The National Youth Agency - Medway Sports Leadership Programme

Medway Sports Leadership Programme

BASIC INFORMATION

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Case study date: January 2008

Local authority in which project based: Medway Council

Date started: 2001

Type of organisation: Local authority

Brief description

Medway Council is a large unitary authority in Kent providing services for a quarter of a million people. It has been running sports leadership and volunteering programmes for young people since 2001, initially as the Medway Active Communities (Rural) project, then as the Medway Active Communities Volunteer programme, and more recently as the Sports Leadership Programme. The programme aims to enable young people aged 16-18 to develop their confidence, motivation and skills through sports leadership and volunteering opportunities. In 2007, the programme was extended to include young people aged 15-18 with moderate learning difficulties.

This case study will focus on the learning from the programme since its inception.

Collaboration

Partners include Sport England, Greenacre School Sports Partnership, Howard School Sports Partnership, and Bradfields School and Further Education Centre [for pupils with special needs].

Funding

The Medway Active Communities (Rural) project was funded between 2001 and 2005 by Sport England and local partners. The project was then mainstreamed by Medway Council in 2005. The programme has recently received funding through the Youth Opportunity Fund plus annual contributions from participating schools.

Staffing

A full-time youth sports development officer (himself a qualified youth worker) and two part-time project support officers are employed by Medway Council’s Sports Development Team to manage the programme.

NATURE OF PROVISION

Which groups of young people does the project work with?

Up to 15 young people aged between 16 and 18 are involved in the Sports Leadership Programme each year. The male:female ratio is 70:30, with participants being mainly of white British origin (reflecting the local demographic). In the first year of the programme for young people with moderate learning difficulties, 12 young people aged 15 to 18 enrolled.

How was the need for the project identified?

The initial Medway Active Communities (Rural) project was developed in response to a lack of structured and sustainable opportunities for young people on the rural Hoo Peninsula. When consulted, young people expressed a preference for after-school provision in five sports.

When the project was awarded funding through Sport England’s Active Communities Development Fund in 2002, the Medway Active Communities Volunteer programme was established, incorporating personal development opportunities. In 2005, the programme – now known as the Sports Leadership Programme - was mainstreamed and rolled out across Medway. The need to extend the project to young people with moderate learning difficulties was identified in the Medway Children and Young People’s Plan, supported by the senior management team at Bradfields School.

How do young people become involved? What, if any, commitment do you ask for?

School sport coordinators, who are responsible for improving sporting opportunities across a family of schools, advertise the programmes widely in the schools participating in the programme. Interested candidates complete an application form and attend an informal interview. The need to improve pre-programme publicity has been recognised, and as a result a promotional CD-ROM produced for the coordinators to use.

Young people are expected to participate for the duration of the course: ten months for the mainstream programme and seven months for the programme for young people with moderate learning difficulties.

What are the main approaches used and activities offered?

Both programmes aim to offer participants a range of personal development opportunities and experience of leadership, coaching and volunteering. Young people on the mainstream Sports Leadership Programme initially undertake training in teamwork, first aid, sports specific skills, and coaching. They also complete a Community Sports Leader Award to develop their leadership skills and encourage them to volunteer in sport. They also participate in a range of activities such as tobogganing, gliding, sailing, and a six day teambuilding residential on Dartmoor. They have access to a number of volunteering opportunities including supporting other young people in the Medway Messenger Mini Youth Games and helping to run after-school sports clubs. The after-school clubs are run at local primary schools, where the volunteers help children to learn skills and participate in specific sports. The annual Mini Youth Games bring together children from across Medway to participate in a variety of sports, with young volunteers involved as officiators, coaches and organisers.

Participants with moderate learning difficulties have access to similar teamwork and leadership training, training courses, regular activity sessions and a teambuilding course on Dartmoor. They also volunteer at the Mini Youth Games where they are paired up with a young person from the mainstream programme who offers support and advice to build their confidence. Young people from the mainstream programme also support them in some sporting activities, on the residential and with the final presentations at the end of the programme.

One of the main aims of the programme is that young people continue to participate in sports leadership, coaching and volunteering once the programme has finished. To support this, all those completing the course are awarded a sports scholarship to cover the cost of national governing body coaching awards. Exit routes, such as volunteering opportunities with local sports clubs and other community sports providers, have also been set up through the sports development team. In addition, the young volunteers’ details are included on Medway’s register of sports coaches so they hear about future coach development opportunities.

How are young people involved in shaping the programme?

At the end of each course, young people give comments and suggest improvements on both the whole course and on the separate workshops and activities within it. These comments are used to modify the course for the following cohort. Within the programme itself, young people have ownership of their activities as much as possible and take it in turns to be team leader.

Ex-participants have also submitted two successful bids to the Youth Opportunity Fund to fund future programmes.

How does the project respond to the needs of different young people, particularly the most marginalised?

A high staff to young person ratio (1:5 maximum) makes it possible to provide appropriate levels of support to meet young people’s differing needs.

OUTCOMES OF WORK

How does the project contribute to the five Every Child Matters outcomes for young people?

Young people achieve personal and social development and enjoy their recreation, as well as making a positive contribution to the lives of other children and young people in the local community.

What skills do young people gain through their involvement in the project?

Young people rate highly the skills and knowledge they gain:

99 per cent improved their leadership skills
97 per cent gained new qualifications
97 per cent increased their confidence
96 per cent improved their teamwork
92 per cent made new friends
91 per cent improved their communication skills
89 per cent increased their enthusiasm to take part in sport
87 per cent improved their organisational skills

How are young people's progress and achievements measured and recorded?

Accreditation on offer includes the Youth Achievement Awards, Community Sports Leader Awards, and coaching certificates awarded through Sports Coach UK [the lead agency for the development of coaching in the UK]. In previous years, most young people have also gained Millennium Volunteer 100 hour certificates.

At the end of each programme, a celebration event is held for the young people and their families, project partners, plus senior officers, councillors and the mayor of Medway.

Each young participant has their own portfolio which by the end of the programme typically includes the certificates they have gained, a photo album, their graduation certificate and exit route package.

What has changed for other young people, organisations or the wider community as a result of the project?

Primary schools benefit from sports leaders’ support at the Mini Youth Games events;
After the programme has ended, local schools and sports clubs benefit from sports leaders’ continued involvement as volunteers and participants.

MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS

How is the project evaluated?

The project has strong internal evaluation methods in place to capture quantitative and qualitative feedback from the volunteers and project partners. Sport England also requires the submission of evaluation reports as part of its funding requirements.

What are the findings of any evaluations to date?

To date, 73 young people have completed the Sports Leadership Programme (94 per cent completion rate) undertaking 9,035 guided learning hours and 1,570 hours supporting the local community. Nine young people have completed the programme for young people with moderate learning difficulties undertaking 1,088 guided learning hours and 220 hours supporting the local community.

Feedback from last year’s participants shows they rate the course highly. They all felt that being involved in the Youth Games had been a good or very good way to put their skills and knowledge into practice; that the course had encouraged them to continue volunteering in sport; and that they would recommend it to other young people. The feedback from previous cohorts has been equally positive.

Project partners also value the programme:

The Sports Leadership Programme for young people has been recognised by Sport England as an example of national best practice: “The programme has developed a model for producing young sports volunteers…it has produced well-trained and qualified young people.
“The programme is excellent, with memorable benefits and experiences for the students,” head of sixth form at the Hundred of Hoo School
UK Youth has recognised the programme for young people with moderate learning difficulties as an example of best practice. It has also been described by the headteacher at Bradfields School as one of the most exciting sporting projects for students with disabilities in the country;
Volunteers have been nominated for Medway Sports Awards and the local Try Angle Youth Achievement Awards.

What has been difficult and why?

Securing funding to continue the programme is its greatest challenge.

PARTNERSHIP AND STRATEGIC IMPACT

What other agencies do you work with?

The programme involves local providers of outdoor and adventurous activities and national agencies such as Sports Leaders UK, Sports Coach UK, and UK Youth who provide tutors for the training.

What specific experience and expertise does your organisation bring to partnership work?

The team now has extensive knowledge and experience of sports development and youth work based on six year’s experience of running the programme and responding to young people’s feedback.

Has this partnership resulted in greater collaboration or increased understanding between partners?

The programme has strengthened links between partners over the course of six years. Several factors contribute to this including partners’ commitment to a whole team approach, and minimal staff turnover in the partner organisations.

Do you consider this project to be innovative?

The project combines a unique mix of sports development, volunteering and youth work, backed up with strong evaluation methods to ensure the programme reflects young people’s needs.

How do you disseminate the learning from the project?

The project features regularly in the local press and in national journals on sports and volunteering. School sport coordinators and PE teachers are regularly invited to sessions as a way of sharing practice and raising the profile of the project.

Has the learning from this work influenced wider organisational/service strategies?

The success of the initial Medway Active Communities Volunteer programme resulted in the mainstreaming of the youth sports development officer’s post. This now allows more emphasis on the youth development side of the programme.

What plans do you have to sustain/develop this work?

Both leadership programmes currently have two years’ funding to run. Future funding will need to be secured for the programmes to continue.

CONTACT

Jon Rees, Sports Development Team, Medway Council, Black Lion Leisure Centre, Mill Road, Gillingham, Kent ME7 1HF jonathan.rees@medway.gov.uk Tel: 01634 338765