Certificate in Community Volunteering (CCV)
Levels 1 and 2

The current version of the CCV is being replaced by new, more flexible, QCF qualifications. The final date for registering CCV candidates is 31st August 2009. Candidates will have two years to complete their CCV qualifications. The new qualifications have been accredited by QCA, DCELLS and CCEA at levels 1 and 3. The Level 2 QCF qualification is currently going through the approval process.

There are introductory workshops for these new qualifications from March 09 onwards - click here for details

*UPDATE* Click here for information about the new Community Volunteering Qualification (CVQ) available for Levels 1 - 3.

What is the Certificate in Community Volunteering?

CCV is a qualification that recognises:

  • good practice in volunteering
  • the general skills volunteers need to perform their role effectively, whatever the context

CCV may be offered as a course, through one-to-one sessions, and by distance learning and online. 

Who is it for?

The CCV is intended for both young people (14+) and adult volunteers. It benefits volunteers by providing:

  • formal recognition for what they do in contributing to the community
  • a structure for improving their skills and knowledge, and reflecting on what they do
  • opportunities to learn from and share experiences with other volunteers
  • a progression route to further education, training and employment

Voluntary and community organisations can benefit from having better trained and motivated volunteers, while the CCV can also help organisations to demonstrate and reinforce good practice. It complements Investing in Volunteers and National Occupational Standards for Managing Volunteers.

Education providers can help their student volunteers enhance their skills and CVs, pursue career goals and have a better understanding of community/citizenship issues. For some volunteers, a CCV qualification will provide a stepping stone to further training, qualifications and employment. For others, the Certificate will be a sufficient goal and reward for their voluntary work.

Structure

There are six units at Level 1 and five units at Level 2. Volunteers need to successfully achieve four units to gain the full qualification (n.b. volunteers do not have to achieve Level 1 before proceeding to Level 2). Certification is also available for individual units.

Each unit is broadly equivalent to 30 Guided Learning Hours = 3 credits, but many volunteers will need less time to achieve a unit. Most volunteers take between three and nine months to complete the qualification. It is possible to recognise prior achievements.

The unit titles for Levels 1 and 2 are:

Level 1

Level 2

Preparing for your volunteer role

Preparing to volunteer

Personal skills for volunteers

Skills for self-management

Dealing with meetings as a volunteer

Dealing with meetings

Meeting your organisation's standards of good practice

Working to good practice standards

Describing needs, issues and your own voluntary work

Understanding needs, issues and responses

Working in a team as a volunteer

 

 

To download the specifications for Levels 1 and 2, click here.

 

Assessment

To gain the CCV, volunteers produce a portfolio of evidence, which is internally assessed and externally moderated.

Centres need to have at least two competent staff available. Ideally, these staff will have an assessor and/or teacher/trainer qualification (or experience of NVQs/OCN courses) as well as voluntary sector experience. If there are only two staff involved, then one of them can be the assessor and the other the internal moderator (to check assessment decisions, etc.). If there is insufficient expertise (or time) available to an organisation, it may be possible to buy this in or get it from a partner organisation. It may also be possible to work with a centre offering the CCV by distance/online learning.

Centres are allocated an External Moderator who will contact the centre and offer advice and support.

Status

CCV is listed on the National Qualifications Framework. To download details of qualifications codes and performance table points for ASDAN qualifications, click here.

For further information on status and funding for CCV, click here.

Progression

Volunteering takes place in a wide range of voluntary community sector contexts - it is therefore difficult to detail all the progression routes available.

Some volunteers may move on to specific occupational training and qualifications in areas such as health and social care, land-based industries, education, advice and counselling, and leisure and tourism. Others may progress within the voluntary sector to management roles. There are a lot of progression opportunities available.

The Voluntary Sector National Training Organisation (VSNTO) considers the CCV to be a useful access course. The CCV can also help volunteer managers demonstrate that they are meeting the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for managing volunteers. Click here to see a table indicating links between the CCV and NOS for managing volunteers.

Younger volunteers may be interested in progressing to other ASDAN qualifications, such as Key Skills or the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (Level 3). There are three main programmes that naturally feed in to the CCV:

For further information about linking CCV to other awards, download these documents:

Training

For details of Certificate in Community Volunteering introductory workshops, including forthcoming dates, click here. ASDAN also offers INSET training, click here for further information.

Resources

Resources available from ASDAN to support CCV include:

  • CCV Resources CD-ROM
  • CCV and Basic Skills/Skills for Life and ESOL
  • Evidence Gathering Pack
  • Skills Development Pack

For more information and sample resources, click here.

FAQ

Q: How much does the Certificate in Community Volunteering cost?

A: Click here to access the costs page, which features information about registration costs for the CCV. Please also take into account the annual centre registration fee, if your centre is not yet registered with ASDAN.

Q: How can my centre start running CCV?

A: If you are not yet registered with ASDAN, your first step is to complete an Application for Centre Registration Form.

Current ASDAN centres need to ensure that CCV is added to their centre's registration. To do this, please complete an Additional Networks Registration Form.

Following registration, you will be able to access additional resources and guidance via the secure area of the ASDAN website.

ASDAN also provides introductory training workshops and can arrange in-house training.

For an extensive list of Frequently Asked Questions for the Certificate in Community Volunteering, click here.

Secure Area for registered centres

Once your centre is registered with ASDAN for the Certificate in Community Volunteering, you can access further information and resources via the website's Secure Area.

It contains all relevant updates, essential documents and resources, and enables you to:

  • Download resources, including guidance and checklists
  • Register your candidate names
  • Purchase materials from the online ASDAN catalogue
  • Check the list of candidates registered from your centre

There is no limit to the number of people from a centre who can register for a Secure Area password.
You can register for a password online, by clicking here to access the request form.

Further information

For a CCV information pack or if you have any further questions, contact ccvinfo@asdan.org.uk at ASDAN.

To read more about centres already running CCV, click here.

Useful websites: