Developing Partnerships with Clubs and Schools …a guide for sports volunteers

1. Developing Partnerships with Clubs and Schools…a guide for sports volunteers [Date] [Venue] [Tutor] www.runningsports.org

2. Workshop Outcomes By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to: • identify the benefits of a club working in partnership with a school • assess what a club can offer to, and gain from, a partnership • understand how a successful partnership can work between a club and a school, and the role of the club • agree the activities a club and school can organise to make the partnership work • understand how to maintain a successful club-school link • develop volunteers through partnerships with clubs and schools • develop young disabled people through partnership working with clubs and schools. www.runningsports.org

3. Activity: The Benefits of a Partnership What are the benefits of a partnership to: • Group 1: Young people • Group 2: Schools • Group 3: Clubs • Group 4: Other sports/community organisations? www.runningsports.org

4. Benefits to Young People: • Access more activities and sports • Develop a healthier lifestyle • Identify and nurture sporting talent • Work with coaches and experts with specialist knowledge • Increase confidence • Use leadership skills • Meet new people. www.runningsports.org

5. Benefits to Schools: • Opportunity to take part in more activities • Develop young people beyond school • Work with other organisations • Share facilities, equipment, knowledge, coaching expertise, funding, leadership opportunities • Develop relationships with local community • Provide links to the curriculum. www.runningsports.org

6. Benefits to Clubs: • Identify a pool of talent for the future • Develop future coaches, officials, volunteers and administrators • Increased membership (more young people joining as members) • Opportunity to share school facilities, expertise and equipment. www.runningsports.org

7. Benefits to Other Sports/Community Organisations: • A means of reaching targets for sports participation • Opportunity to promote a sport • Opportunity to identify, nurture and develop talent • Ensure sport is accessible to all • Meet the government’s agenda • Be involved with a local/regional/national initiative • Provide opportunities for local coaches, volunteers and leaders in schools and clubs • Facilitate partnerships. www.runningsports.org

8. Clubmark: An Overview Creating a single, national standard, to give sports clubs a structure and direction, which will benefit them in several ways:  • Increasing membership: being able to demonstrate that a club has addressed equality and child protection. • Improving the club: by encouraging and attracting young members, clubs build a stronger future. • Developing coaches and volunteers: advice given as part of the accreditation scheme. • Raising the club’s profile: by listing them on a national database and in other sporting directories. www.runningsports.org

9. Successful Partnerships Between Club(s) and School(s) Key factors: • Finding the right person/contact. • Knowing how to start discussions that will be positive for both the school and the club. • Agreeing what both the school and the club will do to make the partnership work. • Agreeing when to review the partnership. www.runningsports.org

10. Finding the Right Person/Contact: • School sport: • Partnership development manager (PDM) • PE staff • School sport coordinators (PESS) • Primary link teachers • Dragon Sport Officers • 5x60 Officers • National governing body of sport (NGB) development officer • Local authority (LA). • Local Sports Associations www.runningsports.org

11. Knowing How to Start Discussions that will be Positive for Both Club and School: • Arrange to meet up and discuss how you can work together in more detail • Jointly agree an agenda or plan for the meeting in advance • Be clear in terms of what you want out of the partnership • Take the following with you: club handbook; a copy of all club activities; training times and competitions planned; club development plan; this workshop’s resource (completed); and a copy of the agenda/plan for the meeting • Follow up from meeting with a courtesy email/letter/phone call to thank them for their time and summarise key points of progress/action from the initial meeting. www.runningsports.org

12. Example Agenda Items for First Meeting Between Club and School Contacts: • Background/history about the club and school • Future plans for the club/school • Level of Long-term Athlete Development or player pathway the club caters for, and the progression routes for a young person • Reason for wanting to develop links with the school • What the school/club can do to make it happen • What else the partnership could involve (facilities, leadership opportunities, promotion etc) • Monitoring/evaluating how it is working • Identifying who else may be able to help • Sharing contact details/agreeing communication channels. www.runningsports.org

13. Agreeing What Both the School and Club Will do to Make the Partnership Work: • ‘Out-of-hours activities’ • Sport Unlimited • Multi-skill clubs and academies • School competition. www.runningsports.org

14. Possible School Activities and Support: • Promote local club networks • Promote qualified coaches to lead sessions in schools • Encourage young people to attend other facilities to access coaching • Produce promotional material • Coordinate the development of a sport or club directory • Arrange for clubs to visit the school and attend assemblies, PE lessons, out-of-hours activities, or talent identification programmes • Arrange a club fair to which local clubs are invited • Coordinate leadership programmes for young people • Provide links between primary and secondary schools • Advise clubs on accessing funding • Keep records of all clubs where their pupils are members • Offer facilities, preferential hire rates • Involve teachers and other school staff in running activities • Promote events such as coaching sessions and ‘come and try’ days • Celebrate achievements through assemblies, local media, or displaying press cuttings • Use club expertise to plan and deliver schools-based competitions. www.runningsports.org

15. Possible Club Activities and Support: • Provide technical information and advice to help schools plan and deliver schools-based competition • Assist and support young leaders to plan and deliver school competitions, and support them to volunteer at the club • Offer coaching expertise • Offer promotional material, ‘taster sessions’, and friendly advice about the club • Attend out-of-hours-activity sessions and provide links for transition • Provide skill and rule updates for teachers • Notify schools of young people’s achievements • Help provide placements for leadership and volunteering schemes • Arrange for young people to visit the club • Provide taster sessions • Provide certificates for assemblies • Provide performance results of young people’s achievement. www.runningsports.org

16. Questions to Prompt Good Practice in Volunteer Management: • Do you know what skills your volunteers need? • Have you produced ‘role outlines’ that illustrate specific tasks and the commitment required to fulfill the role(s)? • Do you have an open system for appointing volunteers? • Do you check or screen your volunteers? • Do you assist volunteers with training needs? • Do new volunteers get an introduction to the club and their role? • Are volunteers given an opportunity to make suggestions? • Does the club recognise and reward the efforts of volunteers? www.runningsports.org

17. Questions to Prompt Good Practice in Working with Young People with a Disability: • Are young people with a disability being integrated into all activities? • Is there easy access to the building, with clear signposting and larger-than-normal parking bays available? • Are coaches appropriately trained to work with disabled performers and are appropriate training programmes offered? • Are there adapted activities, where required, for performers with different disabilities? • Is there appropriate supervision for young people with a disability? www.runningsports.org

18. Principles for Maintaining an Effective Club-School Partnership: • An agreement of services • Continuity of people, activities and support • Effective communication • Involvement of young people • Having presence of coaches in schools • Shared standards between school and club. www.runningsports.org

19. Measuring the Success of You/Your School Contact in Ensuring a Successful Partnership: Some suggestions/questions for you to consider: • What evidence do we have that our partnership is working successfully? • What could be done differently next time? • How have/will the achievements been/be celebrated? • What are the outcomes of the partnership (eg more young people joining clubs)? • How can this review/evaluation be linked to other monitoring (eg TAES, Quest, PESSYP survey, Ofsted inspections)? • How effective was I? • What has the impact been on: young people, coaches, volunteers, others? www.runningsports.org

20. Review progress against timescales and goals set in an action plan Take account of feedback from: coaches parents strategic partners volunteers young people Use simple evaluation forms Re-assess targets not achieved and set new ones Continually assess: what works well? what could be improved? Monitoring and Reviewing www.runningsports.org

21. Recap of Workshop Outcomes By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to: • identify the benefits of a club working in partnership with a school • assess what a club can offer to, and gain from, a partnership • understand how a successful partnership can work between a club and a school, and the role of the club • agree the activities a club and school can organise to make the partnership work • understand how to maintain a successful club-school link • develop volunteers through partnerships with clubs and schools • develop young disabled people through partnership working with clubs and schools. www.runningsports.org

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