Volunteers

A community of people living and working to provide day and residential services to children and young people with additional support needs. On site we have day and residential students (3-25 years old), local and gap year volunteers, staff and retired staff. Some volunteers and staff live on site.

It can be a long day, but it’s very rewarding. The schedule may vary from house to house and for each student but it generally looks like this: Monday – Friday The house wakes up, breakfasts together, and then students go to their class or workshop. At 1pm, it’s lunchtime and everyone gathers together in the house for a social lunch. Afternoons are spent either in classes, workshops or relaxing. 5.30pm is dinner time. We have meals together and everyone participates in household activities depending on their ability. After dinner, volunteers carry out house tasks such as helping clean up. There are usually social and recreational activities to be involved in, such as Scottish/folk dancing, going for a walk or watching a film. Weekends are more flexible, so students are encouraged to go on walks around the estate, go for a cycle on the old railway line, or go on outings further afield. You typically work between 45-48 hours a week (this includes two hours of your weekly Foundation Course) and you are given two days off a week to explore locally or further afield.

Your accommodation, soft furnishings and food is covered. As a volunteer you’ll be living in one of our residential care homes. Your room will have a bed, either a wardrobe of chest of drawers, and a lockable cabinet for your belongings. The other facilities in the house are communal spaces such as the kitchen, bathrooms, living rooms and dining room

12 months is the longest length of stay we can offer. We encourage requests for university practical placements over three months, and we also open our doors to Waldorf School placements. Please email us with your request and we’ll be in touch.

As some of our pupils are non-verbal, we ask that all candidates have a good level of English. You will also be offered English lessons throughout your time in the community, if you’d like to brush up on your language skills. Please remember, every day you’ll be speaking and hearing English, so your command of the language will improve dramatically within a few months. All of our volunteers are asked to pay for their flights to and from Camphill School Aberdeen. Please do not book flights before a UKVI confirmation for your Tier 5 Charity Workers visa.

Please send an email to volunteering@crss.org.uk and we’ll send you an application form with all the information you’ll need. This is the start of our application process. We ask for two referees, a medical check and a police check as well as a Skype call to get to know you. Once we have all the paperwork in place, then we can begin the Tier 5 Charity Worker Visa process. You can also apply through the following sending agencies: IVS (UK branch of) Service Civil International or SCI, VAP Franken, Die Freunde, EOS, via e.V.