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| PATHWAYS
: Sports Development |
Sports
development officers ensure everyone
in the community has the opportunity
to take part in sports and activities.
They liaise closely with local
people, schools, clubs and volunteers
to organise sports activities
and promote events. The ability
to coach multiple sports at all
levels can be a distinct advantage.
The sports development workforce,
in both the professional and voluntary
sense, has a significant role
to play in ensuring access to
quality sporting opportunities
throughout the community, for
all ages and all levels of ability.
For some their role is increasingly
about shaping policy, for many
their work is about turning national
and local policy into practice.
For all, the work increasingly
needs to be delivered in a climate
of uncertainty as budgets shrink
and agendas far beyond sport for
sport's sake have an impact.
There has never been greater need
for a coordinated and planned
approach to sports development
and sports development professionals
have never needed more the strength
that a professional organisation
brings.
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Community
Development in Sport
The role of sport in community
development is a growing area
of work in the industry. Using
sport as a vehicle for community
development takes place in a wide
range of settings. It is estimated
that there are already between
4000 and 5000 people working in
this area, and this is expected
to increase over the coming years.
Sport has an important contribution
to make to:
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Improving
health and addressing the
obesity epidemic |
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Tackling
anti-social behaviour and
reducing crime |
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Raising
educational attainment |
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Increasing
employment opportunities |
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Developing
more cohesive and sustainable
communities |
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Increasing
employment opportunities |
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Tackling
disadvantage, and |
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Ensuring
young people get the best
possible start in life |
An
example of where sport has been
part of social inclusion programme,
is Positive Futures which is a
national initiative that uses
sport and leisure activities to
engage with disadvantaged and
socially marginalised young adults.
Positive Futures uses sport as
a catalyst to encourage participation
and steer young people towards
education, training and employment.
For further information go to
www.drugs.gov.uk/young-people/positive-futures/
NACRO,
a crime reduction charity deliver
projects where sport is used to
engage positively with young and
steer them away from crime and
anti-social behaviour. See www.nacro.org.uk
The
Framework for Sport by Sport England
and The Game Plan by DCMS both
set out to increase and widen
the particpation in sport and
to increase the achieve high levels
of success on the international
sporting stage. Both of these
aims require increasing the level
of sport in the community and
work with marginalised communities.
For
information on London Community
Sports Network, an organisation
with a wealth of experience in
Community Sports Development,
go to www.communitysports.org.uk
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