What's the workforce?
The sport and physical activity workforce is made up of volunteers, coaches and the professional workforce – paid professionals who are employed or self-employed either full-time or part-time.
Coaches who are paid for the work they do would be considered part of the professional workforce, but like volunteers, many will give their time to support sport and activity.
Our aspiration is to ensure that people who are engaged in sport and physical activity have the best possible experience.
To achieve this, the workforce must be recruited, developed and supported in the right way.
You can click on the buttons at the top or bottom of this page to read more about how we're supporting the workforce, or read on for an overview.
Professional workforce
There are many organisations that are already exceptional in developing their employees, and those giving their time for free, to provide an excellent customer experience.
We'd like this to become more widespread, so that the sport and physical activity sector is seen as a leader in customer experience and satisfaction.
Our professional workforce plan has two main objectives – to support the workforce to become more customer focused, and to develop the workforce so that it's recognised as professional.
Volunteering
Volunteers have always played a vital part in the sport and physical activity sector. Without them, most activity simply wouldn’t happen.
For that reason, we’ve tended to think of volunteering as something people only do for the benefit of others. But our Volunteering in an Active Nation strategy is looking to change these perceptions.
That’s why we’re putting increased diversity and the experience of existing volunteers at the heart of efforts to create a more enjoyable, meaningful volunteering experience.
Coaching
Good coaching has enormous benefits for both the people who take part and the people doing the coaching.
At the moment, coaching largely supports the people who already have a regular sporting habit. These people are important, and improving their experience is key.
But for the first time, we also want to unleash the power of coaching for all of those people taking their first steps to becoming more physically active, so that they too can benefit from the support that good coaches provide – that’s why we’ve developed our coaching plan for England.
On this page
Working in an Active Nation
The government's Sporting Future strategy identifies areas for development of the professional workforce in sport and physical activity.
These include making sport and activity an attractive career option for the brightest and most able individuals, to give people access to open and transparent recruitment processes and to have clear career pathways and opportunities to develop and progress throughout their careers.
We recognise that the professional workforce has a major role to play in delivering the aspirations and targets in our 2017-2021 Towards an Active Nation strategy, so to support the key factors highlighted in Sporting Future, we’ve developed a plan to give the more than 400,000 people who work in the sport and physical activity sector in England the best possible support
Working in an Active Nation’s vision is that everyone working in sport and activity feels confident, valued and supported.
This strengthening of the workforce would make it more able to give the best possible experience for the people who are – or who want to be – active.
A shift in emphasis places a deep understanding of the people who do sport and activity at the heart of workforce development, helping a wider range of people to engage with getting active.
There are two main objectives in our plan:
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Support the workforce to become more customer focused
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Develop the workforce so that it’s recognised as professional.
To help achieve these aims, those who work in the sector need to be recruited, developed and supported in the right way.
We’ve developed a series of strategic approaches and key actions that will help achieve these objectives.
This includes increasing the diversity and inclusion of the workforce and using insight to give a deeper understanding of the impact the workforce has on the people it’s trying to engage.
Download our professional workforce strategy by clicking the link below:
Much of the development of the workforce is being done alongside the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, who have more than 8,000 members and are recognised by more than 250 employer and education partners.
To find out more about them, click here, while you can also take a look at UK Coaching's latest National Population Survey report by clicking below.
Leading for Renewal
We know that realising the power of people and leadership will be key to achieving the ambitions of Uniting the Movement, our new 10-year strategy. Leading for Renewal is non-monetary support package aimed at key professionals in our funded partner organisations.
With the principal aim of supporting a stronger and more inclusive renewal of sport and physical activity, Leading for Renewal sees a consortium of specialist organisations coming together to collaborate under one banner and aims to complement other leadership and development opportunities currently in progress at a local and national level.
The package takes the form of a suite of opportunities including learning and development, executive coaching, a Leader line service and a cross-sector mentoring programme for people from under-represented groups.
Please note, these packages are a unique and exciting opportunity for professionals but spaces are limited.
To find out more, see the prospectus below.
Volunteering in an Active Nation
Our May 2018/19 Active Lives Adult Survey report revealed that 6.2 million adults had given their time at least twice in the last year to help make sport and physical activity happen. Without them, most activity simply wouldn’t take place.
That’s why we’re putting the experience of the volunteer and increased diversity at the heart of efforts to create a more enjoyable, meaningful volunteering experience for everyone
Our vision
Our vision for Volunteering in an Active Nation is as relevant for volunteers as for those taking part in sport and physical activity. We want everyone in England regardless of age, background or level of ability to feel able to take part.
From 2017 to 2021 we’re working together with community organisations, sports clubs, local authorities and volunteer groups to:
- Invest in improving the volunteer experience to make it more enjoyable and meaningful
- Bring in more people from under-represented groups to make volunteering in sport and physical activity more diverse
- Work with new partners as well as existing ones to get to a more diverse audience.
By investing in volunteering, measuring the benefits (to volunteers as well as the community), and using the knowledge we gain to create a more rewarding volunteering experience, we’ll be able to tap into even more of the country’s vast volunteering potential.
Learn more on how volunteering fits within our Towards an Active Nation strategy.
What we’re learning
When someone gives their time, energy and expertise as a volunteer, there’s a dual benefit – for those playing and for themselves. Through our Active Lives Adult Survey, we’ve learned that volunteers who give their time for sport and physical activity to happen enjoy many of the health and social benefits associated with actually taking part.
Discover the latest insights into volunteer habits from the Active Lives Adult Survey by visiting our Active Lives page.
Our work so far
We’ve invested in 32 projects that will mobilise a new generation of volunteers, particularly amongst groups that are currently under-represented. This includes disabled people, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, women and older people.
Every single one of these projects are vital for testing and learning what works best to bring under-represented groups into volunteering – helping us to reach many more potential volunteers in the future.
Each project is being backed by one of the two volunteering funds. Our Potentials Fund targets young people aged 10 to 20 who want to give their time, while our Opportunity Fund is designed to attract those aged 20 and above from disadvantaged communities.
Read about the 32 projects changing the face of volunteering:
Evaluation and understanding
Volunteering project evaluation toolkit
Our volunteering project evaluation toolkit will help guide organisations on how to evaluate a volunteering project, as well as understanding how it benefits volunteers and the wider community.
This toolkit can help you identify what works well and provide learnings that can help you to inform, refine and improve future volunteering projects. What you gather may also help you to show and communicate your project’s impact - this can help encourage others to volunteer for you and support bids for future work or funding.
As well as guidance on how to implement this approach to evaluation, the toolkit includes downloadable surveys. These can be adapted to work for your project or programme to help you achieve your evaluation objectives.
The guide and associated tools are designed to be used flexibly, so we encourage organisations to think about their own evaluation aims and use the guidance and tools as you see fit. If you decide to use this guidance to support your evaluation, then we’d like to hear from you – please email us.
Download our Volunteering Evaluation Guidance:
Download the Template Experience Survey:
Download our Template Registration Survey:
Volunteer Survey Guidance
Running your own volunteer survey is the best way to understand who your volunteers are, their motivations and their experience volunteering in your organisation.
With this information, you’ll be able to give your volunteers the best possible experience, increase the likelihood they’ll continue volunteering, and improve recruitment of future volunteers.
To help you with this, we’ve collected advice to help you run the best possible survey, as well as a selection of sample survey questions.
Completing volunteer surveys is part of the Code for Sports Governance for Tier 3 sport organisations. This guidance will help organisations meet requirement 3.5 of the Code, which has been developed to help organisations better understand their workforce.
If you have any questions or are ready to share the results of your survey, please get in touch by emailing us.
Download our Volunteer Survey Guidance:
Download our sample questions:
Volunteering Q&A
Our volunteering Q&A helps organisations and projects looking for guidance around volunteering. The comprehensive question and answer section includes explanations on everything from how to develop a volunteering strategy, to getting the most out of your volunteers.
Club Matters
Club Matters is our one stop shop for clubs, groups and organisations involved in the delivery of sport and physical activity. It provides free, practical resources to help organisations to develop, grow and become more sustainable and successful.
Major Event Volunteer Fund
The Major Event Volunteer Fund aims to ensure people who lend their time at major events can continue to gain from the benefits we know volunteering can provide.
Coaching in an Active Nation
Our coaching plan is a call to action for everyone in the coaching community in England to modernise how we think and talk about coaching – and a quest to find new ways to improve the quality of coaching so everyone benefits.
We want everyone – from beginners taking their first steps to being physically active, to seasoned athletes and everyone in-between – to benefit from good coaches. To make that a reality, we need to look at how coaches are:
- Recruited into the system
- Developed throughout their professional career
- Deployed efficiently so they can reach as many people as possible.
Our vision
Traditionally, there’s been a disproportionate focus on coaching those who already have a sporting habit. So we’re broadening our horizons to engage not only active people, but those who are just dipping their toe into sport and physical activity for the first time. To do that, Coaching in an Active Nation is looking at:
- How the coaching family is changing and the benefits of the coaching experience
- How we help people get active as well as engage inactive people to take steps towards a healthier lifestyle
- The diversity of the coaching community and any barriers that may hinder success
- What we can do so that everybody can benefit from the wide-reaching benefits of coaching.
How we’re developing coaches
We invest in our workforce and recognise that great coaches are a key ingredient in the success of our strategy, Towards an Active Nation. To help ensure coaches have the best experience throughout their professional journey, we’re working to:
- Improve and increase the access and opportunities for coaches to learn and develop from a mentor
- Create learning and development opportunities to make it easier for people coaching to invest in their personal development
- Address knowledge and skills gaps in areas in areas such as mental health, nutrition and Inclusion.
Our successes
Since we launched our strategy in 2016, we’ve made a number of changes and necessary improvements. This includes making coaching as a profession easier to access. We've done this by introducing a number of new standards to increase opportunities and engage people in coaching roles.
We’ve created a community of expert coach developers and mentors to provide coaching development opportunities, and looked into how we can effectively transfer learning into practice.
We’ve also made sure we accurately measure the impact made by coaches and properly communicate. Knowing what we now know about the coaching experience has told us what we should be focusing on in the future to further improve the coaching journey.
Who we’re funding
We’re committing millions of pounds on pioneering projects that will help coaching become not only more accessible for all, but improve the existing professional development for coaches.
Here are a few organisations we’re supporting, and the work they’re currently doing:
UK Coaching is using its funds to support its partner organisations in championing inclusivity by recruiting coaches from diverse backgrounds, raising the profile of coaching and conducting original research to inform its existing coaching pathways.
Activity Alliance is working to deliver the Inclusive Activity Programme and advance the training of coaches to provide physical activity to disabled people and people with long-term health conditions.
Coach Core is using its investment to run its coaching programmes across 10 locations in England and support young people from lower socio-economic areas through a sports coaching apprenticeship scheme.
We’re also funding:
Coaching clangers
In collaboration with UK Coaching, we took a light-hearted look at what not to do when you take on a coaching role.
Whether it’s throwing the infamous trophy tantrum or getting hit with the bench banishment for bad behavior, have a laugh with our coaching blunders animations and get some tips on being a great coach and the coaching blunders to avoid.
Volunteers have a vital role to play in helping to ensure the safe return for many sports and activities as coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions are eased.
This is particularly true of community clubs and groups, who are often entirely dependent on volunteers giving their time so the club or group can deliver sport and activity safely.
Ensuring a safe and supportive environment to encourage volunteers to re-engage and feel able to give their time in a safe environment will be critical as part of preparing for the return of activity.
It's important to identify the practical steps that can be taken so volunteers feel supported, welcomed and most importantly able to volunteer safely if they choose to do so.
Inevitably, volunteering in your club or group will, when permitted, look different than it did before the pandemic. From who volunteers, what they do and how much time they're able to provide, to the new roles that are needed to keep those taking part and members safe.
Balancing the new needs of the club with those of the volunteers will require a flexible approach, and the ability and willingness to adapt.
How this guidance can help you
We know that the types of clubs, groups and community organisations that support sport and physical activity are diverse, and so one size will not fit all when it comes to supporting volunteers.
We're now in a period of relaxing restrictions.
This guidance looks at what organisations and groups should think about as they plan for a return when restrictions are eased again.
It doesn't cover everything that needs to be considered, or every context where volunteers will be involved, but instead is designed to work with national governing body 'return to play' guides, as well as other guidance.
It's the responsibility of clubs and organisations to interpret the guidance on this page and apply what they feel is relevant in a way that's appropriate for their volunteers and the types of tasks and activities they can, or will, be able to do.
Planning and preparing for a safe return
Keeping participants and volunteers safe is paramount, and any activity and volunteering should only take place in line with government guidelines.
Your sport or activity will have (or will be in the process of developing) a 'return to play' guide, developed by the national governing body for the sport.
It should help to provide a framework to guide you, setting out the wider context for your volunteer engagement and management. It will also help you to work through the tasks and roles you may need volunteers to support you with.
Understanding the wider framework of the relevant return to play guide may also be helpful for volunteers, so they can understand how their role and the tasks they do contribute towards this.
Other useful resources
Our club support programme, Club Matters, has developed a reopening action plan that encourages you to look across your club or organisation to help formulate a plan for returning as and when permitted by the government.
If you own or run any facilities, there will be government and sport-specific guidelines you will need to follow around hygiene and social distancing, which will have an impact on volunteers and their roles.
Communication with volunteers throughout this process will be key, and the relevant return to play guide could be a helpful way to start a dialogue with volunteers about returning to volunteering, what elements of their role might be possible and how they feel about returning to volunteering in a new context.
Consider sharing the guide with your volunteers and using it to discuss what it means for their role.
What you need to support your activities
Once you have a good understanding of what activity could take place when and if permitted by the government, and what new processes and practical considerations you need to have in place (for example new hygiene measures and social distancing), then you'll be able to start to identify the tasks and roles that volunteers could support with.
Consider doing an assessment of the level of support you may need from volunteers. As part of this, you may find it helpful to think about:
- What roles and tasks volunteers could do safely to support the needs of the club or organisation and those taking part
- How many volunteers would be needed
- Any gaps in terms of numbers or particular skills or experience needed
- How many of your existing volunteers would be willing and able to return and offer support, and whether you need to recruit new volunteers or draw on other support.
Remember to be sensitive in how you communicate as some volunteers may feel nervous about eventually returning, and make sure you're not inadvertently asking them to share their health data or any other sensitive information.
Data protection law applies to personal data on volunteers and should be treated in line with your data protection policy and procedures.
Understanding the situation or circumstances of your volunteers could help inform your plans. For example, do you know how many of your existing volunteers would be able to come back into their current role? Are some volunteers nervous about returning or may not want to return into their previous role?
You could consider running a short volunteer survey to find out more, or perhaps a more informal approach like one-to-one conversations with volunteers, or include it as a topic on a social catch up or online meeting if appropriate.
Club Matters has produced an ‘understanding your people’ toolkit on how you can conduct surveys and some example questions to ask on volunteering.
Thinking differently
At this time, we need to think about delivering sport and physical activity differently. For most volunteers this will mean their role or the context could be different too.
When the time is right, it may not be appropriate to bring all volunteers back at the same time, and it may be that for some it's still more appropriate for them to do their role from home if possible.
Roles that volunteers may have done before the pandemic may not be required now, or when government restrictions are eased further, or the role may need to be done differently in order to support activities and those taking part in different ways.
You'll need to consider first and foremost how roles need to be adapted to ensure that volunteers can do them safely.
You may also want to consider the following:
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New roles or tasks
There may be new roles or tasks that volunteers can help with, such as support with implementing digital or online approaches, or considering new business models or approaches to diversifying income.
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Volunteering remotely
What roles can be done at home or remotely, e.g. online or in a different setting?
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Working in partnership
There may be opportunities to work in partnership with other organisations in your local area.
Read moreRead lessFor example, your local volunteer centre may have people in your area who would be keen to give their time as volunteers, but who haven’t found a role yet - it could be a great time to raise the profile of your club and recruit new volunteers as you plan for the return of sport and physical activity.
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Volunteering for other organisations
If you have volunteers who are unable to volunteer with you currently, or perhaps more volunteers than you need at the moment, could you encourage them to support other organisations or initiatives in the local community that are permitted to operate?
Read moreRead lessThis can be a great way of developing local connections, which may be beneficial later when it comes to attracting other volunteers or new members.
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Building new relationships
You may have already been helping others locally and have built new relationships as a result.
Read moreRead lessThese connections and understanding of other assets in your local area and community may be helpful as you start to plan for a return to activity, and it’s a great time to consider how new partnerships and relationships can help you to enhance what you do in the future as well as supporting the return to activity in the short term.
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Data protection
Data protection risks around health information provided by your volunteers must be managed in line with data protection law.
Keeping volunteers safe
Community organisations providing sport and physical activity have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect the health and safety of volunteers, employees (if you have any) and those taking part.
As a starting point, this duty of care starts with the organisation itself. However, the potential liability of individuals should be considered if the organisation is an unincorporated body. Organisations have a duty of care towards their volunteers and an obligation to protect them under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
It's important that all volunteers, committee members and leaders, as well as participants, are appropriately educated on the relevant NGB ‘return to play’ guidance for the delivery of activities and the use of facilities, places and spaces so they can take informed decisions. For the latest restrictions see our FAQs.
Secondly, insurance policies should be carefully reviewed by clubs and community organisations before any activities of participants or volunteers are resumed.
If there's any doubt as to whether the existing policy will cover the activities you'll be running, or plan to run when permitted by the government, the insurance broker or provider should be consulted.
For helpful information on insurance policies, see section 4 of the Legal Risks and Duties of Care When Returning to Play document.
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Identifying and managing risks
Doing a risk assessment is an essential starting point for working through what the risks may be for volunteers in particular roles, and the practical steps you can take to keep them safe and mitigate the risks.
Read moreRead lessIt'll also help you put measures in place to ensure that the facility, location or context where volunteering is, or will, take place is safe.
There may be some circumstances where personal protective equipment is required.
There may also be some volunteers who are more comfortable wearing face masks and gloves. Clubs and organisations should accommodate these needs and preferences as far as possible and ensure there are appropriate supplies.
Your sport’s 'return to play' guide, if appropriate, will help you to identify what specific risks and measures need to be put in place for the type of activity or sport that you're planning for.
If you work with children and young people as participants or volunteers, you'll also need to ensure that you can apply your safeguarding policy and procedures appropriately in this new context. Get more information on coronavirus and safeguarding in sport.
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Who can return to volunteering
Each individuals' circumstances and level of risk will be different, and specific government guidance still applies to people who may be more vulnerable from the virus.
Read moreRead lessWhile anyone can volunteer, there's guidance on who should and shouldn’t be leaving their home to do so. Some volunteers may be:
You may have volunteers who fall into several of these groups.
Volunteers should follow government and public health guidelines to help them take a decision on whether it's safe for them to volunteer, and this should be considered as part of the risk assessment for volunteers and their role.
It will be up to each volunteer to choose whether they return and if so, when and how they want to give their time. Remember, not all facilities can currently reopen, so please check the latest government guidance.
Please keep in mind that a volunteer should not be compelled to justify their decision or share any health data or any other sensitive information with you.
For many people, particularly those who may have been shielding, the return to volunteering could be something they're looking forward to, and so if someone isn’t able to return to their usual role, then consider how you can keep them connected and still feel involved.
Volunteering has a positive impact on mental wellbeing, so considering what adaptations could be made to allow people to take part again can be a way that your group, club or organisation can have a positive impact on the community.
Remember, you can still involve people virtually and we have some tools to help you via Club Matters.
If volunteers are feeling isolated or are struggling with mental health, you can signpost them to resources and information from Mind.
UK Coaching also has resources on wellbeing.
In planning your approach with volunteers and in your communications, it may be helpful to remind volunteers that it's their choice to return, so they don’t feel any undue pressure.
Blanket requests for all volunteers to return is unlikely to be practical in line with the guidelines or be a message that shows understanding of the different circumstances your volunteers may find themselves in.
Communicating with your volunteers
It’s important to talk to volunteers about their role and ensure they're comfortable with what their tasks would be and how to keep themselves safe whilst volunteering.
Many may be nervous about coming back, so it may be beneficial to ensure you can tell volunteers what measures will be put in place to keep them safe and what steps you're taking to support them if and when they do return.
If there are going to be significant changes to their role, communicate with your volunteers as early as possible, before changes are put into place, so that you agree them and they know what to expect and how they can be supported.
Existing volunteers may also have ideas or suggestions that may help you consider how to best support your club or those taking part, and how they can contribute their time and skills.
Volunteers may have other responsibilities at this time, such as looking after relatives, childcare or changing working circumstances. It's therefore worthwhile checking in with them to identify what time they may be able to commit and what flexibility and support they may need so they can carry out their volunteering role. It may be that they can still help, but may need to do a different role or carry it out in a different way.
Training and induction
You may need to consider what new training needs to be offered to volunteers to support them in this current situation, or if they're doing, or will be doing, a new role.
Many roles may need to understand new processes and procedures to be followed around hygiene or social distancing, for example.
It could be an opportunity to give volunteers a chance to try something new, get an insight into another role or part of the sport, or do some training if there's downtime in their current role
Online training and induction can be an effective way to give volunteers the information and updates they need without the need to bring people together.
Check with your sport’s governing body to see if they have anything that would be useful and relevant to your club or organisation. Club Matters also has a range of helpful toolkits, guides and webinars.
Tools and resources
We've compiled some useful tools and resources to support you and your volunteers.
If you have any content you'd like to see on this page, email clubmatters@sportengland.org.
- Volunteering Matters: free resources on volunteering safely
- NCVO: support on managing volunteers
- Legal support and duties of care when returning to play
- Club Matters: support for clubs, including reopening action plans
- UK Coaching: advice on great coaching and preparing for the future
- Club Matters: Return to Play insight and recommendations
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The legal bit
This guidance note is provided for general information only. Sport England is not your adviser and any reliance you may place on this guidance is at your own risk. Neither Sport England, nor any contributor to the content of this guidance, shall be responsible for any loss or damage of any kind, which may arise from your use of or reliance on this guidance note.
Read moreRead lessCare has been taken over the accuracy of the content of this guidance note but Sport England cannot guarantee that the information is up to date or reflects all relevant legal requirements.
Sport England makes no claim or representation regarding, and accepts no responsibility for, the quality, content, nature, reliability or safety of third-party websites or services accessible by hyperlink (“Link”) in this guidance note.
Such linked websites are not under Sport England’s control. Sport England is not responsible for the content of any such linked websites and/or any link contained in a linked website, or any review, changes or updates to such websites.
Sport England provides these Links to you only as a convenience and/or for educational purposes, and the inclusion of any Link does not imply any affiliation, endorsement, or adoption by Sport England of the website or any information contained in it.
The information contained in this guidance note is not organisation specific and therefore may not be suitable for your organisation or club.
We recommend that you obtain professional specialist technical and legal advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of information contained in this guidance note.
