School support staff play an important but often overlooked role - empowering teachers and helping to stimulate an interest in learning through an additional layer of support.
As a volunteer on the School Support project in Greece, you’ll be on hand to assist teachers with all aspects of their day-to-day activities. This is a dynamic role that will throw unexpected challenges at you, but reward those with initiative and flexibility.
Volunteers are placed in local schools, assisting teachers in a variety of areas and helping to inspire an interest in learning among the students, who range in age from 6-12.
Your tasks may include assisting local teachers during their lessons, helping with arts and crafts, cleaning, administration work, classroom preparation and re-arrangements as well as supervising during break time. Volunteers need to improvize and be willing to get involved in a variety of different tasks as needed. Most classroom lessons are in Greek, which means your role will be mostly supporting or observational, and it’s unlikely you will teach classes independently.
You do not need to have prior teaching experience to participate in the School Support project, as you will receive guidance and support from the local coordinator and teacher. However, you are required to be fluent in English and have had some previous experience working with children.
Volunteers will benefit from having taken a teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) course, and IVHQ offers an internationally-recognized TEFL certification at a discounted rate. Visit our Online TEFL page for more information.
Volunteers who apply for the School Support project over school holiday periods will support summer activity projects run by our local team in Greece. These are often run outdoors and encourage learning through games rather than in a classroom. Volunteers can be creative in designing activities which fit the topics being covered at the time. In addition to running games and activities, you may also be given other tasks such as painting in schools, helping with beach litter cleanups and participating in cultural events.
The school holidays for 2021/2022 are:
- 7th June 2021 - 12th September 2021
- 6th December 2021 - 23rd January 2022