New qualification for Police Scotland Youth Volunteers

A new online digital training platform and award for Police Scotland Youth Volunteers has been at the Police Scotland College, Tulliallan.

The PSYV Award, which is linked to the SQA points system, is the most ambitious piece of work undertaken by the PSYV since its inception in April 2014.

​The training programme delivered by the PSYV Award ensures all youth volunteers have the skills required to contribute positively in their communities, through volunteering.

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Inspector Craig Rankine, PSYV National Coordinator, said: “By offering our volunteers a nationally recognised award we are recognising and affirming the progress of our young people. As well as offering them a sense of pride in their achievements, it also provides them with a pathway to future employment.

“I am very proud and excited to launch this award. It marks both the end of years of development and hard work, as well as the beginning of the new PSYV journey.

“With the introduction of this award we have established that the Police Scotland Youth Volunteers can offer Scotland’s young people a highly professional, modern, structured, programme with a real impact both on our young people who volunteer and communities across Scotland.

“We are working alongside colleagues within Police Scotland to achieve accreditation for the award in the New Year.

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“This will deliver a real educational benefit to every volunteer who undertakes the award, with work continuing behind the scenes to link the content to the SCQF framework”.

Assistant Chief Constable Andy Cowie, National PSYV Lead, said: “The PSYV have a distinctly Scottish identity and are placed at the heart of Scottish communities.

“Every weekend Youth Volunteers can be seen volunteering at everything from local Church or Mosque open days right through to major events like T in the Park or The Open Golf Championship.

“When working in their communities, the Youth Volunteers are constantly engaged in numerous volunteering activities; helping the elderly, giving out public safety information or supporting local policing priorities locally.

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“The PSYV are also involved with peer to peer and intergenerational education programmes, delivering inputs to their peers on important themes like ‘No Knives Better Lives’ and internet safety.

“With the introduction of this award we can demonstrate that the Police Scotland Youth Volunteers is a dynamic forward thinking organisation that places the needs of our young people at the heart of everything it does.

“The volunteering experience offered by the PSYV can only be of massive benefit to our young people in whatever their chosen career path may be in later life.

“With the continued support of our adult volunteers and their valued mentoring skills, PSYV is undoubtedly a great way for a young person to spend their time and I look forward to the programme continuing to develop and going from strength to strength.”

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Every youth volunteer is required to complete a 12-week induction module covering:

Introductions: Introduction to PSYV, Police Scotland, volunteering and the PSYV journey.

Standards: Code of conduct, uniform presentation and punctuality, communications and social media standards.

Operational Training: Rank structures, pocket notebooks, phonetic alphabet, radio procedures and drill.

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By completing their induction the Youth Volunteers are then considered ready to ‘volunteer in their communities’. This initial training is then followed by an additional module covering:

Preparing for Volunteering: Planning events, organising tasks and understanding the importance of volunteering.

Knowledge and Skills: First aid, risk assessments, incidents, missing persons, lost and found, internet safety and diversity

Volunteering Experience: A reflective portfolio of evidence documenting the volunteer’s experiences.

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On completion, youth volunteers have the option of taking two further modules which look at leadership roles at events and within the PSYV group setting, as part of their volunteer journey and personal development.

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