Volunteers :: Grand Erie District School Board

Volunteers in Grand Erie

A volunteer in a school may be a parent or guardian who currently has a child enrolled in the system, a member of the community, a student or a Board employee, including a coach, who agrees to undertake, without pay or for academic credit, a designated task which supports a classroom, a classroom excursion, a school or a system-wide program. Learn more by accessing Procedure SO126 Volunteers.

Become a volunteer

There are many ways to contribute to your child’s education and school community. Volunteering is a great way to stay connected. We value the contribution of all our volunteers and appreciate their time spent supporting our students and staff.

Requirements

A Vulnerable Sector Police Check AND Completion of an Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities ACT (A.O.D.A.) training are requirements of the Grand Erie District School Board for all volunteers.

Vulnerable Sector Police Check (Criminal Background Check)

For residents of the city of Brantford, a form can be obtained at the school and taken to your local police station where a search, based on the information provided, is performed by police. For residents within OPP jurisdictions, an application is completed online here. (OPP will no longer be accepting criminal record check applications at their detachment locations.)

Volunteers must have a Vulnerable Sector Police Check every three years.

All volunteers (parents, guardians, grandparents, etc.) require a Vulnerable Sector Police Check. If you do not have one at the time of the event (e.g. class trip), you will not be permitted to participate.

Such events/activities include, but are not limited to:

class trips, field trips, excursions
classroom volunteers and volunteer drivers
coaches
various reading or other unsupervised curriculum program assistance

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (A.O.D.A.) Training

Volunteers are required to complete Accessibility training.

After viewing the video, please complete the Accessibility Customer Service Standards Declaration. Completing this declaration informs the Board that you have complied with the accessibility standards in the AODA.

Training all volunteers are required to complete an online AODA training module. Once a volunteer completes the training, they will receive a certificate acknowledging completion which can be printed and taken to the school, or emailed directly to the school.

A photocopy of the certificate of completion may be used if the volunteer offers their services at more than one location. Training will include:

The purpose of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.
Which disabilities are covered by the Act.
How to interact and communicate with people who have disabilities.
Which assistive devices and service animals are used by people with disabilities.
How to use equipment and assistive devices available on our School Board's premises.
What to do if a person with a particular type of disability is having difficulty accessing the Board's services.
Policies, practices and procedures required by the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, Ontario Regulation 429/07.

If a volunteer has documentation of AODA training completed in another context this can be accepted by the Principal.

A short video explaining the Grand Erie District School Board's privacy policy can be viewed here.