Become a Volunteer

CS in Schools is creating sustainable change in digital technology education. We can only do this with support from volunteers who help teachers develop their CS skills and inspire students to explore computing careers.

If you’d like to help coding be taught effectively in schools, this is a great chance to make a difference by helping a teacher develop their skills. You can make a difference to Australian education, and help build a stronger diverse population of students who might consider computing as their career path. You’ll also have fun, meet people, and help teachers and students succeed at school.

We’re now recruiting volunteers to start in 2024.

Please note that you must attend a workshop before you start in the programme. A typical volunteer gives one to two hours per week, but please also note if you’re visiting schools that travel to and from a school takes additional time.

Overview

CS in Schools is a volunteer-based programme. Volunteers are computing professionals who want to give back by spending time helping teachers become confident and competent at teaching coding and computational thinking.

It’s a great way to develop your skills too: our volunteers report they’ve become more confident, better at speaking in public, better at explaining technical concepts, developed resilience, and grown as leaders.

There are many different modes of teacher and school support. For example, in “Partner Mode”  volunteers help in the classroom every week for one or two school terms. In this case, the time commitment is:

  • At least half of one day shadowing teachers in a school observing teachers teaching students
  • Two-day workshop before the programme begins
  • Online child safety training course
  • Meeting the volunteer’s partner teacher prior to commencing in the classroom
  • Approximately 20 or 40 hours supporting teachers in the classroom (2 hours per week for 10 weeks, ideally for two terms). Travel to and from school requires additional time
  • One hour debrief meeting at the end of the volunteering experience

Many volunteers help teachers and schools through remote video conferencing. In this case, there’s sometimes occasional classroom visits. All volunteers still need to attend the two-day workshop.



What is CS in Schools?

Watch our 2020 volunteering video to learn more about helping schools and teachers transform their technology education.

Volunteer application process

Before volunteers begin their volunteer experience, they are required to:


  • Submit your application

    Fill in a form that explains why you want to volunteer. You will then be interviewed by one of the CS in Schools team.

  • Complete your state’s Working With Children Check (WWCC)

    Once you’ve been selected to participate in the CS in Schools programme, you will need to apply for and receive a Working With Children Check. This usually takes a couple of weeks, and is necessary before you can move onto the next step.

  • Attend a school as a classroom observer

    Spend at least half a day shadowing teachers in a school, observing teachers of any discipline teaching students. If you don’t have a school in mind, CS in Schools will help with placement.

  • Attend a training workshop hosted by CS in Schools

    Volunteers must participate in a two-day workshop. You’ll learn about our coding curriculum, the basics of volunteering in a school, our coding environment, troubleshooting problems, how to explain coding to students, and how to effectively contribute in a classroom and support a teacher in their professional development. Volunteers also must complete an online Child Safety training programme.

  • Meet your partner teacher at the workshop or school

    You will get together with the teacher or school you’re supporting, so that you begin to form as a team before the teaching year begins.

Applications open now

Apply now! We’re looking for volunteers to work with us next year.

Apply Now ☞