20/4/12
British Water Ski & Wakeboard is the National Governing Body for water skiing and wakeboarding in Great Britain and, as such, is responsible for developing the sport throughout Britain from grassroots level to elite for its 10,000 + members.
National Development Officer Rachel Tallon says the NGB is a strong advocate of providing CPD for staff, but recording and verifying this can be a challenge. It was therefore quick to join the trial for SkillsActive’s activepassport, a verified online record of an individual's training, qualifications and personal and professional achievements, when approached in mid-2011.
Rachel says: “The activepassport appealed to us because it gives individuals the power to log their qualifications, and coaching and volunteering hours, and communicate them to us quickly and efficiently.”
The NGB trialled the technology with 11 coaches; they were provided with an activepassport to log their new and exiting qualifications and coaching hours after successfully completing their level 2 coaching qualification. The NGB was so impressed with the technology that, following the trial, it incorporated the activepassport into its volunteer recognition scheme.
British Water Ski & Wakeboard is the National Governing Body for water skiing and wakeboarding in Great Britain and, as such, is responsible for developing the sport throughout Britain from grassroots level to elite for its 10,000 + members.
National Development Officer Rachel Tallon says the NGB is a strong advocate of providing CPD for staff, but recording and verifying this can be a challenge. It was therefore quick to join the trial for SkillsActive’s activepassport, a verified online record of an individual's training, qualifications and personal and professional achievements, when approached in mid-2011.
Rachel says: “The activepassport appealed to us because it gives individuals the power to log their qualifications, and coaching and volunteering hours, and communicate them to us quickly and efficiently.”
The NGB trialled the technology with 11 coaches; they were provided with an activepassport to log their new and exiting qualifications and coaching hours after successfully completing their level 2 coaching qualification. The NGB was so impressed with the technology that, following the trial, it incorporated the activepassport into its volunteer recognition scheme.
“Volunteers can be hard to attract and retain so offering something like this to record their volunteering hours is a huge benefit, and will be useful to them in their other careers as well.”
It is also considering extending the activepassport for officials, who are required to demonstrate they have officiated at a certain number of events to maintain their qualifications.
In future, Rachel hopes to use the technology to report on British Water Ski & Wakeboard’s Sport England volunteering targets.
“The main benefit I see is being able to use the activepassport to demonstrate to partners and funding bodies like Sport England and the Mayor’s Sports Legacy Fund that our coaches have completed the required number of volunteering hours, and the evidence is easily accessed online - not filed away in someone’s attic!”
20/4/12
In early 2011, the British Judo Association approached SkillsActive requesting help with the development of its new Judofit programme. SkillsActive is funded by Sport England to support national governing bodies of sport to deliver the workforce development commitments in their current plans.
British Judo Association Development Director Mark Beecher says: “Judofit uses the core training principles of the Olympic sport of Judo to provide a fun and exciting fitness class that tones and strengthen the entire body.”
SkillsActive worked with the NGB throughout 2011 to help design the course and compile all the necessary evidence for the SkillsActive endorsement application, including policies and procedures and tutor and learner resources.
SkillsActive endorsement ensures the quality of the course and its relevance to the sector. It also provides learners with Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) recognised CPD points. All REPs instructors have to log a total of 24 CPD points over a two year period to maintain their membership.
Mark says: “In October 2011, SkillsActive approved our course first time, allocating it the maximum REPs CPD points available, which is a fantastic result. This means instructors can now learn to deliver the programme by attending a one day course with the British Judo Association, and also accrue eight CPD points towards the 24 they need to stay on the Register.”
In early 2011, the British Judo Association approached SkillsActive requesting help with the development of its new Judofit programme. SkillsActive is funded by Sport England to support national governing bodies of sport to deliver the workforce development commitments in their current plans.
British Judo Association Development Director Mark Beecher says: “Judofit uses the core training principles of the Olympic sport of Judo to provide a fun and exciting fitness class that tones and strengthen the entire body.”
SkillsActive worked with the NGB throughout 2011 to help design the course and compile all the necessary evidence for the SkillsActive endorsement application, including policies and procedures and tutor and learner resources.
SkillsActive endorsement ensures the quality of the course and its relevance to the sector. It also provides learners with Register of Exercise Professionals (REPs) recognised CPD points. All REPs instructors have to log a total of 24 CPD points over a two year period to maintain their membership.
Mark says: “In October 2011, SkillsActive approved our course first time, allocating it the maximum REPs CPD points available, which is a fantastic result. This means instructors can now learn to deliver the programme by attending a one day course with the British Judo Association, and also accrue eight CPD points towards the 24 they need to stay on the Register.”
Following a successful Judofit pilot by the British Judo Association with Freedom Leisure in early 2012, SkillsActive introduced the NGB to several other leisure operators across England. The programme is now gaining interest from Fusion Lifestyle, SERCO and Virgin Active, and Virgin Active has invited the NGB to present Judofit at the FitPro convention’s ‘Clash of the Classes’ - a showcase for new class concepts - in April 2012.
Mark says: “SkillsActive’s support and involvement was crucial in helping us get Judofit off the ground and into gym classes. The present and future success of Judofit is at least in part down to the professional and insightful knowledge the SkillsActive team has provided to British Judo.”
SkillsActive now has ready made templates to support new organisations looking to gain endorsement.
6/2/12
As a timely boost to raising sports participation in the region ahead of London 2012, the Football League Trust (FLT) and the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) grasped the opportunities presented by SkillsActive in June last year, to benefit from the Skills Enhancement Fund.
SkillsActive is funded by Sport England to support national governing bodies of sport to deliver the workforce development commitments in their current plans, and the news represents one of the biggest regional success stories to kick start 2012.
The £50m Skills Enhancement Fund, available until June 2012, aims to engage employers in Yorkshire and Humber in skills development and increase the region’s skills base. It is co-financed through the Skills Funding Agency through the European Social Fund and Yorkshire Forward and managed by Calderdale College.
Steve Mitchell, Head of National Partnerships at SkillsActive says: “We are delighted that the funding has had such a terrific impact and developed new skills of so many individuals within the sports industry. We worked in partnership with Calderdale College to develop Coaching Tenders under the Framework Activity Route, which provides funding for qualifications that will have a direct and very significant impact in the sector.”
The FLT has now delivered almost 1,000 level one and two qualifications to approximately 500 staff in areas such as coaching, dance, disability awareness, and mental health awareness. 15 ASA staff have also gained their UKCC Level 1 Teaching Aquatics qualification and additional disability CPD modules, providing the participants with disability specific knowledge.
Angus Martin, The Football Leisure Trust’s Regional Community Manager for Yorkshire & the North East explains: “There was, and still is, a gap for our staff and volunteers to pick up new and additional qualifications due to the growing variety of work that our 72 community schemes get involved with across health, education, sports participation, social inclusion and the environment.
“The funding allowed us to offer an excellent range of CPD to our staff that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible. We would probably only have been able to deliver a tenth of the CPD on our own, so the funding has been a huge boost for us.”
Vicky Norman, ASA Aquatic Officer for the North East says: “Disability specific knowledge is crucial in learn-to-swim programmes to help integrate disabled children into mainstream schemes. These teachers will now have some insight into the needs and requirements of disabled people within a learn to swim setting.”
Clive Howarth, Head of Relationships at the Skills Funding Agency in Yorkshire and Humber, says: “This unique initiative, not available in any other English region, is designed to support skills training that isn’t usually funded, and to allow more individuals who wouldn’t normally get the chance to learn new skills and to achieve recognised qualifications. In the UK’s Olympic year the level of interest in sport has increased significantly and the Skills Funding Agency is delighted to have been able to help turn this interest into qualifications.”
16/1/12
The Register of Regulated Qualifications, OfQual, approved the Level 3 Diploma in Performance Coaching for Gaelic Sports in late 2011. The course will be delivered through the Open College Network Northern Ireland (OCN NI).
SkillsActive manager for Northern Ireland Siobhan Weir says she worked closely with the GAA and OCN NI to achieve the result.
“The formal accreditation of this course is an excellent achievement for Ulster GAA. Accreditation benefits everyone, from the learner to the wider sporting industry, and this is a great example of a work-based course evolving to become a nationally approved qualification.
“Although the course been developed purely for the NI market, it has international potential, especially in London and USA where the GAA has a huge network.”
Ulster GAA President Aogán Ó Fearghail says: “We have thousands of volunteers who give their time freely coaching in their clubs from U8s right up to Senior teams. Now the GAA wants to give back to those volunteers.”
Brendan Clarke, CEO of Open College Network NI says: “To be associated with this key development, and able to support it by accrediting such a distinctive and important activity as the GAA coaching programme, is a source of significant pride to the OCNNI.”
The GAA also agreed in principle to buy activepassports for their candidates.
The qualifications are based on common units, ensuring all learners achieve the same outcomes and can work to the same standard.
The Award in the Principles of Coaching Sport provides the foundation knowledge for people interested in becoming a coach, or wanting a general introduction to coaching.
The Award is a knowledge-based qualification with no practical assessment and is available at levels 1, 2, and 3.
Learners can progress to coaching qualifications in a specific sport at the same level, or to a higher level Award in the Principles of Coaching Sport.
Any awarding organisation approved by SkillsActive can deliver the Award in the Principles of Coaching Sport, and it can be delivered across a number of sports.
To qualify as a coach, the minimum qualification a person needs is the level 1 (Award in Coaching [Name of Sport]). There are also level 2 and 3 Certificates available in Coaching [Name of Sport]. All three qualifications include knowledge and practical elements.
Some units are contextualised for a particular sport but use the same base template, ensuring uniformity across sports.
The Award and Certificates include the whole of the Principles of Coaching Sport qualifications; learners who complete the Principles of Coaching Sport qualification at the same level only need to complete the contextualised sport units.
Learners can progress to the Diploma in the same sport (where available), to a Certificate in a different sport, or to level 3 coaching qualifications.
These qualifications can only be delivered by awarding organisations working in partnership with a Sport England recognised NGB.
The Diploma in Coaching [Name of Sport] is a full competence qualification available at level 2 and 3. It replaces the former NVQ qualifications and must be assessed in the workplace and over time.
The Diploma includes contextualised units based on a common template, plus the whole of the Principles of Coaching Sport qualifications. The contextualised units need to be credit rated for each sport.
The Diploma does not include the contextualised units from the Certificates, but learners who achieve the Certificate in the same sport at the same level can use evidence from their Certificate towards the Diploma.
Learners can progress to the level 3 coaching qualifications.
These qualifications can only be delivered by awarding organisations working in partnership with a Sport England recognised NGB.
To learn more about these coaching qualifications, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The situation
British Fencing delivers fencing to 9500 members across the United Kingdom. British Fencing National Development Manager Ben Campion says due to rapid expansion of the sport, most of the organisation’s 14-strong development team have only been in post since 2010 and are geographically spread. They also have some ambitious participation targets to achieve by 2013, requiring the full commitment of the team.
“We needed a session together to work out our individual and team strengths and get a strong grasp of the objectives of the organisation so we’re all working together towards that vision rather than separately.”
The solution
In early 2011, Ben contacted his SkillsActive account manager about the need for team building training. The Relationship Manager worked with Ben on a proposal and then came back to him with a priced list of three consultants capable of delivering the session.
SkillsActive has a register of expert consultants to support employers and partners who need additional, sector specific expertise. They specialise in everything from business coaching and preparing funding bids through to governance and endorsement support and cost from £375 and £500 per day, depending on the task.
British Fencing selected Di Horsley who specialises in team building, change management, leadership development and one to one coaching. An accredited management performance coach and former NGB Senior Client Manager with Sport England, Di has a proven ability to motivate individuals and teams to achieve at a high level. Previous satisfied clients include ASA and the British Equestrian Federation.
Di set up a preliminary meeting with Ben to identify the key outcomes for the full day session. These were:
Di says: “Their main challenges were to meet their Sport England targets, particularly around participation, and to identify how they could change their ways of working to become a stronger, more effective team.”
Impact
Ben says the full day session delivered in April was “brilliant” and provided the British Fencing development team with clarity around individual expectations and the organisation’s future direction.
“The session helped us to understand how we can work together better as a team to achieve our Sport England growth, excel and sustain targets. We now have a shared understanding of where the business is headed and how we as individuals and as a team can contribute to that.”
To find out how SkillsActive can support your business please email employerenquiries@skillsactive.com
Contact SkillsActive | Work for SkillsActive | Our Board | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Accessibility
SkillsActive UK is a registered charity no. 1098336 and a company limited by guarantee registered in
England and Wales no. 4661021, registered office Castlewood House, 77-91 New Oxford Street, London, WC1A 1DG.
© 2013 SkillsActive
