Step into Sport is one of the strands of the joint Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Department for Children, Schools and Families, PE School Sport and Club Links (PESSCL) Strategy.
As School Sport Partnerships are becoming focused on achieving the 5-hour offer for all Young People the Youth Sport Trust have evolved their National Leadership and Volunteering Programme, which involves Step into Sport.
Step into Sport is a national programme aiming to coordinate opportunities at a local level for young leaders 16-19 years of age to begin and sustain an involvement in sports leadership and volunteering.
Community Volunteering
Community Volunteering is when a young person, who has already undertaken some sports leadership within their school, undertakes a volunteer placement in a local sports club or other organisation within their local community. After completion of 50,100 or 200 hours of active volunteering they are awarded a nationally recognised Youth Sport Trust certificate.
SASSOT aims to encourage and support young people (16-19) to acquire the confidence, knowledge and skills to begin and continue an involvement in sports leadership, within the community.
Young people on the Step into Sport programme can volunteer within areas such as:
Sports Coaching
Sports Refereeing & Officiating
Running Sport (Helping to run a Club)
Marketing & Promotion
Events/Development Days
SASSOT are currently working with local schools to recruit the latest group of students onto the programme, and we are looking to identify a number of suitable placements that will allow these young people to gain valuable experience of sports volunteering.
Potential Benefits for Community Placements
If clubs or organisations wish to provide a placement, they will have access to a number of skilled and experienced leaders, who have a commitment to volunteering for the benefit of the organisation and the local community. This will have several other tangible benefits:
Assistance from young leaders for current coaching staff and committee members that will relieve workload
Access to free training and officer support which will enable the organisation to give the volunteer and it's current members a quality experience
Access to further resources that may improve the structure of the organisation
Commitment from Community Placements
In order to give the young leader a quality experience whilst undertaking the placement, the club or organisation in which the placement is taking place should have the following as a minimum:
Child Protection Policy (National Governing Body adopted or other)
Volunteer Coordinator
Affiliation to relevant National Governing Body
Please find attached the following document, which you can complete or pass on to any club or organisation interested in offering a placement:
