Download - RiC Case Study 2 - Kent
Good Practice Case Study
Kent Sport, Leisure & Olympics Service
Pooling of County Sport Partnership (CSP) and School Sport Partnership (SSP) Resources
BackgroundKent Sport, Leisure & Olympics Service
(the CSP for Kent) and Thanet District
Council have been working with Thanet
Sports Network to deliver the Recruit
into Coaching (RiC) Programme. The
Network is made up of a range of
partners including: Thanet District
Council; Kent County Council; Thanet
Leisure Force; Eastern and Coastal
Kent Primary Care Trust; Thanet Youth
Council; Community Safety
Partnership; Ursuline College; Thanet
School Sport Partnership; Canterbury
Christ Church University; and Local
Housing Associations. The benefits of
using this approach are that the
partners could contribute to placement
opportunities and recruitment of
candidates from a wide range of areas.
Thanet is the 65th most deprived local authority in the country. The table below provides
employment statistics for the local area compared with regional and national figures:
Source: Office for National Statistics (2008).
Thanet Sports Network decided to establish RiC as a joint community and
school-settings project.
It is led by the Coach and Volunteer Development Sub-Group, one of many
thematic groups running across the Thanet Sports Network (raising awareness
of the benefits of sport, developing healthy lifestyles and doorstep sport).
Thanet South-East Great Britain
Population
(numbers)
129,900 8,380,100 59,608,200
All people
Unemployment
(%)
7.4 4.7 6.2
February 2010
Good Practice Case Study
Recruitment and Target GroupThanet Sports Network decided that to
target recruits more effectively, they would
start by renaming the RiC Programme
‘Get into Coaching’. It was felt this name
would be more obvious or attractive to
potential recruits. Four leaflets were
produced featuring four different
audiences and environments. The
audiences include women, older people,
ethnic groups and children, in various
environments including the gym, the track
and the playing field. The leaflets have
been distributed throughout the Network
and to other organisations such as sports
clubs who have agreed to placements;
housing associations; council-funded
projects, for example a disability-sport
project; Jobcentre Plus; and heads of
PE at local schools. Adverts were also
placed in local newspapers to target
new audiences.
The Network decided they did not want
to restrict where the information was
channelled in terms of recruitment, and
moved to get the information ‘out there’
to see who was interested.
However, the partnership was keen to
attract people from the community who
‘had never really thought about coaching
before’. Work at the schools and sports
college has been focused on targeting
young people, particularly young people
who are already sports leaders (the latter
will not receive all the training and
teaching the community-based recruits
will, as it is assumed they will already
have some leadership experience).
The SSP has been running a successful
leadership academy for some time,
so it is expected that there are a
number of obvious candidates for
a move into coaching.
Prior to deciding on a joint approach, 12
candidates have already undertaken and
achieved a Level 1 qualification – eight in
a school setting, and four in a community
setting. All these coaches coach football
and have undertaken a Football
Association Level 1 qualification.
Work with the joint community and
school-based participants began in
earnest in January 2010 when the first
induction evening took place, attracting
32 participants. Following the induction,
all recruits will attend a Day Certificate in
Sports Leadership and then start a
placement to complete their 20 hours of
volunteering (currently they are working
on this involving 10 practices/matches,
each lasting for two hours). These
recruits will start their placements in
mid-February and Level 1 courses in
April. Ten placement venues have been
secured in a range of settings, including
leisure centres, schools, and the sports
college – the latter has a brand-new
facility and provides a wide range of
sports, including disability sport.
Each recruit will be assigned a mentor to
work within the placement setting – the
latter must have at least a Level 2
coaching qualification. The mentors are
established names in the local network
and receive training from the coach
manager; for example, sports coach UK
mentor training. The mentor will track the
hours completed by the recruit and
identify further training and development
needs. The mentor will also look to
fast-track the recruit, if appropriate, to
a Level 2 qualification. Funding for the
Level 2 qualifications will be sourced
from a county scheme that supports
higher-level coaches. The programme
will rely on the mentor to keep in touch
with the recruits and help to maintain their
enthusiasm. The mentor will, however, be
fully supported throughout the programme
by the coach manager. The mentors will
receive an incentive of £50 to work with
the recruit, and the club/setting will also
receive the same incentive. The incentive
was introduced because of the additional
time commitments of the mentor and club
that will be required.
Pooling of ResourcesThanet Sports Network decided that the
most effective and efficient way of
running the RiC Programme in their area
would be to pool the funding from school
and community settings. This approach
allows workloads to be streamlined and
greater value for money can be achieved,
as both sides of the programme can be
delivered in the same way, and
individuals from both settings will attend
the same courses and training.
Geographically, Thanet is an isolated
district – with sea on two sides – so being
able to deliver the project as one makes it
easier in terms of engaging recruits and
delivering training and courses.
Workload was one of the key factors in
making the decision to pool the funding –
due to Thanet’s deprivation they receive
a lot of funding for pilot projects and
were keen not to deliver ‘just another
pilot’ and make the best use of the
systems already in place. Pooling the
funding has allowed the Network to
establish structures which will help to
Good Practice Case Study
Recommendations and Top Tips • When working in partnership,
communication is key. Delivering
two elements of the same
programme at the same time within
the same partnership relies on
detailed information being received
on both the school and community
sides of the programme, so that
the programme can progress.
• Delivering in this way means the
school- and community-based
recruits can attend the same
induction and Level 1 courses.
This shows the recruits how
diverse the programme is, but also
saves time and resources for the
programme managers.
• In the short-term, delivering this
way can be difficult and time
consuming; however, in the
long-term it is believed that the
benefits and sustainability will
outweigh these early difficulties –
‘it is not the easy route!’.
• Think about the sustainability
of the programme or elements of
the programme that can be
continued after the funding has
finished. Spending time to develop
systems and structures will
contribute to the sustainability of
the work undertaken.
can deliver Level 1 qualifications in
basketball. The funding has enabled
them to create this role, and the coach
manager also oversees the work of the
mentors – ‘mentoring the mentors’ –
rather than working directly with the
recruits. The coach manager attends
the first session the recruit has with a
mentor and will check on progress
periodically. He/she will be the recruit’s
first point of call if there are any issues
that need to be resolved. The coach
manager is able to coordinate and
understand what is happening on both
sides of the programme, ensuring
deadlines and targets are met.
• The approach brings together
organisations in the local area that
can lobby governing bodies of sport
to deliver training and qualifications in
the area. Currently, coaches have to
travel outside of the local area and
this is reported to be ‘putting people
off’. There has been some success in
the past, with governing bodies of
sport coming to Thanet to deliver
Level 1 qualifications, and the district
is positive that they are going to be
able to use the RiC Programme to the
same effect.
• The approach is bringing the
programme to a wider audience who
traditionally might not have put
themselves forward as a coach.
A number of challenges and issues have
arisen. For example, one of the main
issues has been the alignment of funding
periods between community and schools
programmes. By employing the coach
manager (more details above) who works
across the programme, Thanet Sports
Network has been able to ensure that
targets can be met within the time frames
set. The induction and recruitment
programme is rolling, so new recruits can
quickly be brought on to the programme
before being lost because they have had
to wait to attend a session.
sustain the programme post-RiC funding.
When the funding has come to an end
they will look to finance at least one
part-time position to continue the RiC
related work.
It is recognised that working in
partnership can slow things down, in
terms of coordinating partners to be in
the same room at the same time, but
these difficulties can be outweighed by the
potential benefits of working in this way:
• The Network has worked well and
adopted this approach prior to RiC;
for example, the ‘Winning with
Women’ project which trained 18
women from the area to become
fitness instructors. The work of the
Sports College and the District
Council, it is reported, dovetail well.
• Cost saving – only one system for
monitoring and delivery is required,
rather than two.
• The Network approach means they
have resources to draw on from a
range of partners across the district.
The Network partners can provide
placement opportunities and mentors.
• Not only will the recruits take part in
RiC-funded activities, but through
other partners, including a private
training provider, they will be able to
take advantage of a ‘suite’ of training
and development opportunities which
will enhance their coaching skills.
The availability and provision of
other courses will depend on the
needs of the recruit – but courses
that can be accessed include
‘Working With Disabled People’,
‘Equity In Your Coaching’ and
‘First Aid’ (although this is generally
part of the Level 1 qualification).
• The partnership approach means that
the programme can access a coach
manager who is based at the Sports
College (but working across both
strands of the programme) and who