Citizens Advice South Warwickshire Volunteering Programme 2025-26

Applications now open for the CASW Volunteering Programme

Warwick Law in the Community (LinC) is pleased to collaborate with Citizens Advice South WarwickshireLink opens in a new window

to offer Warwick Law School students the opportunity to volunteer with Citizens Advice during the 2025/26 academic year.

Citizens Advice provides a service to members of the public. Their network of independent charities offers confidential advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. People rely on this service because it is independent and totally impartial. Citizens Advice believes no one should have to face problems without good quality, independent advice.

Based at the Leamington Spa office of Citizens Advice, students will act as volunteer general advisers.

The role of a volunteer adviser is integral to the service delivery of the charity and completing the training will enable the volunteer to truly be able to

assist those people who come to us for help with their concerns, circumstances and enquiries. This is an opportunity for students to gain valuable skills and experience, whilst making a meaningful contribution to the local community.

If you have any questions about this opportunity please email WarwickLinC@warwick.ac.uk

What's Involved?

Students will volunteer for all of terms 1 and 2 on a regular basis. Students are expected to be available for their weekly volunteering session in Leamington during term time.

Students are expected to spend no more than 5 hours a week volunteering for CA South Warwickshire (one volunteering session a week).

You will receive initial training and you will be supported by the Volunteering Coordinator who will oversee your volunteer journey.

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to Warwick law students, both undergraduate and postgraduate, except  first year undergraduates. PPL students are also eligible to apply.

What we are looking for:

Experience/confidence using the telephone to interact with clients and third-party agencies

A friendly and approachable manner both face-to-face and on the telephone.

Being non-judgmental and respecting views, values and cultures that are different to your own.

Good listening skills.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills (a record is kept for each client interaction)

Good numeracy and the ability to analyse information.

Ability to quickly assimilate information and explain it to others.

Willingness to learn about and follow the Citizens Advice aims, principles and policies, including confidentiality and data protection.

Willingness to undertake training in your role

How to apply

Students should submit their CV along with the application form [link]Link opens in a new window in ONE PDF document to  WarwickLinC@warwick.ac.uk Link opens in a new windowThe pdf file name should be formatted like this: SURNAME First name CASW (For example, SMITH Joanna CASW).

Deadline for applications: 12 noon (Midday), Tuesday 30 September 2025. 

Shortlisted candidates will be informed by the end of Wednesday 1 October 2025. Interviews to be held in Leamington on Friday 3 October 2025. Training to take place for successful candidates on Wednesday 8 October 2025.

As a volunteer for Warwick LinC you are able to claim Core Skills Points towards the Warwick Award.

Please note that students may only participate in one LinC volunteering opportunity at a time. This means that students accepted to one clinic will not be eligible to apply for another until that opportunity is due to finish. Students applying to more than one opportunity can only be accepted for one.

Students on the Social Welfare Law module are eligible to apply for clinic opportunities as this is an accredited module and not a volunteer opportunity.

What will you do?

Complete an introduction to Citizens Advice and training for your role.

Talk to clients over the phone who call via Adviceline, meet them face to face at a drop in or by appointment, and assist via email to explore what problems they’ve come for help with.

Research information regarding clients’ problems and help them to understand their options.

Support clients to take action to resolve their problems. This might include drafting or writing letters, making phone calls, or referring the client to another organisation.

Write a summary of the clients’ problems and what action you’ve taken.

Look out for problems’ that are common, or are unfair, to assist CASW and Citizens Advice nationally to campaign for changes in policies and practices.

Some examples of what you could do:

Advise someone who is separating from their partner on their rights and responsibilities and make an appointment for them to have a free initial consultation with a family lawyer.

Explore what benefits a client is entitled to and assist in completing a benefit application form.

Help a client who has problems with their landlord to understand their housing rights.

Reflections from previous Law School students who have volunteered for CASW: CA Volunteer Experience- Esther & Annie

Hi, we’re Esther & Annie, two aspiring Warwick University students who are looking to build a foundational understanding of socio-legal topics through real world experience. We’ve found the volunteer role to be rewarding for a number of reasons. Primarily, knowing that your advice can help both improve and change people’s lives is a feeling that is irreplaceable. You never know what to expect when you pick up a call. That's what makes the role so interesting. 

One of the challenges that I have faced has been in advising knowledgeable parents on the support available to their children with special requirementsin spite of cookie-cutter education systems. It seems an impossible task at first. However, with the support of our invaluable supervisors, I have almost alwaysbeen able to provide a new insight or two into their situation, assisting the client in knowing what to do next. 

For me, I had a medical negligence case that left me with food for thought on how common this type of negligence was. When it came to advising about the process behind getting legal help, it opened my eyes to the complexities and intricacies when it came to laws surrounding medical negligence, something I was never aware of prior. 

We can confidently say that we have ended every call, learning a bit more about a policy or legal issue, it's a role that constantly keeps us learning and for that we are grateful for this experience. This is a position that will leave a positive mark on you and is something that we would recommend to anyone who wants to gain real life insight into the issues that affect the nation today by hearing about the cases and stories that help form them.