Volunteer as a tutor

Complete our application form if you are ready to volunteer as a tutor for a pupil in Bristol or Oxford who is learning English.

Please note that we have finished recruiting new volunteers for the autumn term 2024. We will reopen to applications in January 2025. You can still apply via our online application form and we will be in touch with you in January.  ‍

We are only able to accept applications from people aged 18 and over who live in / close to Bristol or Oxford.

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By becoming a Jacari volunteer tutor, you will:

• Build a meaningful relationship with a young person, and help them to fulfil their potential.
• Help to reduce educational inequalities experienced by children from refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant backgrounds.
• Gain real experience in education.
• ​Develop useful communication and tutoring skills​.
• Get experience with a well-established charity.
• Get to know young people and families from different communities in your city.
• Become part of a supportive group of volunteers.

If you are interested in becoming a Jacari volunteer and you meet our criteria:

• Complete the volunteer application form for the city you are based in. 
• Attend our volunteer training (one in-person session plus online modules).
• We arrange to do a DBS/criminal records check and contact your referee(s).
• We match you to a pupil who has been referred to us by their school, based on their needs and your interests.
• You will visit them weekly during term-time either at their school or home to provide fun and engaging tutoring.
• We provide ongoing support, advice, teaching resources and games.

University students at:

• Oxford Brookes University
• University of Bristol
• University of Oxford
• UWE (University of the West of England Bristol)

Community volunteers - we welcome applications from over 18's living in Bristol and Oxford who can offer informal tutoring in English language skills.

We also work with sixth form students who attend selected partner schools and peer tutor EAL pupils in their school. We have a different application process for peer tutors.

We look for volunteers who:

• ​Are motivated by promoting the educational attainment, confidence and self-esteem of children and young people.
• Have a confident standard of written and spoken English – if English is not your first language, we ask that you have an IELTS score of 7.5 or above. 
• Are friendly and interested in learning about different cultures.

Our volunteers are the best advocates for our work!

“It’s a great way to get involved in the community, it feels so great to be helping out these kids every week and it’s really good for experience.”‍

“Volunteering with Jacari is a great experience, it allows students to expand their horizons and get first-hand experience of teaching.”

"I’d recommend volunteering with Jacari to anyone, it’s really easy to get into and very low pressure, but what you get out of it is amazing – a new set of skills, the knowledge that you have helped improve somebody else’s skills and something good to put on your CV. It only takes up about an hour of your week plus around half an hour of lesson planning, so it won’t take away from your studies too much and is perfect to do whilst being a student."