership.
We are seeking Trustee candidates with one or more of the following:
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arts practice - people with working experience of the cultural sector from a practitioner and/or manager perspective;
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business skills - commercial experience in earned income growth, B2B sales, or scaling subscription or digital products.
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digital expertise – specifically including:
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web design and user interfacing (UX/UI);
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digital security and infrastructure;
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digital marketing/performance marketing;
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HR and people development - strategic people leadership: organisational culture, equality and inclusion, workforce development.
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finance, legal, and governance experience - commercial finance, charity law or governance, with experience of mixed-income organisations.
Advisors should:
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Be able to demonstrate a high level of skill in one of the areas listed above, and be willing to support the Chief Executive and her team whenever advice or views on service delivery and development is needed. An understanding of Charity Commission requirements is also desirable.
Being an advisor is a flexible arrangement between the charity and the individual. The length of the term will be agreed on an individual basis.
The Chair role
We are looking for a committed individual who has a passion for story and literacy.
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the skills and time to be able to lead a medium-sized Board effectively and efficiently within the legal and best practice guidance set out by the Charity Commission;
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the skills and time to provide regular support (remotely and in person) to the CEO and staff team at Settle Stories;
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An understanding of the issues facing small, ambitious charities, and specifically cultural/arts council-funded charities.
Organisation
Settle Stories
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Registered Charity
1 - 5
Registered Charity
1 - 5
Settle Stories is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation based in the Yorkshire Dales. Since 2010, we have used the power of story to
Posted on: 27 April 2026
Closing date: 29 May 2026 at 17:00
Tags: Retail / Sales, Data Protection, Education, Literacy, Theatre, User Experience / UI / UX, Corporate Fundraising, Events / Activities, Digital Fundraising
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
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