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Coaching taskforce
After the government published its long-term strategy for sports and physical activity Game Plan, in March 2001, a coaching taskforce was set up to review the role of coaching.

The Coaching Taskforc Force Final Report was published in July 2002 and the government committed £28m over the period 2003 - 2006 to implement the key recommendations. A coaching delivery plan has been produced to drive forward the work and a coaching project board is overseeing this process.  To see the report in full click here.

The proposals tackle the shortage of coaches, both professional and voluntary, and recognise coaching as a profession, with accredited qualifications and a real career-development structure.

There are currently four areas being delivered:

• Community Sports Coach Scheme (CSCS)
  
• UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC)
  
• Coach Development Officers (CDOs)
  
• Research and data collection
  

Community Sports Coach Scheme (CSCS)

Total number of coaches currently operational = 1286

Total coaching hours delivered since April 2004= 400,000 hours

Total number of young people recieving coaching through the scheme= 1,000,000

What is the Community Sports Coach Scheme?
The headline objective for the Community Sports Coach Scheme is to establish 3,000 paid, qualified Community Sports Coaches working at local level to increase the number and range of coaching opportunities according to strategic and local need by 2006.  It is intended that the scheme will result in a step change in developing a career structure for coaching·an increase in the number of qualified coaches employed at a local level·quality standards for the recruitment, employment, management and development of coaches; managed, quality continuous professional development support for employed coaches and·high-quality coaching with a focus on young people.

The development of a pool of high-quality Community Sports Coaches will not only contribute to enhancing the quality of existing activity but also provide the opportunity to generate substantial new activity over time.  

Why is it here?
The Coaching Task Force Final Report identified a number of issues relating to the employment of coaches in England:

• limited opportunities for coaches to develop coaching as a career;
  
• few active professional coaches; and
  
• a lack of professional development of coaches.
  

At the same time that there is a need for greater numbers of high-quality active coaches to service demand, the current lack of employment opportunities makes it difficult to promote coaching as a viable profession.

What is a Community Sports Coach?
A Community Sports Coach is

• a qualified national governing body coach with the relevant experience for the coaching role·
  
• committed to continuous professional development;
  
• agrees to abide by a code of conduct; and
  

• has been checked by the Criminal Records Bureau.
  

Employed on a full or part-time basis by an employing body operating to minimum standards, Community Sports Coaches are deployed with a core focus of work across schools, clubs and local authorities to:

• coach young people, predominantly outside of curriculum time, to develop core movement and sport skills across a number of sports or with a particular focus on one sport;
  
• coach at a local level with a focus on the FUNdamentals/Learning to Train or equivalent development phases of NGB player pathways; and
  
• retain young people in sport by ensuring a high-quality, enjoyable, young-person-centred experience and providing guidance on progression opportunities based on the young person’s interests and abilities.
  

The core sport focus for the Community Sports Coach scheme will be the first 31 sports to be involved in the UK Coaching Certificate, with some local flexibility based on identified local need.

How does the scheme work?
The network of county sport partnreships (CSPs) act as the strategic coordinating agencies for the scheme. Working these partnerships in this way ensures a coordinated, multi-agency approach to the identification of strategic and local need and will therefore help to maximise the impact of the scheme.

Applications for matched funding to employ Community Sports Coaches through the scheme will then be made by CSPs to regional Sport England offices, with funding decisions made by Regional Sports Boards.

Employing bodies will be expected to adopt and adhere to equitable recruitment practices, including consideration of where and how posts are advertised.  The equity profile of Community Sports Coaches will be monitored, and those involved in the scheme will be expected to take positive steps to identify and reduce barriers to employment in coaching by under-represented groups over the period of the scheme.

Fair representation of young people benefiting from coaching through the Community Sports Coach Scheme, again based on local demographics, must be considered in the needs analysis and planning phase and reflected in the recruitment and deployment of coaches.

Who employs the Community Sports Coaches?
A range of employing bodies (including CSPs themselves, specialist sports colleges, local authorities, NGBs and clubs) employ the Community Sports Coaches.

How much are Community Sports Coaches be paid?
Salary scales and the specific job title of coaches may need to be flexible to reflect local need, job role and employment market. The recommended salary range for Community Sports Coaches is £18,000 to £26,000.

How does the match-funding work?
Up to 50%, to a maximum of £12,000, will be available to fund the employment of Community Sports Coaches through the scheme. In some cases, more than 50% funding may be available, with local partners determining the best use of the funding across the team of coaches based on identified need and creating a step change in the career structure for coaches in the area. The total funding submission for the team of coaches will need to demonstrate 50% matched funding.

How do I find out about Community Sports Coach job opportunities?
Information on Community Sports Coach posts is available from the County Sports Partnerships, details of which can be found  here.  Posts are also often advertised via the Leisure Opportunities publication, the Sport England web site and the UK Sport wedsite.

How will the impact of the Scheme be monitored?
The headline key performance indicators for the Scheme are:

• Total number of Community Sports Coaches (CSCs) employed
  
• Total number of employed CSCs that have undertaken a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and are following the resulting Personal Development Plan (PDP)
  
• Total number of employing bodies operating standards for the recruitment, deployment and management of coaches which adhere to the good practice principles as set out in sports coach UK's World Class Coaching System
  
• Total number of coaching hours delivered through the CSCS
  
• Total number of individual young people receiving coaching through the CSCS
  

County Sports Partnerships are required to produce six monthly reports on progress against the KPIs and an annual report highlighting progress. An ongoing monitoring and evaluation exercise will also be undertaken to evaluate overall impact of the Scheme linked to the overall research strategy for the Coaching Task Force

To view a full copy of the progress report for April 2005 please click on the report title below.

Community Sports Coach Scheme Key Performance Indicator Analysis Report as at 31st March 2005 - what's happening on the ground?

For real life examples of how the Community Sports Coach Scheme is progressing view the case summaries below;

• Birmingham Netball CSCS case study - The Community Sports Coach Scheme presented a great opportunity to address a recognised coaching need to expand existing disability netball coaching to a wider age group involving younger people aged 5 to 9 years.  To find out more click the link......
  For a FULL version of the case study click here.
  
• British Gymnastic CSCS case study - The Community Sports Coach Scheme has provided British Gymnastics with the ideal opportunity to develop a more formalised career pathway for coaches, as well as improving the quality of coaching, to find out how they have achieved this click the link......
  For a FULL version of the case study click here
  
• Cornwall CSCS case study - The 'Sports Week' programme was set up to address the raising levels of anti-social behaviour on the Malabar Estate, the largest housing estate in Carrick District and one of the most deprived.  To find out more about the excellent work happen there click the link......
  For a FULL version of the case study click here
  
• Hampshire & Isle of Wight CSCS case study - Hampshire IOW is working closely with employment agencies to ensure that minimum standards are met and that employed coaches are working in an environment in which Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is a recognised priority.  To find out what's happening click the link......
  For a FULL version of the case study click here
  
• London CSCS case study - The CSCS provided a great opportunity for the London Borough of Waltham Forest.  The local Authority Sports Development Unit, the specialist Sports College Rush Croft School and the School Sports Federation all provided funding for the post.   To read more click the link......
  For a FULL version of the case study click here
  
• Rowing CSCS case study - The Community Sports Coach Scheme has allowed the Amateur Rowing Association the opportunity to work with key groups of disaffected youth, young people from Black and Ethnic Minority communities and girls.  They have also linked this with their PE, School Sports and Club Links (PESSCL) and Step into Sport programmes.  To find out how they did this click the link......
  
• Somerset CSCS case study - Tracy Milton, a Community Sports Coach in Somerset, developed the 'Do Activity Stay Healthy (DASH) programme with support from Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership and the Somerset Coast Primary Care Trust.  To find out what the results were click the link......
  For a FULL version of the case study click here
  
• Somerset Multi Skills CSCS case study - The Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership set up a project to provide multi-skills activity within primary schools across the county.  The Community Sports Coach has been used to support teachers in schools and provide the coaching link with National Governing Bodies.  To find out more click the link......
  
• South Yorkshire CSCS case study - The employment of a Community Sports Coach by the United Multi Cultural Centre aimed to enhance sports participation opportunities for residence of a deprived local area of South Yorkshire.  To find out more click the link......
  For a FULL version of the case study click here
  
• West Yorkshire CSCS case study - West Yorkshire's aims of increasing the number of qualified coaches employed at a local level; improving the quality of coach recruitment and improving the standard of coach delivery has been realised with work done through the Community Sports Coach Scheme, to find out more click the link......
  For a FULL version of the case study click here
  

For more information on the Cmmunity Sports Coach Scheme please see the Briefing Note (102KB) PDF

The first 31 UKl Coaching Certificate sports are the focus for the Community Sports Coach Scheme. Each sport has produced a guidance document to support the implementation of the scheme. These can be found below.

Who should I contact for more details?
For further information on the Community Sports Coach scheme, please contact:

communitysportscoachscheme@sportengland.org

UK Coaching Certificate (UKCC)
The UKCC will be mapped against the following principles, the UK Coaching Certificate will be a 5 level framework and will:

• Be coach and participant centred
  
• Be based on national standards
  
• Offer opportunities for vertical and horizontal progression
  
• Feature quality assurance systems and procedures
  
• Be flexible to meet the needs of sport
  
• Be centrally coordinated
  
• Be owned by sport
  
• Build on existing good practice
  

The UKCCdevelopment of this is being led by Sports Coach UK and is being developed in partnership with the National Governing Bodies of Sport and other agencies including CCPR, Skillsactive, Home Country Sports Councils, equity organisations and industry experts.

The Department for Culture Media and Sport has announced that 31 sports will initially work with ScUK to develop UKCC endosed qualifications. To view the press release announcing the sports and what it means for coaching, click here.

It is proposed that accreditation will be via an endorsement of coaching qualifications that, reflect the underpinning principles of the UK Coaching Certificate. This endorsement process will also enable sports to develop and deliver qualifications that meet the needs of their sport.

To find out more about  UK Coaching Certificate visit the UK Coaching Certificate website.

Coach development officers
A network of 45 coach development officers is currently operational across the network of 45 County Sports Partnership areas.

These officers will help local coaches get access to high-quality education and development opportunities.  They will also provide ongoing support by setting up a network of individuals and systems, allowing the development officers to move on and work with as many different coaches as possible.

To find out more about coach development officers click here

Research and data collection
An extensive research exercise was co-ordinated by sports coach UK to establish core data for coaching .  The Sports Coaching in the UK Final Report takes a comprehensive look at sports coaching across the UK thus filling a significant knowledge gap.  The research profiles coaching qualifications, paid coaches, full-time and part-time coaches.  The results show that there is significant public interest in coaching: 1.2 million individuals are currently involved in some kind of coaching activity in the UK - one in fifty people - however, a vast majority of this is informal and voluntary.

For example, only around 470,000 coaches have a coaching qualification, 230,000 are paid to coach, and only 60,000 coach full-time.

Sports Coach UK are currently playing a key role in ensuring a co-ordinated and cutting edge approach to research in the UK, for further information on research click here.

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