Volunteers help keep everyone safe, by having a second set of eyes on the program, so we can more accurately account for any behaviors or incidents, keep an eye out for indications of danger to a child’s wellbeing, and assist in responding to the unlikely event of an emergency.

The responsibilities of volunteers beyond this are minimal. Volunteers are asked to not attend to participant behavior, but may engage in conversation with participants non-disruptively.

We ask parents of our participants if they would be willing to volunteer, though it is not mandatory. Parent volunteers go through the same training, but have fewer requirements to sign up to do so. e.g. They do not need to provide references, resume, or police checks.

But they must still provide a Working With Children’s Check, provide a signature agreeing to the expectations outlined to them, and adhere to Spectrum Quest’s policies and code of conduct.

The Victorian government requires certain ratios of adults to children when running programs. While Spectrum Quest will make best effort to have a volunteer present during programs with children, we can, and will still run without volunteers, as we are under the ratio of 1:15 for children over pre-school age. You can read more about government ratio requirements here: https://www.vic.gov.au/educator-child-ratios-early-childhood-services

In the event that there is no volunteer, and only one participant can attend the program on a given week, the program will still proceed, but the Game Master will make an effort to inform the parent of the participant as soon as it is evident there will only be one participant. Withdrawing that participant from the program for that week is acceptable, but will still incur a fee.

If you are interested in volunteering for Spectrum Quest, please reach out here: https://spectrumquest.com.au/contact-us/