The GoodSAM app

The apps will look like this:

We have used images throughout this guide from both apple and android, sometimes the image may look different to your phone’s operating system but the information is the same.

2. Open the app and sign in using your email address and the password you set up during the sign‐up process. Please note – you do not need to register on the app – only sign in.

3. You may be prompted to give location access and notifications for the app, please ensure you select ‘Allow’ in order for you to receive alerts/requests to your phone.

4. Check that you have switched all notifications on under your settings. This may look different depending on the mobile phone you are using.

5. Set up your profile and familiarise yourself with the app settings.

Setting up your profile is essential as it becomes your identification for the person/site you are supporting.

Go into the app and click on the 'ME' tab. Tap the circle and upload your photo (this must be a photo of yourself).

Note: You must show your ID to the person you are supporting. If the person you are supporting requires further verification you can show them a copy of the alert/support request.

1. If you know you are unable to support a request (for example, you have accidentally left your device as ‘ON DUTY’), please 'Decline' the alert – this will move to the next volunteer.

Declining an alert will not prevent further requests coming through to you, if you know you are not available to support, please toggle to 'OFF DUTY' as stated in the guidance above.

2. When you 'Accept' an alert you will be asked if you want to accept this call in a pop up. You can accept the request to see the details and still decline if you are not able to support once you have read the request.

The support information will be shown either in the 'Chat' tab or the 'Comms' tab dependent on the phone you are using. It will include the support required and the contact details of the person or site requiring help and any additional information that you may need.

3. Once you have read through the information, you can make a decision whether you are going to complete it or not by clicking on the 'Actions' tab:

If you decide to complete the task please select from the following AFTER you have attempted/completed it:

Find a route on the map – will open maps and find the best route to the location of support (is applicable).

Client did not answer ‐ If you have phoned the person 3 times and were unable to get hold of them, press 'client did not answer' this will pass the task to another volunteer. If we have no response again we will pass onto the  Safeguarding Team to make contact with the person who needed support.

Contacted – no help needed ‐ If you have contacted the person and they have informed you that they do not need any help at this time then press 'Contacted ‐ no help needed'.

Contacted provided help – if you have completed the task.

Client wants to be removed ‐ If a person states they no longer need support and want to be removed from the system press ‘client wants to be removed’. Our support team will receive the details and remove this person from the system.

4. If you do not wish to complete the task:

Pass to another volunteer ‐ If you do not want to continue with the task then press ‘Pass to another volunteer’, this will return the task into the system and another volunteer will be matched with it.

Note: Once you select any of the above options – the task information will disappear, including the contact information of the person/site requiring support. If you have an urgent/same day task that is waiting to be completed, you will not receive other alerts until this has been completed.

Filtering the activities

All upcoming available activities will display in the activity tab.

To filter the activities:

1.Press the 'Filter the activities' button. Then select the role type from the top menu by scrolling up or down the list 'All task types' which will display all the roles you have applied for on your profile.

2. You can filter by date by swiping the date, month and year fields up or down to your chosen date. You are not able to search a date range so you will need to search multiple times if you want to check a number of days.

3. Select the maximum distance from your location that you are willing to travel to by moving the red responder button up to a maximum of 25km.

4. Finally press 'Set filter' to view your search results, or 'Clear filter' to reset it to the list that will show all available tasks.

Available support requests

Available support requests will show in a list based on the distance to your location, they will detail the role and activity and the date and start/end time of the support request and the distance from your current location to that activity.

Ten activities per role type i.e. Community Response will show at one time if no filter is in place.

If you click or swipe on an available support request it will show the details for that activity.

The role will be in BOLD i.e. In Home and the activity type is detailed below i.e. Companionship Visit. The request will give information about the preferred date/time and the distance away from your location.

Accepting the task

If you wish to accept it click or swipe the activity and then click on 'Accept'. Alternatively, you can view the task information before accepting by clicking on 'Show details'.

Show details will give you the following information:

Location on map with the postcode.

Activity info start date and time, end date and time and any additional information that you need to be aware of regarding the task, such as where to go and who to report to on arrival or details of the task itself i.e. Mary requires a volunteer to help with ordering books from the library online.

Contact will show the contact details for either a site lead or the person being supported. Please note these will only show once the activity is accepted.

To navigate through these screens above please use the back/next button located at the bottom of the screen.

Once you have accepted the task it will show in your filter list as accepted at the top of the list as in the image below.

Cancelling attendance

If you find you are no longer able to attend a scheduled activity and wish to cancel your attendance, find it in your filtered list and then click on it and click 'decline'.

Please remember to cancel if you are no longer able to attend a shift. This enables the request to appear to other volunteers who could support the activity.

If an activity is cancelled by the organiser ‐ You will receive a push notification informing you a task you have already accepted has been cancelled by the organiser. This will be in 'messages' section on the app. The task will then be removed from the 'Task' section.

Completing the activity

Once you have attended the activity you must complete it on the app by finding it in your filtered list and clicking or swiping on the task and then selecting 'Activity Complete'.

If you have accepted a Companionship Calls shift, please be aware this covers a 6‐week period and you must not complete the activity in the app until all calls have been made.

If you are supporting a site-based activity a pop up box with the following options will appear:

Activity Complete – to complete the activity if you attended.

Site did not require support – if you attended but were turned away. This allows us to follow up with the referrer to ensure they are not requesting volunteers who are not needed.

Back – if you need to navigate out of this screen.

For Pick Up and Deliver Plus – you will be asked an additional question to confirm how many deliveries were made.

If you are supporting a person the following pop up will appear.

Activity Complete – to complete the activity if you attended

Client did not answer – if you were unable to make contact with the client after a number of attempts. This allows us to follow up with the referrer to ensure the person is ok and is aware of the referral.

Client wishes to be removed - If a person states they no longer need support and want to be removed from the system press ‘client wants to be removed’. Our support team will receive the details and remove this person from the system.

No Help Needed -  Contact was made with the person, but they didn’t want any support. It may be that this was part of an ongoing referral that has a number of weeks left on it. Selecting this would enable the future weeks to continue but this week’s activity was not required. 

Back – if you need to navigate out of this screen

For Companionship Calls – you will be asked an additional question in a pop up to confirm how many calls were made over the course of the support when you complete the activity.

Note: You will not be able to filter for further activities if you have an accepted activity that has not been completed.

The 'reports' tab in the app is available for you to provide feedback on shifts you have completed. You can click on the activity and provide feedback. For Site Support and Driver Support Plus this needs to be completed after each shift, this helps us to shape future volunteer experiences.

3. If you are willing to drive as part of your activities, select ‘Yes – I am willing to drive’ from the drop-down box and then tick the box to confirm you have a driving licence and that the vehicle you use is appropriately insured, taxed and is roadworthy (including, where applicable MOT) and will be for the duration of your volunteering activity. This will update your profile to DRIVER.

4. If you cannot drive, select ‘No, I cannot drive’ from the drop-down. This will update your profile to NON-DRIVER.

5. If you can drive but cannot confirm you that the vehicle you use is appropriately insured, taxed and is roadworthy (including, where applicable MOT). This will update your profile to NON-DRIVER.

Being a NON-DRIVER doesn’t stop you from doing any of the activities, we just need the declaration to know if you are/will be driving and are insured to do so. The activities can be carried out using public transport, pedal bike or by foot where appropriate.

For any new volunteers who set their driver status but haven’t completed an ID check, all activities will be unticked/locked until the ID check is completed.

6. If you are DRIVER with ID Check and NO DBS, all activities in Level Red will automatically be ticked.

If you were an existing volunteer and previously had cardiac arrest and/or Vaccination Steward, then these will be ticked too.

7. If you are NON-DRIVER with ID Check and NO DBS, all activities in Level Red will automatically be ticked.

You will see that currently these are the same as a driver because as we’ve mentioned activities can be carried out whether or not you have a vehicle.

8. If you are DRIVER or NON-DRIVER with ID Check and DBS enhanced with adult barred, all activities in Level Red, Blue and Green will automatically be ticked.

PLEASE NOTE: Some volunteers will see additional activities such as Care Alert Responder and Ambulance Support – this depends if they are in the Local Authority area that they are being piloted – for more information, see pilot activities^[7].

If you would like to change any of your activities, see amending volunteer activities^[7].

2. Click on the Change button and then enter the full name and contact number of your emergency contact, then select the relationship from the dropdown list and click ‘change’.

You will now see the name of your emergency contact in the Emergency Contact box. 

You will need to ensure that your emergency contact is aware that you are adding their details and that they consent to their information being added.

3. You can login in anytime to make changes to your emergency contact by repeating the steps above. this section, by clicking on the ‘Change contact’ button under the emergency contact information section.  
 

2. When logged in, you will then need to click on the ‘Manage your roles’ tab and then click on the button to complete your ID check. This will open a new pop up as below.

3. Once you have clicked on the link in the text message, you will be redirected to the ID checking website.

You must first tick the box to confirm you consent to the Privacy agreement and then click continue.

If you wish to check which forms of ID are acceptable you can click onto the acceptable documents button and select United Kingdom from the search bar.

Then click on the 'capture my ID' button which will open up the camera for you take a photo of your ID.

You will then be automatically directed to next screen where you can verify your documents. 

4. Your ID details will be pre-populated with the information from your ID. Tick the consent box and click on the ‘my details are correct’ button.

You will then be asked to take a selfie video to match you to your ID. The camera will automatically be on selfie mode and you will need to press continue to proceed. The video will be taken and verified against your ID.

When the process is complete you will see a thank you message on the screen and you can then close the webpage on your phone.

5. When the ID check is complete, you will receive an email to let you know your ID check is complete and you can log in to the GoodSam app to start receiving tasks.

1. When you click on the link to start your DBS screening you will need first need to generate a password. See the highlighted area below.

2. An email will be sent to you from [email protected]^[11] which will contain a password reset/creation link. You will need to click on the link in the email to create your password.

3. Once you have created your password, return to the Reed Screening login page and login using your email address and newly created password. 

Applying for a DBS check

Follow points 4 to 10 if you are applying for a new DBS check.

4. When you have logged in you need to click on the highlighted pie chart to begin your screening process.

5. You will need to enter your personal details, ensuring any fields marked * are completed as these are mandatory. When you have completed the form click on next at the bottom of the page.

6. You will then need to add your full name history including any maiden names. You can add any additional names by clicking on the green plus button. When finished click, next.

7. Now add your full address history for the last 5 years. Clicking on OK to add each address.

8. You will now need to click on the pen button under Action next to any highlighted areas which will generate a page of questions relating to your DBS. Work through all highlighted sections of the form until they are completed. You will also be required to upload your proof of address and identity documents. 

9. You will then need to review the information you have added, any missing information will be highlighted for you to complete.

10. Next you need to read the privacy notice and will need to check the box to say you have read and accepted the statement and then save and submit your form using the buttons at the bottom of the page.

11. Once you have submitted your application, we will begin work on completing your background checks within.

Applying when you have a DBS with the Update Service

12. When you have logged in you need to click on the highlighted pie chart to begin your screening process. 

13. You will need to enter your personal details, ensuring any fields marked * are completed as these are mandatory. When you have completed the form click on next at the bottom of the page.

14. You will then need to add your personal/contact details. Any fields marked with an * are mandatory and cannot be left blank. When finished click, next. 

15. You will need to click the pen under any highlighted areas which will generate a page of questions relating to your DBS. 

16. You will then need to provide consent and provide your DBS Certificate number and a copy of your DBS.

17. Once this is uploaded, you will be asked to review the information you have provided making any changes if needed.

18. You will then be asked to read the privacy notice and accept the statements by ticking the  box at the bottom of the page. You then need to click submit which will generate your application in the screening system.

19. Once you have submitted your application, we will begin work on completing your background checks within 24 hours.

Please refer to the frequently asked questions^[12] for more information.