County Sports Partnership Update

Sport Unlimited a huge success for the sub-region

‘Sport Unlimited’ was a three-year, £36 million national programme funded by DCMS via Sport England, aiming to get more children taking part in sport outside of school.  It ran from April 2008 to March 2011 and was managed at a sub-regional level by County Sports Partnerships.  Over the three years of the programme, nearly £750,000 of government funding was invested in the sub-region via an annual delivery plan developed by SASSOT and local partners.  

 

Sport Unlimited targetted the 50% of young people (aged 5-19) who are classed as ‘semi-sporty’ and offered them the chance to attend an 8-10 week block of sessions introducing them to a new sport or giving them the chance to improve their skills in something they had already tried and enjoyed.  Activities were selected based on consultation with young people, and included some of the more non-traditional sports such as handball, dodgeball and rocketball.  At a local level, the programme was co-ordinated by either the School Sport Partnership or the Local Authority, who were responsible for ensuring that what they offered was what young people wanted, and for engaging with other local organisations to deliver activity.  SASSOT also engaged directly with a selection of National Governing Bodies who delivered activity across the sub-region.

Despite initial challenges with getting a large-scale programme up and running within a tight timescale, within Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent the success of Sport Unlimited has grown term on term.  The third and final year was the most successful by far, with 15,597 young people attending courses and 11,291 being ‘retained’ (attending at least 60% of the sessions).

 

Over the full course of the programme more than 28,500 young people have benefited and the sub-region’s Retain target was exceeded by nearly 2000 (21,012 v 19,140), Additionally, 48.8% of those retained were female, 6.7% were Black and Minority Ethnic and 9.8% were people with disabilities.

 

The programme has had a huge impact right across the sub-region on young people who wouldn’t normally participate in sport outside of the school environment.  As an example, the following is taken from one of the Case Studies that have been collated throughout the three years: 

 

“Helen is a typical ‘not -really-sporty’ Year 7 girl who consequently had never attended any sports clubs. She is a quiet girl who does not like team games. Helen signed up for the ten-week archery beginners course, held at her secondary school, and found this was something she enjoyed. Consequently Helen attended every after-school session. The coaches encouraged her and taught her well. The support from Burton Bridge Archers was also excellent, and they provided a special bow and arrows to suit her small build. This meant that for the first time Helen was able to compete against others and with success. Helen showed promise and on completion of the course joined the club, regularly attending club sessions.”

Additional learning from Sport Unlimited is currently being collated and will be used to inform the planning and delivery of Sportivate, which is a new project targeting non- and semi-sporty 14-25 year olds.

 

Jane Kracke
Sports Manager
T: 01785 619187
E: jkracke@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

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A Club for All made easier for you

 

Opening up your club to your community just got easier - have you heard that the 'A Club for All' workshop has been transformed into a more convenient alternative - an online e-learning package?

 

This new online learning has been endorsed as an alternative to the three-hour workshop, if your club is currently working towards Clubmark Accreditation or Re-Accreditation.

So, if your club is looking to open itself up to all sections of the community, this online course is perfect for you.

It's a fast, easy and convenient way for you to:

• widen membership
• attract more coaches, players and officials
• improve funding eligibility
• work towards quality ratings such as Clubmark*.

For only £20 you'll be able to complete the learning, obtain your certificate, print out your action plan and start reaping the benefits of this exciting online course.

But that's not all; runningsports has also developed a number of free taster e-learning courses for you to try out.

 

For other workshops that are pre-requisites of Clubmark or NGB accreditation please view the Sport Across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent workshop education & training programme

 

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

 

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Sportivate

 

What's been happening.....

Thanks to everyone involved with writing and compiling their Sportivate plans; we have now submitted to Sport England our Sportivate Annual Delivery plan consisting of 146 projects which include a variety of different sporting activities such as Canoeing, Basketball, Mobile Skate Park and the latest craze Zumba!  We now await approval of these plan before we can officially start delivering these fantastic projects which will give plenty of young people lots of sporting opportunities!  We will keep you updated on this but in the mean time if you wish to contact your Sportivate Local Lead or find out more please click on the image below to visit out Sportivate web pages.

 

 

About Sportivate......

Sportivate is part of ‘Places People Play’, the 2012 mass participation legacy programme which is being delivered by Sport England.  A nation-wide initiative, Sportivate will target 14-25 year olds who are non- or semi-sporty and offer them the chance to take part in 6-8 weeks of sporting activity, introducing them to a new sport or giving them the chance to improve their skills in something they’ve previously tried and enjoyed.

 

Over the next four years, Sport Across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent will receive over £600,000 of Lottery Funding to deliver the programme across the sub-region, with a target of nearly 6000 young people completing a block of sessions and then at least 40% of these participants continuing to take part in sport afterwards.

 

At a local level, the programme will co-ordinated by a Lead Organisation for each District, who is responsible for ensuring that what is offered locally is what young people want, and for engaging with other local organisations to deliver activity.

 

Nici Hill

Sportivate Admin Officer
T: 01785 619599
E: nhill@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

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Disabled Youngsters Given Chance To Shine
(Playground To Podium Programme)

 

Last month saw 45 disabled children from across the county take part in a County Athlete Assessment Day (CAAD) as part of the Playground To Podium programme.

This programme is led by Sport England, in partnership with the English Federation of Disability Sport, the Youth Sport Trust  and Paralympics GB.  The aim of the programme is to create a clear and professional disability sport pathway from school sport, through to club participation and on to elite performance. 

 

Organised by Sport Across Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent (SASSOT), this was the second day of its kind which meant that the children took part in talent identification sessions  with athletics, football, wheelchair basketball and table tennis. Experienced National Governing Body (NGB) coaches guided the children through drills and activities and were responsible for selecting potential future talent. 

 

Golf, Cricket and Boccia activities were also on offer as the National Governing Bodies of these sports are working pro-actively to develop increased activities for disabled children to access.

GB U21's Wheelchair Basketball player Richard Sargent attended the event and spoke of his journey from his accident through to his development within sport. Richard was keen to show the children that opportunities can arise when least expected and to encourage them to embrace those opportunties. Richard said "It was a fantastic day to see so many children at the start of their sporting journey. Hopefully I will see one of these children in a future Paralympics." 

 

This programme also nurtures the development of player pathways into sport at all levels. Disability Sport Directories were distributed to all children on the programme encouraging and supporting them to access community sport opportunities. If you or someone you know would be interested in receiving a copy of the Disability Sport Directory please visit the SASSOT website or contact Mark Fosbrook, Disability Sport Officer on the details below:

 

Naomi Bird
Knowledge, Communications & Equalities Manager
T: 01785 619585
E: nbird@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

Mark Fosbrook
Disability Sport & Physical Activity Officer
T: 01785 619398
E: mfosbrook@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

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Aiming High: Disability Sport and Physical Activity

 

Disabilit-e News provides information about what is happening within the county, nationally and in the elite world of disability sport. It will also advertises courses, clubs, events and success stories to motivate and inspire.There is also a dedicated section on Aiming High and the good work it is doing to promote activity based short breaks for disabled children and families.  

 

 

This publication will be produced twice a month and you can see previous editions and subscribe to receive Disabilit-e News directly on a page of SASSOT's website.

 

Disabilit-e News Issue 23

Disabilit-e News Issue 24

 

If you would rather wait, publications will be linked to this newsletter each month for you to view.

 

Mark Fosbrook
Aiming High Disability Sport + Physical Activity Development Officer
T: 01785 619398
M: 07800 619683
E: mfosbrook@staffordbc.gov.uk

 

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Sporting Champions

 

We are pleased to announce that Mark Fosbrook (Fossy) is a new recruit to the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust’s Sporting Champions’ programme http://www.dkhlegacytrust.org/Our-World-Class-Athletes

 

Details of how to book Mark's attendance as a Sporting Champion at a Sportivate project will follow shortly.

 

Meanwhile if you would like Mark to come along to your event outside of the Sportivate programme you can contact him direct on 01785 619398 or fossysport@fossy.co.uk   To find out more about Mark's achievements visit his website

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Jobs and Careers

Don't forget forget to visit and keep checking the jobs and careers page on our website for what's on offer.

 

If you have a vacancy, be it a paid or a voluntary position, and want to advertise it for free, email it to Leigh Morton on lmorton@staffordbc.gov.uk