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EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE Sport, recreation and physical activity |
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South Lanarkshire Council: “Swimsafe Project” In early 2003, South Lanarkshire Council approved the adoption of the “Swimsafe” project, an innovative scheme aimed at improving the primary school swimming programme.
Aims. Every child should be: · able to swim 15metres by the end of Primary School, including children with disabilities · aware of rescue techniques and safety procedures in and around open water and demonstrate a knowledge and proficiency in personal survival techniques; · aware of basic First Aid; · taught at their own level and speed of development – standard competencies are based on South Lanarkshire’s own grades, for example, Non Swimmer, Beginner, Improver.
The Council’s 124 Primary Schools follow the programme in nine of South Lanarkshire Councils pools. Secondary school pools are used exclusively for the secondary aspect of the programme. Some secondary schools use South Lanarkshire Council pools although these schools fund this themselves.
All nine pools have fully trained Swim Officers based on site. The development has three phases which run alongside each other:
· Twelve week swimming block and support programme · Save a Life Project · Free Casual Swimming Programme Further information from Andy Figgins (01698 476117) Sports Development Manager.
Fife Football Development Squads Fife Council SFA Football Development runs a talented player initiative, SFA Regional Development Squads. This project gives the talented player from clubs in Fife the chance to be involved in a structured coaching programme and also the chance to represent Fife in Regional fixtures. The squads each train once a week with Regional matches scheduled for once a month. The squads are split into two areas in the Under 13’s and Under 14’s age groups (Central and East Fife and West Fife) while the Under 15’s is Fife wide. The programme operates in partnership with the Adam Smith College, Kirkcaldy through the provision of specialist fitness sessions in the form of plyometrics, sprint training, strength and CV sessions. This provides an insight into the fitness side of being a footballer. Each squad visits the college 6 times throughout a season. The programme is sponsored by a local building firm “Resortation and Renovation”; and has partnerships with local sports retailer, ACA Sports Ltd, and ASDA, Kirkcaldy. The programme has involved over 100 of Fife’s talented footballers and continues to develop its reputation.
Further details on this and other football developments on 01383 314640
Fife Rugby Development Programme In partnership with local rugby clubs and the S.R.U., Fife Rugby Development runs a network of SVQ community coaches. The funding for this programme is provided by the Big Lottery Fund. The main role of the SVQ programme is to provide quality coaching and create a fun environment for children to play rugby.
The SVQ coaches deliver the New Image version of rugby throughout primary schools in Fife. Fife Rugby Development offer all schools in the Fife area taster sessions, six week blocks and after school club support free of charge. The work of the SVQ coaches in the schools culminates in the rugby festivals (summer & autumn) based in rugby clubs in the east, central and west fife areas.
The SVQ programme has allowed many children across Fife to sample rugby and has had a positive effect on the numbers playing rugby at local clubs.
For further info. On the SVQ programme or any other rugby development initiatives please contact:
The Rugby Development Officer: 01383 314648
West Lothian CouncilBathgate Academy Regional Sports Facility – ‘Supporting the Clubs’Bathgate Academy Regional Sports facility is a 6 badminton court sized hall with an all weather pitch and club meeting room. The facility is split between school and community use. Community use begins after 6pm during the week and at the weekends. A Trust (Management Committee) made up of clubs, local organisations and the Council Sports Development staff manages the community use. The Trust is responsible for the programming and administering of the lets, setting letting charges and staffing the facility during community times.
The production of the West Lothian Sports Facility Strategy was critical to identifying the role and function of Bathgate Academy Regional Facility. The Facility Strategy recognises the need for different centres to fulfil varying roles to ensure participation and performance opportunities are accommodated within West Lothian.
The way the PPP contract was written has been instrumental to the success of the Trust approach. The facility running costs are met through the PPP contract, which ensures that local clubs do not have to pay unaffordable lets. The contract specifies that the facilities can be used every day. The Trust currently charges all users the same charge as in other West Lothian Council facilities. However, the money raised is used by the Trust to further develop the usage and to assist in equipment purchase.
The Trust approach enables maximum use of the facility with benefit to local clubs and sports development programmes. However, it has not all been plain sailing. West Lothian Council aspires to role out Trusts to manage school sport facilities in other schools in the authority. The administration and bookings procedure; the need to support the trustees [who are volunteers] adequately; the need for closer working relations with the school boards, Active School Co-ordinators, and local residents have all been identified as areas for improvement.
Dumfries and Galloway: Midnight Football League The Dumfries and Galloway Community Plan 2004 highlights the need to engage stakeholders, provide creative solutions that can cut across operational boundaries and procedures, budgetary processes and traditional forms of management. These principles were used as an integral part in the planning, development and implementation of the Dumfries and Galloway Midnight Football League.
In March 2004 it was recognised that there were significant anti social behaviour problems in two specific areas of Dumfries. What became evident after engaging with young people on the periphery of this type of behaviour was a perceived lack of alternatives to gathering in large numbers with the resultant behaviour that followed.
The development and implementation of a Midnight Football League throughout Dumfries and Galloway has made a significant impact on combating anti-social behaviour involving young people (12-18 year-olds). Through community consultation and demonstrating a genuine commitment to effective partnership working has assisted in securing significant funding to ensure the sustainability of this project until March 2007.
The high levels of participation has also resulted in a significant increase in the numbers of young people regularly involved in physical activity.
Key benefits of the project: · Assists in combating anti-social behaviour involving young people; · Improves the levels of physical activity among young people; · Breaks down barriers which exist between the policy and young people; · Makes a significant contribution to Dumfries and Galloway’s Community Plan 2004; · Provides an excellent opportunity for other services (eg Community Learning and Development) and other organisations (eg Dumfries and Galloway) to engage with a captive audience of young people; The success of the project has strengthened key partnerships within Dumfries and Galloway.
Youth Coaching Edinburgh The project, which commenced in September 2003, aims to target young people at risk of exclusion and creates a comprehensive training package for young people by offering opportunities to follow a pathway, which clearly provides support, training, development and employment opportunities within the leisure sector. The project supports the community sports programmes being delivered throughout the city.
A number of Community Sports Leader Awards [CSLA] are held each year as well as National Pool Lifeguard Qualification, National Governing Body awards and other sporting qualifications for the young people. Young people at risk are identified in partnership with others and then complete the JSLA or CSLA. Following completion, young people are provided with the opportunity to gain job shadowing or coaching experience, supported to attend further education, progress onto further coaching qualifications, Duke of Edinburgh Award or supported to maintain involvement in sport through volunteering, coaching or supporting local clubs.
Some of the successes of the programme include young people who have progressed onto further education, young people now in employment with Edinburgh Leisure, young people now providing coaching services as well as 3 young people who achieved their gold DoE award and presented with their certificate at Edinburgh Castle in the presence of the Duke of Edinburgh.
The project will continue for a further 3 years. A youth volunteer worker is to be employed to give young people direct one to one support, information and guidance to establish roles within clubs, coach or volunteering within their local community. The 3 year programme will work with young people from special educational needs schools and from community partners within the community regeneration areas and we are targeting 50 young people per year to go through the programme and achieve a positive outcome in terms of sports participation, coaching, or volunteering!
Glasgow City Council Club Accreditation Scheme Active Glasgow Clubmark is the club accreditation scheme developed by Glasgow City Council in partnership with the Sports Council for Glasgow, National Governing Bodies of Sport, Glasgow Volunteer centre, Children 1st and sportscotland. The scheme aims to recognise and accredit clubs that are committed to provide an effective, safe and inclusive environment for all, especially children and young people.
Glasgow City Councils club vision is for the development and empowerment of sports clubs in the city to be safe and sustainable, providing quality experiences for their member and the local community. Sports partnerships are being created across the city to deliver the programme. The partnerships include Glasgow City Council and voluntary agencies assisting the centralised Club and Volunteer Development Team to support clubs across all of Glasgow.
The key objectives of Clubmark are to enable parents, carers and sports professionals to recognise an accredited club through common branding, to assist clubs to improve the recruitment, retention of their volunteers and to provide a support package to help clubs who wish to realise their values and ensure that a Clubmark wards is achievable by all clubs. The scheme aims to assist clubs across Glasgow to identify ways in which they can develop their clubs so they can provide the best possible service to their members and as such is based on the principle of promoting continuous improvement.
There are five key areas to the Clubmark programme, sports equality and ethics, child protection and duty of care, club management, club Development and junior pathways and coaches, coaching and officials. The three levels of accreditation offered within the Active Glasgow Clubmark ensures that all clubs are rewarded and given the appropriate support needed to develop to their chosen level. The three levels are Get Active, Be Active and Stay Active.
The key benefits of Active Glasgow Clubmark include advice on funding to voluntary sports clubs, enhanced links and access to council resources, including facilities, education and training opportunities for club personnel, assistance and support on recruiting and retaining volunteers. Links with both primary and secondary schools, information on club management and development, links to Sports Council for Glasgow and National Governing Bodies of Sport and improved marketing and promotion.
The Active Glasgow Clubmark programme was officially launched in February 2006. Nine clubs were involved in working through the pilot phase of the programme and successfully achieved Get Active status. John Hendry, Head Coach at Harmony Row, who were one of the clubs awarded accreditation commented, ”I would recommend all clubs to get involved with Clubmark, it’s a fantastic programme which has helped us to develop the entire structure of our club.”
Highland Council: “High Life” – Access to Leisure Scheme The “High Life” scheme was introduced at a time when, in common with national trends, leisure facility use in Highland was static or declining. There was a difficult budgetary situation facing leisure facilities, particularly with regard to the underachievement of income targets. In line with the National agenda there was an increasing emphasis on social inclusion and promoting healthy lifestyles, particularly amongst low income groups. Simply increasing prices to counteract budget shortfalls was therefore not the ideal answer.
Putting this concept into practice in leisure facilities resulted in the creation of an all-inclusive scheme giving access to all the facilities in the leisure centres, including classes and swimming lessons for £9.99 direct debit per month for an individual, or £14.99 for a family when introduced in 2001. This has increased over time and will be £14.49 and £19.99 per month respectively from 1 April 2006. It is the value for money that this represents in the minds of potential customers that has created a new ‘buzz’, and a big increase in the level of participation. The scheme allows access to all the facilities in the High Life network for this price – there are currently 17. Each facility gains from the income of its own customers that enrol. It is to everyone’s benefit that reciprocal access is allowed to all participating facilities because this is an attractive selling point, but there are no resulting transfers of funds.
The results of “High Life” in terms of both participation and income have been very encouraging. Calculating from the year before “High Life” was introduced up to March 2005, the level of facility usage has increased 50% with income up by 75% in real terms. The increased in income derives from the increased numbers of people buying into the scheme and attending regularly because of the customer perception of value for money. In addition to the statistical results, this is clearly translating into healthier lifestyles. As well as the all-inclusive prices being relatively modest, 6% of all admissions are at the 50p price, so ensuring that everyone in the community can participate.
Renfrewshire Sports Development in Deprived Communities Health Improvement Through Sport (HITS) The Health Improvement Through Sport project was set up by PPRC to get more young people taking part in sport and physical activity. The project is funded through the Scottish Executive’s Community Regeneration Fund, Communities Scotland and sportscotland, and is supported by Renfrewshire Council. HITS began in 1998 and is now an integral aspect of Renfrewshire’s Active Schools planning and delivery in respect of addressing social exclusion.
The HITS initiative aims to increase participation in sport among young residents as well as making young people more aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The initiative targets primary 4&5 children in 28 schools in Renfrewshire's target data zone areas. The children take part in sports festivals and the healthy living workshops also offer a fun way to teach young people how they can make changes to their lifestyle to make them fitter and healthier.
In addition to a term time weekly programme, school holiday period camps are now held to provide a year round service. The camps are free to participants and every child is provided with a free healthy lunch, fruit and water. Healthy living goodie bags are provided to reinforce the importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle to the youngsters after they have completed the HITS programme. Participants receive a branded rucksack containing a water bottle, pen, skipping rope, medal and wristband embossed with the ‘Health Improvement Through Sport’ message.
Fife Council: Frae Fife Sports Project This project commenced in 2003 through the Fife Thematic Social Inclusion Partnership and is aimed at encouraging Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities to participate in sport. It is funded by sportscotland and the Big Lottery. A Co-ordinator and four Sports Coaches staff the project. One of the Sports Coaches, a track and field athlete, is a sport role model for BME communities, being Scottish Women’s Indoor Champion in Triple Jump and the second ranked junior in the UK.
Frae Fife aims to increase the opportunities for BME youths to foster a healthier more active lifestyle through the school years, immediately after leaving schools and in the community. The opportunities are not constrained to sports participation but also involve becoming coaches in particular sports. The project aims to provide a participation and development pathway in sports popular with BME communities, and also supporting the development of clubs. A further theme of Frae Fife is to foster links between BME sports clubs and local partners, businesses, police, crime prevention, drug awareness, and community development workers.
The project works closely with local leisure centres and helps educate and training for centre staff in improving engagement with BME communities, increasing understanding about cultures and traditions.
The Sports Project is featured prominently on the Frae Fife website and this and other communicative media is used, in addition to street work and word of mouth to publicise the opportunities on offer. The street level dialogue is also used to find out what the BME communities would want to see on offer.
Orkney Island Council Mobile FacilitiesOrkney is a community of 70 islands and skerries with a population of approximately 20,000 inhabiting 17 islands. In order to increase opportunities to participate new activities within their communities the Council utilised a lottery grant to invest in five mobile facilities which are easily transported. The five facilities Ice/curling rink, Climbing wall, Kids gym, Skate park Dance studio
Are all packed up onto a mobile trailer which is easily transported. Council staff are fully trained in the set-up and supervision of the equipment and provide training to the community to allow them to access the facilities for their own club, school and village events, promoting physical activity. Currently there are over 100 people trained with further training being arranged when sufficient numbers are identified.
The ice rink, climbing wall, skate park and dance studio are not only for children but adults as well.
The Council uses the facilities during holiday programmes and at schools events with the communities mainly accessing them for private functions, fetes and gala days.
Bridge to Sport, Culture and Learning in Easterhouse, Glasgow A truly innovative and unique facility has recently opened integrating sport, culture and learning under one roof at The Bridge in Easterhouse. The Bridge brings together the refurbished Easterhouse swimming pool, the new Easterhouse library, the new John Wheatley College and Platform – a new arts facility housing the National Theatre of Scotland and local dance company Visual Statement. The project is the culmination of several years of successful planning and fundraising.
The exciting new management partnership includes Glasgow City Council who operates the swimming complex and the library and real learning centre with 40 publicly accessible computers. The former 1970’s swimming pool has been extensively refitted and improved. The old 33m pool was converted to a 20x18m pool linked to new river rapids and other new leisure features like a 53m flume and water slide. A new changing village serves the remodelled pool, teaching pool and new health suite and multi purpose room. Since opening the revitalised swimming complex has attracted over 1,000 users per week – a new record for the pool.
Greater Easterhouse Arts Company is responsible for programming the 210-seat auditorium Platform, delivering the arts programme and producing the arts strategy for the Community Planning Partnership area. John Wheatley College operates the college facilities however students can use the Bridge library, which comprises facilities for both students and the public. At the hub of the different facilities is one common reception and foyer area with cafe giving users the opportunity to see and try the wide range of new and improved services available in one place.
Funding for the Bridge came from Glasgow City Council, The European Regional Development Fund, Glasgow Community Planning Partnership, NHS Greater Glasgow, John Wheatley College, and from the Scottish Arts Council and sportscotland (both Lottery Funded).
The multi-functional shared spaces in the Bridge allows everyone access to several key community resources through a single gateway model – access to arts, health, leisure, culture, skills and learning.
Midlothian Council: Leisurewatch Midlothian Council, in December 2004, was the first Council in Scotland to introduce the Leisurewatch scheme. Since its development by the Derwent Initiative in the 1990's Leisurewatch has been introduced to a number of areas in England with successful results.
The Leisurewatch Scheme: · Increases staff awareness of the potential risks posed to children by sexual offending in public leisure spaces · Reduces the risk posed by those who sexually offend by training leisure staff to identify behaviour · Empowers staff to act by giving them a procedure to follow and contacts in key agencies (e.g. Police, Social Services)
In Midlothian Leisurewatch is delivered in partnership with Lothian and Borders Police, various Council Divisions (Sport and Leisure, Education and Social Work) and is supported (operationally and financially) by the Midlothian Community Safety Partnership. Information sharing is an essential part of the scheme and this can only be achieved through such an inter-agency approach.
The visibility of Leisurewatch material and presence of trained staff in leisure centres acts as a deterrent to any potential sex offender seeking to interact with children and at the same time increases public confidence. The scheme has been well received by Midlothian's communities.
Midlothian Council: Just-Judo Partnership In August 2004 Midlothian Council and Just-Judo (a judo coaching and development organisation run by three former Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic judo players) entered into a partnership to deliver and develop judo activities throughout Midlothian. Just-Judo identified four ways to improve participation and performance levels. These were: · come and try sessions within Midlothian primary schools; · five week courses within Midlothian primary schools; · satellite of Judo Clubs within Midlothian Leisure Centres; · development of Performance Pathways/Increasing Opportunities.
The initiative was a new type of partnership which was designed to engage children in a safe and healthy activity whilst developing the sport of judo across the county. The first two stages of the plan were designed to attract children to the sport, whilst the third and fourth looked to improve methods of retention by offering a better structured and wider range of participation opportunities. In the first year of the programme, delivery has been directed towards pupils in Primaries 4-7. Each school/child was offered a ‘come and try’ taster session to be delivered at school during curriculum time. The format of these sessions is such that participants are exposed to judo at a very high level. The content introduces them to the basics of the sport in a dynamic and interactive way aimed at wetting their appetite for more.
Twenty-seven of Midlothian’s schools took part in the project in year 1 with 2,407 pupils having taster sessions in judo. A feedback mechanism has been put in place for the project and responses have consistently been positive. Each pupil who undertook a taster session was offered a chance to pursue their interest in the sport through a five-week course, held at the school. These courses were designed to cover the theory requirements for the first grade of the JudoScotland promotion syllabus. Thirty-six courses were run with 669 pupils taking part. Feedback received regarding the five-week courses again has been positive.
The project is funded by the Big Lottery Fund, the Community Safety Local Action Fund and Midlothian Council, and is managed by the ‘Midlothian Judo partnership’ which has representatives from a number of Council Divisions and external agencies. The project has been nominated for a COSLA excellence award (health improvement). |
