County Sports Partnership Update

 

Recent Government Funding Announcement

 

Dear Partner

 

Some of you may have seen the media reports on funding cuts to County Sports Partnerships relating to physical activity development; I wish to clarify and to reassure Partners that the announcement relates only to our Department of Health funding ref physical activity development. This is obviously disappointing news but DOH have confirmed that it is not a reflection on the work that CSP's carry out on this agenda, but purely down to the current financial situation.

 

I would also add that due to the difficult economic climate SASSOT had taken a prudent view and not budgeted to receive this funding for 2010/11 until it was actually confirmed.

 

I am therefore pleased to confirm that SASSOT will continue to provide support and our full level of service to partners.

 

Within our core budget for 2010/11 we have provision for a part-time physical activity development officer who will continue to work with partners to support our CSPANs and deliver the physical activity projects that we have committed to and are highlighted in our Delivery Plan.

 

Our core funding, from Sport England, is not affected by the announcement on the 17th June and below is a statement from Sport England re their commitment to CSPs:

• This is a Department of Health announcement that does not affect Sport England's core investment in CSPs
• We remain committed to CSPs and the work they do to support the drive to increase participation in sport
• The investment from Department of Health was specifically intended to increase participation in wider physical activity, while our investment is focused on sport
• As a result, this should not affect CSP's ability to deliver for sport, in line with their contracts
• We will support CSPs as they manage the implications of this announcement   

Sport England Announcement

 

I hope this clarifies the situation.

I and the SASSOT team look forward to our continued working with you.

 

Mark Thornewill
Partnership Director
T: 01785 619896

E: mthornewill@staffordbc.gov.uk    

 

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Staff Changes at SASSOT

 

Hi, my name is Lee Booth and I am the new Coaching Development Manager for SASSOT. My role is funded by Sport England, with functional management from Sports Coach UK and day to day management from SASSOT. This role is being introduced to each County Sports Partnership across the country, meaning there will be a total network of 49 Coaching Development Managers nationally when up to full complement. 

I will be working very closely with the Workforce Development Manager, Ben Hollands, who is my line manager on a day to day basis.

 

My main role is to manage the development of a local Coaching System Support Network (CSSN) in response to the needs of local, regional and national partners. It is anticipated this will contribute to the Sports Coach UK vision of taking coaching in the UK towards being a world leading system by 2016.

 

I am very excited about taking on this new role and look forward to expanding on the extensive work that has already taken place around coaching and workforce development across Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent. I aim to add value to existing and up coming programmes where partners have identified a need.

 

I am hoping to build on some of the local knowledge I have gained through my previous role as Assistant Partnership Development Manager for South Staffordshire Council and South Staffordshire School Sport Partnership. During this time, I line managed the pool of sports coaches deployed by the District Council and School Sport Partnership and led on a number of projects including the School Sport Coaching programme, School to Club Links and the physical activity delivery arm of the Healthy Kid5 scheme.

 

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me on the details below:

 

Lee Booth
Coaching Development Manager

T: 01785 619730
M: 07800 619695
E: lbooth@staffordbc.gov.uk 

 

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Claire Greenwood

Claire Greenwood will be covering some of the Physical Activity Development Manager role for 2 days per week until the end of August.

 

Claire will be working on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and can be contacted on 01785 619599 or cgreenwood@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

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SASSOT Coach Scholarship Scheme

 

Since its introduction in 2008 the SASSOT Coach Scholarship Scheme has provided £33,000 to support over 400 coaches and officials gain new qualifications. SASSOT is delighted to announce that an additional £20,000 has been secured to support this scheme over the next financial year.

 

The maximum grant that can be applied for per organisation is £2,000 based on SASSOT funding up to 50% or £300 per qualification whichever comes first. All applications need to come via either a National Governing Body, local authority or the School Sport Partnership. The closing date for the first round of applications is the 9th July.

 

Dates for further rounds of funding are listed on the application form. 

 

^{Funding is only available for coaching and officiating qualifications with the priority this year being supporting coaches achieving Level 2 and Level 3 UKCC qualifications.}

 

^{For further information visit our website or contact Ben Hollands on 01785 619317.}

 

Ben Hollands
Workforce Development Manager
T: 01785 619317
E: bhollands@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

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Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club
wins another award!!

Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club recently attended the CCPR Sports Club of the Year presentation evening and were presented with a 3^rd place award in the Community Sports Club of the Year category which is a wonderful achievement.

 

Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club is a club going places. Ambitious, despite ongoing difficulties like finding places to play, the club has entered 21 teams into national competitions in the last 12 months.

 

They have also found time to host the West Midlands ‘Let’s play volleyball’ festival, to provide holiday camps for 10 to 15-year-olds, to give coaching to 500 players in schools and to push eight players into international recognition.

 

With a well-conceived club structure, which rewards service, success and skill in volunteers and players, Newcastle (Staffs) Volleyball Club is clearly all about quality volleyball.

For further information on the club please visit their website; http://www.newcastlestaffsvolleyballclub.co.uk/

 

Chris Turner
Club Development Manager
T: 01785 619681

E: cturner@staffordbc.gov.uk

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Free Grantfinder funding searches for sports clubs

SASSOT can offer sports clubs and organisations a new service by providing a free Grantfinder funding search to help you find the correct funding stream for your specific project.

 

GRANTfinder is by far the UK’s largest and most comprehensively supported database of its type, it is a user-friendly database carrying in excess of 6,000 UK and EU funding programmes – a reservoir of information that is constantly growing and continuously updated.

 

Funding opportunities are identified through searching on the following key criteria: location; total project value; who is applying for the funding; what they want the funding for. GRANTfinder’s advanced filtering system goes one step further in allowing you to run your search against a particular group of funding providers should you wish to do so.

 

Sport Across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent can offer your club/organisation a new service by searching GRANTfinder to find specific funding providers for your project.

 

Simply download the SASSOT Grantfinder Project search form, complete it with the details of the project you want funding for and return it back to Chris Turner, Club Development Manager on cturner@staffordbc.gov.uk.

We will then be able to provide you with a list of the most relevant funding streams to suit you project which will undoubtedly help you to successfully secure funding.

 

Chris Turner
Club Development Manager
T: 01785 619681

E: cturner@staffordbc.gov.uk

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Develop a sports club website for FREE

Your club’s website isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. It's your home - your quickest way to inform, engage and communicate in this ultra-slick, ultra-fast, modern world of sport. Those who focus the eyes of their club on one place will reap the rewards. Here are two websites that can help you develop a website for FREE.

 

Club Website

 

Your free Club Website comes with every tool required to create a spanking new home for your club online. We give you a blank canvas and in no time you’ll have the undivided attention of players, parents and spectators. Add images, match reports, fixtures & results, even adverts for your sponsors! Latest news, email updates, text alerts, maps and directions – it’s all been thought of and it’s only just a click away.

 

Getting sponsorship is the worst job in the club, we know that. That’s why we’ve arranged for you to get cash back for everyone who shops for their everyday stuff on-line via your Club Website. Genius! Our clubs have received cash direct in to their pocket for doing nothing more than a double-click. Oh, and our members also tell us that it’s much easier to sign up local sponsors if you give them an advert on your website. Easy peasy!

 

Are you ready to join us?

 

http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/

 

Pitchero

 

Whether your club is semi professional or amateur, senior or junior, or a mixture of all four, Pitchero is about making your life easier!

 

Rather then spending hours building a site or wasting club money commissioning a new build, Pitchero gives every club the power to build a feature-rich, community website in minutes.

 

Designed for the computer novice, Pitchero is simple to use requiring no previous web experience. Plus, every club may continue using their existing domain name.

 

Each club site is packed with great tools, such as video and photo sharing, as well as the kind of statistical analysis and communication tools which would normally be outside the budget of amateur clubs.

 

Pitchero is only available for Football, Rugby Union, Rugby League, Cricket, Netball, Hockey and Lacrosse clubs.

 

5 Simple Steps To The Perfect Website

1. Join Pitchero

2. Create your club website

3. Invite club members to join

4. Share videos & photos with the Pitchero community

5. Showcase your club to the World

 

http://www.pitchero.com/home/

 

Chris Turner
Club Development Manager
T: 01785 619681

E: cturner@staffordbc.gov.uk

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Volunteers needed for World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Birmingham

 

The World Wheelchair Basketball Championships are coming to the West Midlands; they will take place at the NIA in Birmingham from the 7^th to the 17^th July.

 

The Championships features 12 men’s and 10 women’s teams from around the world, and the event organisers are on the lookout for Volunteer Attach?s to support the team’s progress in the competition.  The Volunteer Attaches should act as the link between the competition organisers and the teams taking part in the event.  This exciting role can start from the 3^rd/4^th July when the teams arrive in the UK, right through to the final.

 

Volunteers will be provided with a hot meal at lunchtime and in the evening if they are working at those times, as well as a polo shirt and travel expenses (up to a £5 limit per day). Volunteers should be available during the daytime for this period, although they are not expected to be available for every day, competing teams will be shared between groups of attaches.  

 

 

This opportunity would suit unemployed people, retired people or those in education available at this time.

 

If you are interested in getting involved in this world class event as an international team attach? or any other role please complete the registration form online here or contact sue.taylor@birmingham.gov.uk

 

Chris Turner
Club Development Manager
T: 01785 619681

E: cturner@staffordbc.gov.uk

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Recognising and Rewarding Volunteers
+ Free Workshop

 

We often reward the players in our club with “Player of the Match”, “Top Scorer of the Year”, and “Fair Play” awards, but we do not always recognise and reward the volunteers, who are the people that ensure that sport can actually take place!

 

If you have a good Club Volunteer Coordinator, they will be able to guide a club committee on the best way to say thank you to each individual volunteer, bearing in mind some people prefer a private, to a public thank you!

 

Recognising Volunteers

 

Ensuring that people feel that their role and their actions are important can be enough in terms of recognition, and this should be seen as part of the recognition system.

There are various ways of giving recognition to volunteers. Here are some suggestions:

 

Recognising the actions of a particular individual or team of volunteers	Recognising the worth of volunteers in sport and your club
A thank you from a senior member, either publicly or privately A short news article about a club volunteer in the club newsletter or on the website A nomination for a club award or an external award from a body that recognises sports volunteers A mention of their work and contribution at a committee meeting – which is recorded in the minutes	Produce a feature about a particular role in the newsletter and/or on the website Create a poster display on a club notice board showing the different roles Place a feature in an external newspaper or newsletter Appoint a Club Volunteer Coordinator and/or write a Volunteer Action Plan to show how important your volunteers are to your club

Rewarding Volunteers

 

It is important to also reward all of your volunteers, whether this is done publicly or not. There are many ways that you can do this and some are listed below:

• Say thank you both during and after the performance of their role
• Ensure expenses, if appropriate, are paid promptly
• Give or send a “thank you” certificate – which can be useful for volunteers adding to their portfolio or CV
• Provide meals, particularly if you are asking the volunteer to be at a venue longer than for half a day
• Pay for them to attend relevant skills and training events
• Award them free or discounted membership fees, tickets to events or club merchandise
• Have a party to celebrate the work of the volunteers
• Ensure their ideas are listened to, and acted on where practically possible
• Smile and call them by name!
• Write references for them (if asked) quickly and efficiently
• Ensure the management of their role and tasks is good, and support them
• Introduce long service awards
• Give kit or badges where this enables the volunteer to perform their role.

Most volunteers get intrinsic pleasure from volunteering, but we all like to be treated well and thanked when we have given our time up for free. Reward and recognition are an essential part of retaining your volunteer workforce – don’t leave it to chance!

 

Further Information

 

The runningsports website (http://www.runningsports.org/) has other useful resources including Quick Guides “Volunteers”, along with other downloadable resources – Top Tips “Volunteers – General”, “Health & Safety of Volunteers”, “Involving Older People as Volunteers” and “Young People as Volunteers”, Role Outlines and information on training including workshops and workbooks.

 

 

Free Workshop

 

The Role of the Volunteer Coordinator
The crucial role of overseeing club volunteers

Clubs will benefit greatly from having a volunteer coordinator – a single contact who supports their volunteers, knows them all by name and what each of them does.

 

In this workshop, volunteers will learn exactly what this role entails and how they can become an even greater asset to their club by taking it on.

 

By participating in this workshop you will be able to:

• Understand the role of the volunteer coordinator
• Know how to interpret a club development plan and its volunteering implications
• Learn how best to recruit and retain volunteers and recognise and reward them
• Know how to access local, regional and national programmes to support the implementation of a volunteer action plan.
• Being prepared to take on the role of club volunteer coordinator will help participants to play a crucial part in the future of their sports club.

 

Wednesday 15 September 2010

6.15pm – 9.15pm

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council

(Civic Offices)

 

It’s FREE so Book your place Now !!!

 

Single and group bookings can be made…

 

Please call Kam Webster, Training & Development Officer on 01785 619695 to register your place.

 

Chris Turner
Club Development Manager
T: 01785 619681

E: cturner@staffordbc.gov.uk

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Create Games inspired volunteering opportunities

 

If your sports club/organisation is inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and you want to share this inspiration with volunteers from your local area, you are in the right place. By using this inspiration, you can create volunteering opportunities that harness the enthusiasm and excitement of volunteers in your local area. We refer to these as Games inspired volunteering opportunities.

 

 

A Games inspired opportunity is one that will:

• Benefit your local community now and/or in the future;
• Be an opportunity that celebrates the 2012 Games;
• Have a demonstrable link with the 2012 Games; and
• Be a practical expression of the Olympic values of excellence, friendship, respect and the Paralympic values of courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

Local workshops near you:

 

To make it easy for you to get involved, Volunteering England will be delivering a series of workshops around England with the help of local Volunteer Centres.

 

Staffordshire Moorlands Volunteer Centre will host the Staffordshire workshop in Stoke-on-Trent on 12 October 2010, further details to follow.

 

The Workshop will provide you with answers to the following questions:

• What is a Games inspired volunteering opportunity?
• What are the benefits of creating Games inspired volunteering opportunities?
• How do I create Games inspired volunteering opportunities?
• What Games inspired volunteering opportunities already exist?

Chris Turner
Club Development Manager
T: 01785 619681

E: cturner@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

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Endon Tennis Club awarded Clubmark with the help of
SASSOT club accreditation funding

 

Endon Tennis Club have recently been awarded Clubmark from the Lawn Tennis Association with the help of funding through the SASSOT sports club accreditation funding scheme.

Clubmark provides tennis clubs with the tools and resources they need to ensure their place to play is delivering a quality tennis development programme and operating in line with best practice. Benefits of this include ongoing programme development, increased membership, increased participation, staff development, raised profile and access to more funding opportunities. 

Endon Tennis Club proudly displaying there Clubmark award and certificate -

 Gerald Bates (Treasurer), Matt Chandler (Coach), Carol Burton (Club Mark lead),
Liz Chapman (Chairperson), Anna Birkinshaw (Tennis Development Manager, Staffordshire & Shropshire)

 

All places to play awarded with Clubmark:

• Ensure the club/facility has a fair and transparent operational structure
• Adhere to best practice policies and procedures around safeguarding junior and adult members/users
• Deliver a comprehensive and all encompassing tennis programme for all ages and abilities
• Produce a clear plan of action for long term sustainability and future growth

Evidence collected suggests that Clubmark clubs have, over the past two years, increased junior participation, raised the number of active, qualified coaches and improved levels of coach qualification, thus making them more effective and sustainable community sports clubs.

 

Endon Tennis Club (based in Station Road, Endon, Stoke-on-Trent) applied to the SASSOT sports club accreditation funding scheme in January 2010 requesting £410 to help them meet the tennis criteria and achieve Clubmark.

 

The club needed funding to send members of their club on Safeguarding and Protecting Children and Equity in your Coaching workshops, coach CRB checks and the production of junior welcome packs.

 

Endon Tennis Club wanted to achieve Clubmark;

• To raise the profile of the club and attract new members
• To provide a safe quality environment for everyone at the club
• To impact on the health and well-being of the local community
• To further improve facilities for existing and new members
• To enhance communication internally and externally

For further details on the club please contact;

 

Liz Chapman
T: 01782 504569
E: everydaydelicious@yahoo.co.uk

 

For details on Clubmark and the SASSOT sports club accreditation funding scheme please contact;

 

Chris Turner
Club Development Manager
T: 01785 619681
E: cturner@staffordbc.gov.uk

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